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Outraged Angels fans want Arte Moreno to sell team ASAP
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- Outraged Angels fans want Arte Moreno to sell team ASAP
Los Angeles Angels fans in right field at Angel Stadium.
"Sell the team" chants have echoed across Angel Stadium this week, as Angels fans continue to be disgruntled by the state of the team.
On Saturday, Angels fans protested owner Arte Moreno before the game against the Rangers, imploring him to sell the team.
"Sell the team" chants have echoed across Angel Stadium this week, as Angels fans continue to be disgruntled by the state of the team. Reddit/KeyResolve3056
On Saturday, Angels fans protested owner Arte Moreno before the game against the Rangers, imploring him to sell the team. Getty Images
With an hour and a half before first pitch, fans made their way down State College and stopped at the main entrance of the stadium on Gene Autry Way. Roughly 100 people were part of the group, with more piling in as they entered the stadium.
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The movement originated when lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez created a flyer on his Instagram account, "Angelsboycott," at the beginning of the month.
Gonzalez said the purpose of the protest was to get fans to unite and voice their opinions about Moreno as they want him to sell the team.
When Gonzalez created the graphic that enticed fans to protest the team, it quickly went viral, gaining more than 800,000 views and 22,000 likes on social media.
With an hour and a half before first pitch, fans made their way down State College and stopped at the main entrance of the stadium on Gene Autry Way. Roughly 100 people were part of the group, with more piling in as they entered the stadium. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Gaining such quick traction on the internet, Gonzalez said he heard from 500 people who were planning to attend the protest and show their support.
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While the numbers initially weren't what he was told, he said this was what he was expecting and called it the first event.
"This is the first time something like this has happened in Angels fan history," Gonzalez said. "We've reached a boiling point, and you can see it. I'm just happy all the fans are here to support each other, make a message, and stand up for what's right."
Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno in attendance for an opening day game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 5, 2024 in Anaheim, California. Getty Images
Gonzalez added that the goal of this protest is to either force him to sell the team or start investing money into the organization.
"We're not gonna stop," Gonzalez said. "We're having too much fun across the street for the Anaheim Ducks, and we want the same energy over here."
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Before Saturday's protest, Angels fans protested all week during home games by taking off their shirts and waving them around their heads. They chanted "sell the team" for the most part but Thursday's game took a turn when fans yelled "f— you Arte."
However, their biggest in-game protest of the week cam Friday night when they filled multiple sections of the stadium with fans chanting sell the team, Arte sucks, and winning matters.
Gonzalez said that their was over 500 fans that were in attendance participating in the chants during Friday's game.
When Moreno purchased the Angels in 2003 for $183.5 million, they were fresh off winning their first — and only — World Series in franchise history and were perennial winners, reaching the postseason six times over 11 years.
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But in the second act of Moreno's ownership, the Angels have failed to reach the playoffs over the last 11 years and have not had a winning record since 2015.
"He was handed a winning organization," Angels season ticket holder Joseph Sterling said when asked about Moreno's time as an owner. "They cared about their farm system. They had an excellent scouting team."
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On top of losing, the Angels have also been in the public eye more often than they would like for all the wrong reasons.
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On Dec. 9, 2025, the organization reached a settlement with former pitcher Tyler Skaggs' family after he passed away from ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill given to him by ex-communications manager Eric Kay.
The Angels also are showing signs they will miss the playoffs again, entering Saturday night with MLB's worst record at 18-34.
While the Angels haven't won much recently, fans have continued to support the franchise. The Angels rank eighth in attendance, averaging 34,659, and have consistently stayed in the top 16 over the last six years. From 2015-2019, they were among the top five for attendance.
Kristin Galagher has been a fan since 1990 and has been going to games with her husband who's been a fan since 1967. The two of them said they have seen the change of the Angels and are disappointed in what Moreno's let it become.
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"He doesn't care about the fans, he doesn't care about the club. He cares about his bottom line. He cares about calling himself a Major League Baseball owner," Gallagher said. "But you know, how pathetic is it to completely change their operations to insulate Arte from exposure."
