The Los Angeles Angels have existed for over 60 years and have remarkably little to show for it.
No, seriously, what has this team accomplished besides winning the 2002 World Series on the back of an epic Giants meltdown? A handful of playoff appearances under Mike Scioscia? Suddenly, Mike Trout and all of his talent look more and more like a superstar playing on a bad team. The same goes for 2021 MVP and pending free agent Shohei Ohtani.
The team’s problem is simple. Very slowly, ownership relied too much on free agents and ultimately at the cost of player development.