The news not only shocked people around Major League Baseball, but especially the Angels fans who were preparing for, and in most cases hoping for, new ownership.
Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno announced Monday that his family has ended the scouting process for a potential sale, and he will remain the team’s owner for 2023 and beyond.
Five months ago, it looked like the Angels would be sold to the highest bidder because owner Moreno began the exploratory process to see if someone wanted to buy the team. Moreno, baseball’s first and only Hispanic owner, bought the team in 2003 from The Walt Disney Company for $183.5 million the year after the team’s only World Series title.
At first it looked like a decent fit, the Angels won five titles from 2004-2009 and made it to the ALCS in 2009 eventually losing to the eventual champion New York Yankees in six games.
Since then, the Angels have seen many ups and downs, including the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs and other controversies including mistreatment of their minor league players.
Another stigma against the team is that they employ two of the best players in the game, Mike Trott and Shuhei Ohtani, but have not made the playoffs since 2014 when they were swept in the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals.
So when the 76-year-old Moreno issued a statement Monday afternoon telling Angels fans he had decided not to sell the team, people were shocked. In the A message of 132 wordsMoreno cited “unfinished business” as his reason for changing his mind. He also said, “As the discussions progressed and began to take shape, we realized that our hearts remain with the angels, and we are not ready to separate from the fans, players and our staff.”
This news shocked not only the people surrounding Major League Baseball, but the Angels fans who were preparing and, in most cases, hoping for a new ownership.
Closed to the host angels John and Mike Frisch, lifelong fans of the team, discuss the Moreno family’s transformation in the show’s final episode.
John joked, “I will never trust anyone who uses the discovery phrase again.”
John also added that it seemed like Arte Moreno didn’t get the offer he wanted because the team was estimated to be sold for anywhere from $2.5 billion to $3 billion, so he backtracked and decided to keep the team. But she was mentioned The potential sale has moved into the late stages but Moreno has “find it hard” to part with the team he has owned for two decades.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also issued a statement saying, “Despite strong buyer interest in the Angels, Arte Moreno’s love of the game is most important to him. I am so pleased that the Moreno family has decided to continue to own the team.”
the Locked On Angels hosts He had a strong reaction to that statement as well, joking, “Good, so Rob Manfred, baseball’s number one enemy is on Arte Moreno’s side.”
Moreno’s biggest assignment comes post-season 2023: Shuhei Ohtani is a free agent and if the Angels want to have any chance of making the playoffs and eventually winning another title, they need to keep Ohtani. That alone would be a huge step toward Moreno’s goal of bringing the World Series title back to Anaheim, but many Angels fans are left wondering why things would be different now after sitting out the past 20 years of Moreno ownership.