Arguably, the best player to step foot on the diamond.  A guy who is doing things we haven’t seen since Babe Ruth, but better. Both in their prime. A talented group of guys to fill out the rest of the roster.  Yet, they come together to create a team seventeen games under .500 and 4th place in the AL West.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels franchise has been a disgrace, but no one seems to bring enough attention to it.  When the Lakers had a big 3 of Lebron, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook but missed the playoffs, the entire world heard about it.  When teams in the NFL go all in by loading up their roster for one year just to eventually come up short, we see it all over ESPN for a week.  So why do we allow a franchise that is wasting the prime years of two of the greatest baseball players we’ve ever seen to just skate by?

The Angels have two superstar players in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.  Mike Trout made his MLB debut in 2011, but the Angels have made the playoffs only once in that time frame. He won Rookie of the Year in 2012 and 3 MVPs since then, so he’s been great for them since day one.  Ohtani signed with the Angels in 2017, won rookie of the year in 2018 and is the current reigning MVP.  In the time frame the Angels have had both Trout and Ohtani, they have finished 4th, 4th, 3rd and 4th in the AL West.  Sure, both have dealt with injuries from time to time, but those results are still unacceptable.

Now, you’re probably saying, two guys can’t carry a baseball team like they can in a sport like basketball.  I’d have to agree with you there. But, at the same time, Trout and Ohtani haven’t been alone. They have been surrounded by players good enough for the team to be successful. 

 The following players have surrounded the two superstars at some point since 2018: Albert Pujols (past his prime but still a good player), Andrelton Simmons, Kole Calhoun, Justin Upton, Patrick Sandoval, Taylor Ward, Jared Walsh, Julio Teheran, Anthony Rendon, Reid Detmers, Raisel Iglesias.

Superstars? I wouldn’t say so. Good enough players to win a championship? Don’t know if I’d even go that far. But players certainly good enough to make a couple playoff runs at the very least.  How can a franchise have so much talent but not even sniff October? I wish I had an explanation, but I’ve got nothing. 

At the beginning of this season, Angels fans had to be on cloud 9.  Things seemed like they were finally coming together.  The Angels beat the Rangers on May 24th to get to 27-17 record.  But it was just a tease. The wheels fell off and the team went on a 14-game losing streak and went 2-18 over their next 20 games.  They also fired manager Joe Maddon. That didn’t solve their issues.  The Angels are 25-40 since the firing. 

Maybe Shohei and Trout are having bad years? Shohei is hitting .266 with an OPS of .874 with 27 home runs.  He also has an 10-7 record pitching with a 2.69 ERA.  His ERA isn’t league leading, but it’s still good. Trout, sadly, is injured again and dealing with a back condition that may severely alter his career.  Because of that, he hasn’t been on the field since August. However, on the season, Trout is hitting .266 (low by his standards but still good), an OPS of .948 and 24 homers.  It is truly incredible how bad this franchise has been since they’ve had these two.

With Mike Trout being diagnosed with his back condition, one can only wonder at this point what lies ahead for him, Ohtani, and the Angels.  It doesn’t seem like Trout is considering retiring at the moment, but how much will the injury affect his play when he returns?  It’s sad to think about.  If this back condition doesn’t allow him to be the Mike Trout, we all know, the Angels will have wasted the career of one of the all-time greats.  What about Ohtani? Trade rumors started circulating around the trade deadline this year, and at least one team made an offer for him.  It didn’t seem like the Angels were serious about trading him, but maybe they should consider it.  No matter how good he is, he’s only one player.  I must imagine the haul they’d get in return would be one of the largest in the history of all sports.  Both sides would win in the trade.  The Angels get a solid group of players and prospects to try to build from the ground up, and Ohtani gets far far away from that franchise before his career is wasted too.

Full disclosure, I wrote this article originally around July and never shared it. And I feel for Angels’ fans, because everything I had written is only truer now than it was then. I know I’ve said it a few times already, but it’s honestly baffling how incompetent the franchise has been. And what’s worse is these two great players are being wasted. Shohei is only 24, and because he’s such a unicorn, he gets the spotlight he deserves. Mike Trout, on the other hand, gets no publicity. It’s sad that possibly the greatest player ever has been playing for a decade, but no one ever sees him play.  Sadly, he just signed an extension with the Angels, so it seems like he’ll be stuck there a while.  Hopefully, he’s able to manage the back condition and continue to be one the greatest of all time.  And While I respect his loyalty and don’t want to be the guy screaming to take a star player from a team, I really hope at some point soon Trout gets to put his talents on display for a more relevant team.  The world deserves to see more of him.

My heart goes out to you Angels’ fans. Stay strong. 



UPDATE!!!

            Well, well, well.  Would you look at that? Less than 24 hours after the publishing of this article, it’s been announced that Angels owner Arte Moreno is “exploring” the sale of the franchise.  What does this mean? I must imagine that Angels fans are rejoicing as I update this story.  Maybe, with a little luck (and a hell of a lot of cash), the Angels will finally have competent ownership that will build a successful franchise. 

            As far as the immediate future goes, meaning the rest of this season, I don’t see anything changing.  I doubt the sale even happens before the end of the season.  But let’s think long term here.  I think new ownership will take one of two routes.  The first route being the one of acting like a true California team and opening the checkbooks.  We’ve seen it year after year from the Angels’ Los Angeles counterpart, the Dodgers.  They chase every big name and write blank checks leading to them being in contention for a World Series every season.  We saw the Padres take a similar route this season by going all-in and trading for Juan Soto.  Will new ownership be willing to spend to get big name players to join Ohtani and Trout?  Will new ownership be enough to convince players that mediocracy is a thing of the past? That’s path number 1.

            Path number 2 is the one I think is more intriguing.  The path of the rebuild.  Now it seems like the Angels have been in a rebuild for a decade, but I’m talking about a fresh start under new ownership.  This route would include trading one or both of Ohtani and Trout and attempting to build a legitimate farm system.  The Angels currently have the worst ranked farm system in all Major League Baseball and are in desperate need of elite prospects.  In my opinion, this path, while possibly unpopular, would be best for all parties involved.  The two superstars would get fresh starts with new franchises while in the prime of their careers, and the Angels would get the greatest haul of prospects and players ever seen in Major League Baseball and possibly all of sports.

            I don’t know what the future holds now, but I am extremely excited to see how this plays out.  I am here for the chaos.

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