Arte Moreno takes Angels off market, will continue as owner
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels proprietor Arte Moreno has determined to not promote the staff.
Moreno took his franchise off the market Monday after saying his plan to discover a sale of the staff final August. The 76-year-old proprietor met with potential consumers throughout the winter.
“During this process, it became clear that we have unfinished business and feel we can make a positive impact on the future of the team and the fan experience,” Moreno said in a statement. “This offseason, we committed to a franchise record player payroll, and still want to accomplish our goal of bringing a World Series championship back to our fans.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned he’s “very happy” Moreno is staying within the recreation.
“Despite sturdy purchaser curiosity within the Angels, Arte Moreno’s love of the sport is most vital to him,” Manfred mentioned.
Moreno is an outside promoting mogul from Arizona who initially purchased the Angels from the Walt Disney Company in 2003, shortly after the franchise gained its solely championship.
Moreno instantly confirmed a willingness to spend cash to draw big-name free brokers to Orange County, and the Angels gained 5 AL West titles throughout his first seven seasons of possession. But Moreno additionally angered a lot of his staff’s followers early in his tenure by dropping Anaheim from the franchise’s title in a bid to enhance the franchise’s marketability and tv visibility.
The Angels’ fortunes below Moreno have flagged mightily since an look within the ALCS in 2009. Despite a hefty payroll and big-market fan assist, the Halos haven’t gained a playoff video games previously 13 years, making only one postseason look in 2014 and getting swept.
The Angels are at present mired within the majors’ longest streaks of shedding seasons (seven) and non-playoff seasons (eight, tied with Detroit) regardless of the presence of former AL MVPs Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on their roster.
While Moreno’s willingness to write down large checks has by no means waned, his insistence on involving himself in a number of the Angels’ greatest offers has drawn heavy criticism and barely yielded good outcomes. Moreno made the ultimate resolution handy out large contracts to a number of gamers together with Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Anthony Rendon lately, and almost each one among his big-money free agent gambles hasn’t paid off richly as as he hoped.
The Angels’ most up-to-date indignity wasn’t solely Moreno’s fault: He reached a cope with the Anaheim metropolis authorities to buy Angel Stadium in October 2020 with plans to redevelop the majors’ fourth-oldest ballpark and the land surrounding it, just for the transaction to disintegrate in 2022 amid a political scandal surrounding the sale that led to the resignation of Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu.
Moreno mentioned he met “with a number of highly qualified individuals and groups who expressed strong interest in the club” whereas exploring a sale.
“However, as discussions advanced and began to crystallize, we realized our hearts remain with the Angels, and we are not ready to part ways with the fans, players, and our employees,” Moreno added.
