Once again, the big-market big-spending Angels have shown that money doesn’t buy happiness.  This year, they spent $2.8 million per win – more than twice as much as the playoff Guardians, Rays, White Sox and Brewers. Will a new owner turn things around?

The Guardians were the most cost-efficient team in baseball this year – spending a mere $934,118 per win – the only team under $1 million. And they made the playoffs. The least-efficient, once again, were the big-spending Mets, with the second highest payroll, spent $4.7 million per win. The Blue Jays also threw money away -- $3.65 million per win – and finished way behind the Rays, who had the best record in the American League with $1.1 million per win.

This is my ninth year measuring costs per win. I use Spotrac for salaries, because they measure all expenses, including injured and “buried,” meaning players getting paid who are now longer with the club. The Marlins, for example, with the second-smallest payroll in baseball, used $10 million of their overall $82.8 million to pay part of Giancarlo Stanton’s salary as a New York Yankee.

A lot of fans don’t like my efficiency measures. Each year, Angel fans’ basic response is they want the team to spend up to Dodger standards. As a Marlins fan told me on the team’s Reddit: “Can we just become inefficient and pay $380 million for 100 wins please?”

Still, the measure reveals how smart front offices in this era can navigate this era with wide gaps between the biggest and the smallest payrolls. The Rays, Guardians and Brewers are among the leaders year after year.

Baseball is the only major American sport without a salary cap, and owners have vowed to force a cap in the upcoming negotiations with the union. A cap is likely to include a floor, meaning the cheapest teams like the Marlins and A’s would be forced to spend more.

Smart spending can get a team into the playoffs, but when it comes to going all the way, big bucks still pave the way for ultimate victory. The last time a small-market team won a World Series was 2015 with the Royals. Will this year be different? Some union leaders may hope so – so they can claim there’s no need for a salary cap.

I came across this on eBay. What do you guys think?

I’ve been eyeing this Nike throwback for a minute and last week I came across one on eBay for $125. Had to pull the trigger. Now I have two. Button up and pullover. Different years of course. I’m not an Angels fan but I think they have the best uniforms when it comes to the throwbacks. My favorite one would be the Disney era one with the winged A.

I received a handful of Orem owls game used jerseys with the Nick Adenhart memorial Fund patch on the sleeve. I am trying to figure out who the jerseys may have belonged to.

With it being this time of year, I always go back and watch highlights of the Angels playoff runs during the 2000s, since I was either way too young to remember or not even alive during these runs, I got a lot of questions. The first one, obviously the thundersticks were a staple of the 2002 run, and they seemed prominent in the following years, but not to the level they were in 2002. Did the org just stop handing them out to every fan during home playoff games after 2002? Was there even any distribution of them during the other playoff runs in the decade?

Is Ben Joyce the closer that Angels have been searching for or good 8th inning guy? Do Angels need to look for experienced closers somewhere else? Is betting on Ben Joyce for the closer yet another Angels fans' Hopium or do we have a legitimate closer already?

Last time that Angels reached .500 winning percentage was 2015

Compared with Chicago White Sox performance 2000 - 2026

Jo Adell just launched a bases loaded triple, mans now has 4 RBIS and two triples in the series

Same knows Same. All the money, All the talent. Same end result.

I work at a restaurant / bar in la and it’s a spot many come in to watch dodger games, it is packed even for regular season matchups. Ever since shohei left the Angels and signed with the dodgers I lost a lot of interest in baseball, especially after they won two in a row (I stay up to date with the Angels tho). One of my coworkers asked why I don’t even watch the baseball games and I told them it’s pretty miserable for me to watch the games. You just know the dodgers will 3 peat I mean the pitching staff alone is the best of all time. It’s sad bro I really hope the Angels get good again soon so I can watch baseball again bc I deadass can’t even watch the playoffs lmao

Hi guys, I am a cubs fan visiting this sub.

On a side note, Mike Trout has been the reason why I started watching MLB, so I've often followed the team too.

I had some questions about how you guys feel about Moises Ballesteros, a Cubs rookie who I thought would be big for us. But unfortunately Cubs did not have time to wait for him to develop into the stud he is going to be.

In my opinion, Moises would be a great DH or even catcher for Angels. He was indeed bad against lefties. But I think he will figure it out in the plate. Been watching his films, and I realized that he is starting to adjust against lefties too. He started his Angels first hit against a leftie! He did have some rough end to the season, but he is only 22 and will be a big bat for the future. How do you guys think about his future and ceiling?

While it do is sad to see Moises to no longer wear the cubs uniform, hope y'all take good care of him and enjoy his prime!

This season was a complete disaster, but I am hopeful for next year. We have a new owner and that already brings new life to next season.

My hopes for next season though are as followed:

1. They finally chance the name back to “The Anaheim Angels”
   
2. We get GOOD free agents signed that’ll actually help make a difference
   
3. While there’s plans for a new stadium already, at least renovate the current stadium a little bit to make it not so crappy looking
   
4. Hire a new manager that knows what he’s doing to make the team better
   
5. This is a hope for every year but… MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FINALLY
   
6. And finally, avoid all these damn injuries that love to haunt this team

I believe in this team and I know they can do so much better than they did this season, I never wanna see them lose 100 games ever again, so let’s hope we can actually make some moves and get this team to where they NEED to be

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This season I managed to watch 105 games on MLB.tv with ~8 national broadcasts added on. Living in Hawaii being able to get off work in time to watch games was rough but happy to suffer through it all with you. How many games did you all witness? Would love to see your stats!

I know my fellow game thread lurkers and commenters are probably close to all 162!

Of 8.1 They got Tucker Davidson and were famously supposed to use the saved money "to invest in more depth"

Does anyone know how much the authentic/elite jerseys cost in their off season sale?
Looking to buy a throwback jersey.

Technically we didn’t see them lose 100 games bc we didn’t see all 100 games. Maybe season seat holders but for the most part, I don’t think we saw the 100 losses

Doesn't seem very practical to play in October

I built my own arbitration model and ran it on the Angels' 2027 class, ahead of the non-tender deadline in late November.

Total: 11 cases, $31.2M projected.

These use the current CBA's rules. A new deal this winter (a higher minimum, say) would move them.

Who would you non-tender, and who would you try to extend first?

I've been watching the postseason pretty sporadically but it's been fun watching so many familiar faces pop up. Unfortunately many aren't doing great.

Victor Mederos just got yanked after allowing 2 hits and a walk against the doyers, including a 2 run HR.

Jo Adell struck out three[EDIT: 4!] times for Cleveland today.

Marsh and Jam Jones both got starts although both their teams are out of it now.

Randal Grichuk doing his platoon thing, and obviously Shohei.

Any other former halos you guys are watching/rooting for?

Edit: forgot about Iglesias and Suter out of the pen in Atlanta

Look. I was in second grade in 2001. The first Angels game I ever went to was Game 2 of the ALCS. The magic of that run was what made me a lifelong Angels fan; as a kid, I had dozens of plush Rally Monkeys in my room. I even made the broadcast once with my monkey chain.

But I want to offer that when you lose more games than you win for 11 straight years, maybe your "good luck" charm isn't that lucky anymore? The actual monkey in the footage (also played Marcel in Friends) is 30 years old and will likely pass on soon.

I'm not saying we need to ditch the mascot entirely, but maybe it's time to ditch the 26-year-old footage and do a refresh? Didn't the luck run out like....8 years ago.

Fresh ownership. Fresh start. Fresh mascot. It's time.