The first clue came last week, when Patrick O’Neal changed the “About” section of his LinkedIn profile to read “free agent.”
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A few eagle-eyed fans took to social media to remark on the absence of O’Neal, a fixture on the Los Angeles Angels’ pre- and postgame shows (and an occasional play-by-play broadcaster) for more than a decade.
On May 13, the Angels finally addressed O’Neal’s absence, without saying why he left. Perhaps the reason was too obvious.
The #Angels released the following statement on Patrick O'Neal's departure from the broadcast team:
The Angels organization would like to thank Patrick O’Neal for his 13 years of dedication to the Angels broadcast team. He brought a sense of pride to each telecast, something…
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) May 13, 2026
“The Angels organization would like to thank Patrick O’Neal for his 13 years of dedication to the Angels broadcast team,” read a statement posted to the Angels’ PR account on X. “He brought a sense of pride to each telecast, something that was felt by Angels fans watching at home.”
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The Angels were among the last MLB teams to terminate their contract with Main Street Sports Group, the soon-to-be-defunct network that had aired the team’s games on a local cabel channel. The channel has since re-branded as “Angels Broadcast TV.”
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The knockdown effects of Main Street’s bankruptcy touched everything from the Angels’ free agent signings to their decision to stop sending their radio broadcasters, Terry Smith and Mark Langston, on the road.
Apparently, it has now cost one of the most familiar faces to the Angels’ TV audience his job.
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O’Neal joined FOX Sports in July 2000. Blessed with a conversational versatility in many sports, he survived every name change to the Angels’ regional sports network until this year.
I was blessed to work with these two tremendous and generous LA Clippers broadcasters, Brian Sieman and Mike Fratello. Like seriously, Brian is so good at what he does. And the Czar was awesome to hang with. I had fun!
Oh, @BSieman apologizes for the one hair out of place 😂 pic.twitter.com/XBA03If9nE
— Patrick O'Neal (@Patrick_ONeal) November 23, 2023
His work with the Fox/Bally/FanDuel-branded channel made O’Neal a fixture before, during and after live broadcasts for the Los Angeles Kings, among other local teams over the years. O’Neal was nominated for six Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Reporting, winning the honor in 2006 and 2018.
Losing O’Neal’s institutional knowledge of the Angels comes weeks after the death of Garrett Anderson. The franchise’s all-time hits leader was an analyst on the team’s pre- and postgame shows.