Dear Stan Kroenke: Win the World Series and Orange County

Dear Mr.Stan Kroenke:Congratulations on your agreement to buy the Angels.The price has not been disclosed.

According to reports, it tops the record $3.9 billion recently paid for the San Diego Padres.Wall Street says buy low and sell high.Financially, you bought high.In baseball terms? Very low.You are buying a last-place team more than 30 games under .500.

It has not reached the postseason since 2014, nor posted a winning record since 2015.Somehow, the Angels employed Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani together for six seasons without reaching the playoffs.So here is my first piece of advice: Make winning priority No.

1.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story Your predecessor, Arte Moreno, infamously said Angels surveys showed winning was not among the fans’ five highest priorities.That sentence should mark the dividing line between the old Angels and the new ones.Fortunately, you know how to build a winner.

Your Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI.The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship and the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2001 and 2022.

Arsenal won the Premier League in 2026; Arsenal Women won the 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League.The Colorado Rapids won the 2010 MLS Cup, while the Colorado Mammoth won National Lacrosse League championships in 2006 and 2022.That is a crowded trophy case.

But one conspicuous prize is missing from the Kroenke collection: the Commissioner’s Trophy awarded to the World Series winner.Your first big deal may not be with a manager or free-agent pitcher — it may be with the city of Anaheim.Angel Stadium is showing its age.The team’s lease can expire in 2032, and the future of the roughly 150 acres surrounding it remains unresolved.

You built SoFi Stadium and turned Hollywood Park into a year...