Angels broadcast crew goes scorched earth on MLB over negative press

The Angels broadcast team went in on a multitude of issues facing Major League Baseball:

“Negative story after negative story. Scandal after scandal. A fiasco in Oakland. You have these ridiculous looking jerseys. You have the MLBPA challenging the league about the pitch clock today, because of constant pitcher injuries. And not to mention, your global superstar is embroiled in a betting scandal. But on top of all of that, you have a young player trying to make a name for himself, who has come up and reached base safely in every single game that he has played. And the league allows this scoring change to go on, to end his streak, kill this story. A positive story that’s happening in Major League Baseball. It is an absurdity.”

The Angels broadcast was referring to Schanuel’s streak of reaching base through a hit, walk, or hit by pitch in every game this season except for the March 30 game against the Orioles now that his infield single has been changed to an error.

In naming all of the problems facing Major League Baseball this season, it’s interesting that Randazzo mentioned Ohtani and the betting issue. Ohtani spent his entire career with the Angels before signing with the Dodgers this offseason.

No word yet on whether the Angels or the league will discipline the broadcast team for their remarks.

Los Angeles Angels without Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers rocked the entire sports world. But Mike Trout and the Angels are moving on despite losing one of the best players the game has ever seen. Trout addressed Ohtani’s absence and how it is impacting the Halos just before the season started.

“I knew it was going to be a lot different. When you lose a guy like Shohei, what he obviously does on the field… It’s a little bit quieter in the clubhouse,” Trout said. “We’ve had a great start to camp. We are eager to get going.”

Rumors about a potential Mike Trout trade swirled throughout the offseason. And in all honesty, it would not have been surprising to see Trout ask to be moved. The Angels have not reached the playoffs since 2014, and they failed to receive much of anything in return after losing Ohtani.

Trout’s loyalty can’t be questioned, though. He wants to win, but he wants to do it in Anaheim. Although Trout left the door open for a possible trade at some point in the future, he has made it clear that right now he’s focused on playing with the Angels.