Mike Trout has been with the Angels for the last 11 seasons. During this period of time, the Angels had four winning seasons.

• 2011 86-76

  • 2012 89-73
  • 2014 98-64
  • 2015 85-77

The Angels only made the playoffs once in one of those four winning seasons and they were swept by the Royals.

Over that same period of time, the Athletics had 7 winning seasons and made 6 playoff appearances. They won the division in 3 of those seasons (2012, 2013, and 2020).

Why does this matter?

Your anger and disappoint is being directed at Ohtani for wanting to leave an organization that is clearly incompetent and leaving to go play for the Dodgers. The Dodgers have had 11 consecutive winning seasons and has won their division eight of the last eleven seasons, while also being in 3 separate World Series and winning one of those three.

In what world does it make sense for a player, who is given the option to play for any team, to stay with a team that has a proven track record of losing? And the Angels are not just losing, they are world class at underdevloping talent, neglecting their farm system, making poor investments within the organization, and lacking a clear direction other than “we want to win!”

What does this have to do with the Athletics? They have a proven track record at fucking over their fans, but they’ve at least given their fans something to cheer for while they got screwed out of Oakland.