MLB News: Lakers and LA Times Owner May be in the Running to Buy Angels
One of the more exciting announcements that happened in baseball this season was when Angels owner Arte Moreno said he was going to sell the team. The Angel franchise has been a laughing stock around the league for the last handful of years, and it has only gotten worse as time ticks on.
The club hasn’t been to the postseason since 2014 and hasn’t been above 4th place in the AL West since 2017. And, in 2022, the team is heading for its 7th straight losing season, barring a miracle.
So, the time is definitely right for Arte to get out of town… and it has been right for about 5 years.
As Dodgers fans may remember, it’s an exciting time when your team is being bid on by millionaires and billionaires. Fans in LA got truly lucky when the Guggenheim Group bought the team back in 2012. Now, fans in Orange County are hoping to get the same kind of luck.
Things are still very early in the process, but one name has emerged and has thrown a hat in the ring.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
People in LA are certainly aware of Dr. Soon-Shiong. He owns a minor stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and he owns the LA Times and its umbrella of publications. He also was in the running to buy the Dodgers back in the early 2010’s. He and his partner Steven Cohen finished runner up to Guggenheim.
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Cohen has since gone out and bought an MLB franchise on his own — the New York Mets — and now Dr. Soon-Shiong is ready to join the club.
Arte Moreno bought the Angels from the Walt Disney Company back in 2003 for $180 million. Now the franchise is projected to sell for $2.5 billion or more. Billion. With a B.
According to Forbes, Dr. Soon-Shiong has a net worth close to $7 billion.
Angel fan here, and I appreciate your write-up about this. I’ve been a fan of this team for a lonnnnnggg time (over 50 years), and I’ve seen the good and the terrible. Arte took the fans and his own players for an awful ride. He said all the right things in the very beginning, and it turned out that he lied to everyone when he said he lets his “baseball people” handle player signings etc. Did you know that the Halos have not signed a top shelf starting pitcher to a multi-year deal since CJ Wilson (free agent) and Jered Weaver (extension) 10 years ago!!! And CJ got hurt after 2 decent seasons of his 5-year deal. Not addressing the team’s biggest need–pitching–over the last several off-seasons is entirely his fault.
On no less than three occasions, Arte has lied in comments to the media over the years about having the resources to do more to improve the team. Importantly, he has also lied to Mike Trout, who deserves much, much better than playing on such lousy teams. And, no, I don’t think Shohei Ohtani will stick around beyond next season.
And the whole Los Angeles Angels thing? Stupid. Those of us with roots in Orange County would have preferred he change the name back to California Angels. He claims that being associated with LA as the major metropolitan market could get him bigger TV $$$, but if no one watches a garbage team, your chances of getting your contract renewed for big money later are absolutely non-existent.
To close, I’ll just say that I’m elated Arte is selling. There are Angels fans out there believe it or not who care about this team and want to get back to the winning side of things with an owner who has the single focus of building a championship ballclub.
Good luck to the Dodgers this postseason! You have a class organization and great fans.
Jeff