"Arte Moreno had become used to finishing second best in free agency. It had become something of a building, irritating legacy. Now Albert Pujols is his answer.

Positioned to not only challenge, but to overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers as Southern California's dominant franchise, Moreno parlayed a massive new local cable contract into the second-largest contract in the game's history: $254 million for perhaps the game's best-ever righthanded hitter.

The Angels captured a World Series championship in 2002, something the Dodgers haven't done since 1988.

They are debt-free, according to Moreno, who shelled out less than $200 million for a franchise now worth close to four times as much."