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“Angels Baseball-At Least He Tries”

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It was stunning news that leaked out early in the morning.

The Angels signing of Mike Trout to a massive (12Y-430M) contract extension.

Stunning the length the team has committed to the player. Equally stunning, the amount of money, nearly a half billion dollars.

Trout, as complete a player as modern day baseball has, decided he liked playing in Anaheim, liked the team, liked the organization, and decided there was no reason to consider forcing a trade a year from now, or even going onto the free agent market in the winter of 2021.

Stunning too the laundry list of accomplishments for the outfielder. 7-time all star. 2X-MVP and 4X-runnerup. Look up the staggering numbers he has compiled, (.573-slugging percentage)……..(.990-on base plus slugging) and 60silver slugger awards. That’s why the price for all those seasons totals 430M.

All that is stunning, and so is the quality leadership of Angels owner Arte Moreno.

It’s convenient to bash leadership when the teams they own fall from grace.

It was easy to critique the owners patience to stay the course with manager Mike Scoscia thru the conclusion of his long 10-year contract, despite not being a playoff team in recent years.

It was easy to mock the owner and his past GMs for the then-record (254M) contract given to an aging Albert Pujols, to get him out of St-Louis.

And of course, many have crashed down on the Halos leadership for giving out huge money contracts to drug troubled slugger Josh Hamilton. or gift longterm 20M a year deals to pitchers Jared Weaver or CJ Wilson, only to see them break down.

Moreno is as loyal an owner as we have seen in modern day baseball.

He wants-and-needs a new stadium for the Halos, but he is not threatening to leave the market. He’s not an easy mark, and there will be tough negotiations ahead to keep the team in Anaheim, but one sees him negotiating in good faith.

And above all else, Moreno seems committed to his community. He signs players, they have rebuilt the farm system, and they pay state of the art money to their state of the arm talent.

What’s happening around Angels baseball, is so refreshing, and so different than other places.

You know where incompetent ownership has destroyed the Miami Marlins franchise. The Tampa Bay team that continues to be allowed to operate with 50M payrolls. The Pirates ownership that pockets money rather than sign quality talent. The Royals, with a history of tight fisted bad baseball leadership.

And of course up the highway, the Dodgers, with all that money, who stay out of free agency, and have refused to find a solution to their huge TV blackout controversy.

Moreno tries, accomplishes, and convinces players the ‘Big A’ is the place to be, and to stay.

At least he tries to do the right thing for his team and his town. I can’t say that for everybody on the MLB road map.

Arte Moreno deserves to be saluted for what he has done over the many years of ownership with the Angels.

Just ask Mike Trout about that.

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