Angels Fan Boycott: Will Escalating ‘Sell the Team’ Chants Force Arte Moreno Out?

Running a Major League Baseball team is considered a public trust and Arte Moreno has broken that trust.

May 23, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels fans gather outside Angel Stadium before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers to protest the Angels team owner Arte Moreno. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Running a Major League Baseball team is considered a public trust and Arte Moreno has broken that trust. Ownership should try to win games and championships. Angels owner Arte Moreno has failed to produce a winner for over a decade and has taken the team to new lows in 2026.

Beyond the on field failure at the MLB level, Arte Moreno had the audacity to state fans do not care about winning then took credit for providing a safe atmosphere inside the ballpark. Rather than walk back those comments, he has remained silent and largely out of sight.

Angels fans want Arte Moreno to sell the team.

At this poing, the relationship between Moreno and the fans is broken and it seems to be beyond repair. Orange County is pretty laid back compared to many baseball markets so when the fans in Anaheim begin ripping off their shirts, chanting, and organizing protests outside the stadium it is really notable.

This week the loudest noises came not from the sound system but from shirtless fans chanting "Sell the team! Sell the team!" Their pleas could be heard around the ballpark and on both the radio and television broadcasts.

I attended both Tuesday and Thursday night's games against the A's and on both nights saw fans leaving their seats to join the groups chanting.

Hundreds gathered outside the stadium to protest against Arte Moreno.

Last night a few hundred Angels fans gathered outside of the stadium with signs saying things such as "Winning Matters" as a direct rebuke to Arte's comments. And this was not just a small cross section of die hard fans.

Social media views for the flyer promoting the protest numbered over 800,000 with a huge number of shares. Both dwarfed the number of views for any Angels highlights or news stories in recent years.

The protestors outside of the stadium worked in conjunction with tarps off groups chanting "sell th team!" inside the ballpark. In fact, it appears there was crossover between the two groups.

Angels executives are hearing the chants, but there is no indication Arte is.

March 9, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno arrives for a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Last week I attended two Angels games. On Tuesday I got to the ballpark early so I could cover the Angels event in conjuntion with OC GRIP. On Thursday I enjoyed a game with an Angels podcast creator.

The chats of "sell the team" can clearly be heard in the press box and in the suites where the Angels brass watches games. And a good percentage of the time members of the Angels brass are shaking hands in the Diamond Club and suites and can clearly hear the chants.

I spoke with both and Angels director and new team president Molly Jolly on Thursday night on the patio area of the Diamond Club and the chants could clearly be heard. The chants had not yet started when I was speaking with Jolly but she is at the ballpark during home games.

I did not discuss the chants with Jolly, but I did with another high ranking member of the Angels organization.

He acknowledged hearing them and that the players clearly hear them and that everyone understands the fans frustration. It has been a long time since the Angels have won. Everyone is frustrated, according to him.

Will the fans ultimately force Arte Moreno to sell the team?

Once a proud man of the people, Arte has turned himself more into a man in a high castle. When the Angels announced Arte was hanging onto the team a couple of years ago he laughably stated only a small percentage of fans wanted him gone despite the overwhelming negative response on the team's official social media pages.

In looking at the sum of the organization, Arte is well poised to sell the team. The new Angels Broadcast Network is a big plus and the payroll is set to drop precipitously after already dropping by about $80 million this season. It is a team in prime position to be handed to an owner who can put their own imprint on the franchise in short order.

However, if the MLB owners are able to institute a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement the team value could skyrocket. So Arte might be holding onto the franchise hoping for that.

Ultimately, the Arte Moreno's legacy will almost certainly be one of abject failure. Of taking over the defending World Series champions then wasting the prime of Mike Trout, six years of Shohei Ohtani and leaving without tasting the postseason in well over a decade.

He is a proud man who would love to go out on top. And just delusinonal enough to think he can get to the top despite his long standing record of failure.

Angels fans can make noise. But ultimately hurting Moreno in the pocket may be their only hope for a new owner.