New Angels owner Stan Kroenke wont repeat Arte Morenos mistakes
Why didn’t the Angels match the offer from the Dodgers that Shohei Ohtani ultimately accepted? Because Arte Moreno didn’t want to.Why did the Angels blow $245 million on Anthony Rendon? Because Moreno said so.Why didn’t the Angels finalize an agreed-upon trade in which they would have received Andy Pages from the Dodgers? Because Moreno didn’t want to.Why did the Angels invest $240 million in Albert Pujols or $125 million in Josh Hamilton? Because Moreno believed in them.Almost every major decision that resulted in the Angels missing the postseason for the last 11 years can be traced back to Moreno.Under Moreno, the Angels’ most important decision maker wasn’t the general manager.It was the owner.The anticipated change in this dynamic is the primary reason the Angels will have a chance to return to prominence once Stan Kroenke officially takes over as the team’s owner.Kroenke, who owns the Rams, has agreed to purchase a controlling share of the Angels from Moreno.Judging by how Kroenke operates his other sports teams, expect baseball decisions to be made by baseball people rather than a super fan who happened to become wealthy enough to buy the team.Unlike Moreno, Kroenke is not a micromanager.Kroenke is what a sports team wants in an owner.
He trusts the people under him to do what they were hired to do and provides them with financial support.Which is why head coach Sean McVay is the most important person on the Rams.Or why manager Mikel Arteta holds that distinction with Arsenal of the English Premier League.In football or soccer, a franchise’s vision is often provided by the head coach or manager.
In baseball, the vision comes from the head of the baseball operations department.But former general managers Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler or Perry Minasian were never granted the level of autonomy McVay and Arteta have received from Kroenke. McVay was the driving force behind the Rams’ trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford.Arteta played a similar ...