The Los Angeles Angels of ... wherever
Arte Moreno now has permission from the city of Anaheim to stop it already with the weirdest team name in all of baseballdom: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He can call the team whatever he wants.
Moreno has been frankly embarrassing the Orange County city since 2005 with the trick he pulled on his agreement with the city. The accord said that the word “Anaheim” had to be in the team’s name. And so it was. Just relegated to the tail end, where, over time, it was often forgotten, which was obviously part of the plan.
But pride doesn’t pay the bills, and Anaheim doesn’t have as much spare cash as Moreno. Right now, as far as the city is concerned, he could call it Arte’s Angels of Anywhere, as long as he stays in the city and foots the bill for various upgrades, which could even include a new stadium. Moreno has reportedly made it clear that he could afford to move the team elsewhere -- Irvine, say, which is a full hour from L.A. on a smooth traffic day.
Maybe he could plunk a stadium down in what was supposed to be the city’s Great Park but that, after $220 million in expenditures with little to show for it, is now looking like it will be more of a kinda-mediocre park surrounded with a lot of extra development. As long as he doesn’t then call the team the Los Angeles Angels of the Just-OK Park.
ALSO:
Stepping up from flipping burgers
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
