How Important is a Winning Team for You?

Let me know what you think about Arte Moreno's recent comments.

Mar 11, 2021; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno watches game action during a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

On Friday Angels owner Arte Moreno stated that winning is not among fans top five priorities for the team. It was yet another slap in the face to die hard fans but even his tone deaf comments have some truth to them.

Baeball fandom is often a rite of passage running multiple generations in a family. Early fandom is usually the product of rooting for Mom or Dad's favorite team, the team nearest your home, or the team from your home city. Sure there are people who glob onto the Yankees or now Dodgers because they want to be associated with a winner but those fans are more likely to jump ship once there is a new dominant team.

Unless you are an Angels fan who hitched their loyalty to the team in the early 2000s decade of success, you probably did not become a fan of this team because you expected consistent October success. But yet you still turn on the games throughout the year and plunk down your hard earned money to see games at the Big A.

By the numbers, Arte's outrageous claims do have some merit.

The Angels have not fielding a winning team in a decade. To do that while employing Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani and conisistently fielding a top ten payroll takes executive level failure of epic proportions. But that's not the topic here.

Yet from 2015 until the pandemic season of 2020 the team drew over 3 million fans per season. Post pandemic, and longer into the losing streak, attendance was still about 2.5 million per year. Last year the Angels still sold approximately 2.1 million tickets.

Granted, the team does a ton of Little League day ticket promos, sells the heavily discounted Family Four Pack, and likely inflates the total number of tickets sold through various means, but they are nonetheless drawing more fans then 17 other MLB teams despite all of the losing.

Aug 15, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) points to the crowd after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Honestly, Angels fans have other options.

Go a little north or a little south and there are two MLB behemoths on the field. The San Diego Padres have not yet cracked through in October but they have a dynamic team, a great, newer ballpark, and play in a very cool area that still feels safe. Heading north on the 5 will land you at the two time defending World Series champions who have significantly upgraded their ballpark and security.

It is quite obvious many fans who loved the Angels run of success two decades ago are firmly on the Dodgers wagon. But for about 2.5 million people, they choose to attend Angels games.

Let me know where exactly winning slots on your list of priorities.

Email me what your priorities are and I'll take a few tidbits and publish a "What Angels Fans Think About Winning" piece. Over the course of the season, we'll do do future pieces on the stadium, food, the farm, and other aspects of the team.

Or you can comment on our new social media pages. The email address is angelsonsi@gmail.com and the X account is @angels_on_SI. We're even on Bluesky @angelsonsi.bsky.social.

My take.

I fully understand the Angels are not the Yankees and Dodgers so having World Series or bust aspirations each year would be foolish. I have a young son and lots of nieces and nephews so safety, a family friendly environment, and relative affordability are important to me.

However, just because I don't expect the team to win every year doesn't mean they shouldn't try. Small market and mid market teams win by drafting and developing young talent. Watching young players debut then succeed with the Angels is great fun as a fan and leads to winning. Arte's crew has completely failed at this.

I can enjoy a Sunday afternoon game with my loved ones. But as a fan I never had more fun or excitement than in that 2002 to 2009 run. And, ironically, I paid about the same per ticket back then as I do now. Back then I paid face value for tickets because they were in demand. Now I buy on StubHub at a discount because there is no demand.

Yes, at some point park safety and affordability will trump my desire to see the team win. Or at least make strides in the direction of fielding a winning team. But the fact I'm spending less and less time at the Big A and more time at Dirtbags and minor league games is proof winning matters to me quite a bit.

Hopefully Arte sells the team soon so the fans can get an owner who will try to win. Until then, please let me know your feelings on the matter and know might include a quote from you in the follow up piece.