Angels owner Arte Moreno’s claim that fans don’t prioritize winning says a lot about him and his organization

The Los Angeles Angels haven’t exactly been synonymous with winning over the past decade.

The Angels’ last postseason appearance came in 2014, when they were swept out of the American League Division Series by the Royals. Their last winning season was in 2015, when the Angels were 85-77 and finished third in the AL West. The Angels have finished fourth or worse in the division seven times in the last eight seasons.

None of that seems to be a concern for team owner Arte Moreno. While he claims he wants to win, he also says that winning is not important for the fans, narrate Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that, according to a survey the Angels conducted, it is not in the top five fan priorities.

“The number one thing fans want is affordability,” Moreno said, via Fletcher. “They want affordability. They want safety and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.

“The moms want to be able to afford to take the kids. Moms make about 80% of the decisions. They want to be able to take their kids and it’s affordable and they want safety and they want to have a good experience so they get all the entertainment or whatever. The purists, you know, it’s just a win.”

The Los Angeles Angels owner’s comments show how out of touch Arte Moreno is

Moreno’s comments that winning wasn’t important weren’t the only troubling part of the interview. He also said the Angels want to focus on developing their young talent. Meanwhile, the Angels tend to rush their draft picks to the majors because they can’t develop them in their minor league system. Subsequently, and largely due to the Angels’ refusal to spend money on the development aspect of their organization, they are generally considered to have one of the worst farm systems in baseball.

Angels fans know the team isn’t going to win every time they go to the ballpark. Affordability and safety are certainly important. However, fans want to be able to see a winning team. Since 2016, the only winning teams Angels fans could see were in the other dugout.

Moreno doesn’t believe Angels fans care about winning. That speaks volumes about one of the fundamental problems in the organization.