Has anyone applied for a parade permit in Anaheim yet?
If not, my guess is it’s coming soon.
There’s a large subset of disaffected Angels fans – those who have chanted “Sell the team,” who still hold a grudge over the change in geographic designation from Anaheim to Los Angeles, who despair over an organization that not only can’t win but has seen a breakdown of its player development system all the way down to the way its minor leaguers are treated.
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This day is yours. Pop the corks and raise a glass to the new guy. The owner of the favorites to win Super Bowl LXI is about to take over the Angels in the first quarter of 2027, pending approval of MLB and its owners.
And this is why Stan Kroenke’s purchase of a controlling interest in the Angels from Arte Moreno matters.
Kroenke is an experienced sports owner, and he seems to understand the bottom line of sports ownership in Southern California: In a market that demands excellence, you need to do everything possible to at least be competitive and give yourself a chance to win.
Compare and contrast: Kroenke’s Rams won a Super Bowl four seasons ago and are now heavy favorites to do so again this coming February, when it will again be played in the venue that he built at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Moreover, he owns the Denver Nuggets (one NBA title), Colorado Avalanche (two Stanley Cups titles during his ownership), and Arsenal FC (one Premier League title for the men’s team and one UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy for the wonen’s team).
Arte’s Angels reached the playoffs in five of his first six seasons as owner. They’ve reached the postseason once in the 17 seasons since (including this season) and not at all since 2014. They had both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in their lineup for six seasons and managed to avoid the playoffs every year. They have a legitimate shot at the franchise’s first 100-loss season, theirs is currently the longest postseason drought in baseball and the second largest in pro sports, they fired general manager Perry Minasian earlier this season and their first-year manager, Kurt Suzuki, is working on a one-year contract, a no-win situation if ever one existed.
Additionally, and importantly, Moreno earned the ill will of Orange County fans during his second season of ownership when he changed the team’s name from “Anaheim Angels” to “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” – eventually shortened to “Los Angeles Angels” – in an attempt to increase advertising and marketing revenue nationally.
(This suggests that some souls in the organization might have been embarrassed by the name change over the years: Most references – including the website URL – say “Angels Baseball,” rather than “Los Angeles Angels.”)
Many fans, at least many that I hear from, still hold a grudge. Among those might be state assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), who introduced legislation that would incentivize a return to the “Anaheim Angels” name under certain conditions. It passed resoundingly and was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last week.
I don’t think that bill sets one of the conditions as a change of ownership. But maybe Kroenke will be more receptive to the will of the people than Arte has been.
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We do know this: Kroenke’s Rams returned to Southern California in 2016, and aside from two seasons – a 4-12 debut year in the Coliseum under Jeff Fisher, and a 5-12 Super Bowl hangover in 2022 – they’ve been in the hunt every year. They’ve done so with an organizational philosophy that fits the most diverse sports market on the planet, one that Kevin Demoff, president of team and media operations for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, described thusly the week before that Super Bowl victory in ’22:
“You cannot get to be at the pinnacle of this market by having one great season. You get to the pinnacle of this market by having great season after great season after great decade after great decade and building fans and generations of fans with that.
“And that only comes with sustained success and sustained investment in the market, in the community, in schools, building relationships. That’s not overnight.”
In this case the fan base is already there, stubbornly loyal even as it has been beaten down by losing season after losing season and a sense that the current owner was sometimes too involved. (Exhibit A: The Anthony Rendon contract, which translated to seven years and $245 million for 257 games played over five seasons as an Angel.)
The Angels don’t have a president of baseball operations, like most clubs do – and if Moreno is smart in his final months of ownership, he’ll give current consultant John Mozeliak the reins, stay out of the way and let Kroenke and his people evaluate whether he’s the right guy.
Angels fans need a reason to care again. The wait for the sale to be finalized is going to require some patience; assuming it’s approved, it will take effect in the first quarter of 2027. And it’s not known what percentage of the club Moreno will retain.
But we can assume this much: When Kroenke’s organization takes over, they’ll let the baseball people make baseball decisions, much as they have with the Nuggets, Avalanche and Rams. And given what that organization created with SoFi Stadium, we can assume that there will be positive changes in and around Angel Stadium as well.
Can we also assume that they will again be known as the Anaheim Angels? There’s no way of knowing yet, but it certainly would be nice – and sensible – if the baseball team honored its city the same way the Ducks have on the other side of the 57 Freeway.
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In the meantime, there’s at least – and at last – reason for hope in Anaheim.