Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 05, 2004
Viva Moreno

Arte Moreno has rapidly become my favorite owner in all of baseball. Doug Krikorian sat down with the Angles chief, and I loved everything Moreno said.


When I asked him the other day if he would have pursued Alex Rodriguez had he known he could have been had from the Texas Rangers for $16 million a year, which is what the New York Yankees are paying him, he didn't hesitate in his answer.

"Yes,' he said. "Definitely. Why not? Alex Rodriguez is one of the great players in baseball.'


If you can get a great player cheap, why not? That's why Vlad Guerrero is in the Angels camp.

Moreno has turned into the West Coast version of George Steinbrenner without the meanness to employees and the condescending bluster.

He also is willing to go after high-priced personnel to bolster his ballclub, with his only bottom line being the success of his team and the comfort of its patrons.

"What we're trying to do with the Angels is to produce a good enough product to get people to come to the show, and also to make it an affordable experience,' he said. "We're always going to try to field a strong team. This is our aim, as well as to take care of the fans.'


And taking care of the fans he is:

His first major move with the club was slashing the price of beer by almost a third, from $6.50 a cup to $4.50, an act of pure sacrilege by a baseball owner that was greeted with joy by the long- gouged fans.

"Ridiculous that a cup of beer was so high,' said Moreno.

He has made the purchase of Angels caps more affordable, with the cheapest now going for $11 compared to $22.50 in the past.

"We've sold more than 60,000 of those $11 caps,' he said proudly.


On top of all of it, he's realistic:

"Your popularity is staggering in Southern California after you signed Vladimir Guerrero in the wake of signing Bartolo Colon,' I said to Moreno as we sat in the stands at Diablo Stadium after an Angels spring training workout.

Moreno, wearing tinted brown glasses, blue jeans, black cowboy boots and a red Angels jacket, shook his head slowly.

"I'm just on a honeymoon period,' he said. "Down the road, I'm going to have to make some tough decisions that I'm sure some people won't like. That's the nature of this game. There comes a time when you might not bring back a player who's been popular, and I'm sure I'll be criticized for it.'


And he seems to know to balance the desire for new fans with the needs of long-time patrons:

"We're, of course, always seeking new fans to come to see us play, but we must never forget to take care of long-existing customers,' he said. "I've always felt the key to success in business is to treat people with consistency on a long-term basis. If they have complaints, you listen to them and do something about it.'

Moreno has installed a couple of new scoreboards at Angels Stadium, and fans throughout the ballpark will now find it easier to pick up the ball-and-strike count and out-of-town scores.


When people ask me which team I root for, I say I like to cheer for good organizations. The Angels are one team I'll be happy to root for this year.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:07 AM | Owners | TrackBack (0)
Comments

That reminds me of the time when Turner Field opened up and Ted Turner was asked about the high price of a Coke and he said something like, that's ridiculous, that's way too expensive, I'm not going to pay that much for a Coke. (I can't find the quote online, sorry.)

I'm glad there is an owner that is concerned about the prices that people have to pay at the ballpark. Sounds like he's trying to get a much higher attendance instead of gouging the few people that show up. More people instead of higher prices. Sounds good to me! I wonder how long it will last, and I also wonder if other owners will follow suit (I doubt it).

Posted by: sabernar at March 5, 2004 09:19 AM

God Bless Arte Moreno!

Posted by: Cliff at March 5, 2004 11:47 AM

I will forever be an angels fan as long as Arte Moreno is the owner. My sons and I were fortunate to have seen Arte Moreno coming out of the stadium. The boys wanted an autograph from him, but were slightly hesitant to ask. They finally mustered up the courage to ask him to sign their hats and to our surprise he was so kind and gracious. We live 3,000 miles away from Anaheim stadium, but visit California often. We will be back to see as many Angels games as possible, all because of one kind, generous encounter with the the owner of the Angels.

Thank you Arte for making two young fans very happy.

P.S. It was a great game!

Linda

Posted by: linda lewandowski at August 8, 2004 02:17 AM

Arte, I am very proud of you, and what makes great man like you arte is you didn't forget were you came from. Many rich people come from poor back ground but they become Rich and forget were they came from they get corrupted. so Arte Moneno keep the good work going don't forget us simple people. thank you Luigi Amoroso

Posted by: LUGI AMOROSO at November 9, 2004 02:12 PM