This is just a quick conspiracy theory to ponder. There are many unresolved things that might be inhibiting Arte Moreno from getting the best price for the Angels. Consider:
•The Angels are heavily revenue-dependent on their TV rights deal and the era of streaming is going to kill that golden goose in a year or so…
•That he hasn’t settled the Tyler Skaggs related civil litigation means the potential for a big bucks loss could have affected the price he was able to get – this could be a negotiation roadblock too – would Arte be indemnifying the future owners by accepting a few dozen million dollars less in the sale price?
•The ultimate resolution of the City of Anaheim’s aging stadium and the asphalt that surrounds it. The sale price minus any sweetheart deals is up in the air. The laws about building affordable housing units affect the ultimate value to any developments. And most of all, there is an open FBI investigation surrounding the whole thing that again must affect the dollars Arte could potentially get.
To misquote Donald Rumsfeld, there are not a lot of known knowns about the near-term future of the Angels franchise off the field. Now add to that the known unknowns on the field, specifically regarding the possible signing of Shohei Ohtani and you have a sale price that is adversely affected by circumstance beyond one’s control, ohhhhh, ohhh.
BUT… what if the confusion about payouts is not Moreno’s motivation in his recent about-face? If MLB is at all close to expansion, adding two teams could be delivering team owners a substantial payday. If two new expansion team were to pay $1.5 Billion each for the rights to add their teams to the major leagues, that would be $100 Million going to each current franchise. That is probably enough to settle the Skaggs litigation AND pay any impropriety fines involving the City of Anaheim.
If Arte Moreno knows that waiting two years will net him a hundred million dollars and not diminish the value of his major market draw of a franchise, does he sit on the inside information and wait until the waning spoonfuls of his septugenarian stew to sell? Just a thought…
Photo of Arte by the one and only Rex Fregosi
The hatred towards Arte is misdirected and undeserved I feel. Thank God he didn’t sell to the LA Times or Warriors owners or we would have ended up with our team becoming another lost corporate neo liberal woke franchise.
I have approved your comments, which were impounded by the software because you are new. Easy on the politics, though.
As a season ticket holder since 1978 believe me I completely understand the frustrations. I am absolutely miffed at the hatred aimed at Arte. He has spent the money on free agents lost draft picks because of that hurting the farm system watched all our promising talent and superstars constantly injured or underperform yet in the 20 years he has owned the Angels only the Yankees and Red Sox have won more games. I personally am happy he didn’t sell. Arte is one of the last private owners in all of sports not backed by corporate money and a man of principle and values. Had any of these proposed buyers purchased our team I guarantee the Halos would have turned into another main stream corporate neo liberal woke franchise. THANK GOD. In America it is still legal to spend your haed earned money on whatever you’d like and/or sell and expect a return on your investment. If you don’t like sticking by our team I oblige any of you the easy way out…. start rooting for the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, Mets or Padres. 😂
Go Halos!!! World Series awaits in ’23 ❤️😇⚾️
The Phoenix Suns just sold for $4B
I have to think the Angels are worth at least that and more.
All it takes is one buyer to pay that.
If Arte can develop a new stadium and the surrounding property then $4B would be on the low side.
All I know is that if two guys out there need, likely, a combined 5 billion dollars to create two new franchises from scratch at this point I’d take that money and build a competing regional league. Lots of cities own their AA/AAA stadiums. Set up in Austin, New Orleans, Memphis, OKC, Jacksonville, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio. Do something innovative, like start a local academy system like “futbol” teams do and get seventh graders training to be local stars while offering high school and college prospects who would be round 3-10 draft picks more money to get a faster start to their careers. Double the games per day, have the “developmental team” play an afternoon or night game and the “Big Club” play a headliner.
Hell, look at all the shit everyone currently hates about baseball and change it. Need to get those two games in per day? Pitch clock. Less innings per game. Foul ball limits. Move the mound back. Make everything faster and less boring. Cheerleaders. “Supporters” clubs that arrange travel to away games, team songs and bands….. pop sizzle weeeez
All I know is there are a lot of things a couple smart guys with a few million dollars can do rather than plop it down in front of Bob Nutting.
Arte is a selfish man that has noted that others will turn the Angels into a money-making winning team. Arte does not have the knowledge of how to make this team into a force. He is upset that he is not revealed and respected as he feels he is entitled, especially as a rich Latino. Those folks in my life have been in touch with us to either laugh, bust my balls or make fun of the team. We feel the Dodgers will be Ohtani’s next home, why not. The Dodgers have the Venue (Sans parking) , the money, the fans, and a winning team that knows how to continue to win.
Do the math, last year we had a payroll of 189 million or so, add Shohei’s bump in pay and you come up with the fact we are actually spending less on surrounding he and Trout with better players.
I have not been in Arte’s corner for years, while not “butt hurt” about not signing big name FA’s, I have been aware for too long that skimping on building a winning organization. No Sale rung up on the register is really very funny in some ways and really not funny in others. We may never know why the no sale, but this is not about the team, employee’s or fans, this is about a big ego that cannot accept the fact he is so disrespected and disliked.
Expansion would just about kill the sport. There are not enough players to go around as it is currently, the sport has attendance issues now for non-winning teams. Even winning teams have issues making money such as Oakland when they are winning, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Denver. Cities wanting teams should take on the teams having problems, not additional teams that won’t make MLB a much more attractive experience and sport for it’s fans.
agree 10000%
Follow the money.
My best theory:
At his heart he’s a real estate guy. The stadium resolution is closer than it appears.
Or at least Arte thinks he can pull off a stadium deal.
I’m with you completely. This has something to do with the stadium.
This was my first thought as well– something with the Stadium deal must have changed. Considering also that the deal falling through was what seemed to kick off Arte’s claim to want to sell in the first place.
Conspiracy theories and speculation abound. Alas, no one seems to know the hard inside information.
As for other franchises, folks in Vegas seem to think the As are moving there. Don’t know about expansion generally.
The Skaggs thing can be handled in any sale just by leaving the liabilities with Arte. So that wouldn’t scuttle the actual sale.
Everything else is raw guessing. Of course, if waiting for expansion is the answer, you’ve missed your best Trout and Ohtani window to sell so how is that helping?
I don’t think expansion will happen before relocation. I do think if Moreno has extra money in hand and his settlements, fines, etc allow those to file for larger sums in damages then he’ll lose more money sooner vs later. Say he keeps the team, pays less in damages and the pockets more money in 3-5 years, that’s what I envision the motivation of Arte. Add that if he holds out 5 yrs, pays less in damages and makes more from broadcasting deals and additional ways it’s win win for greedy Arte
Yeah. The Rays and A’s are gonna get solved before new teams get invented. And they aren’t inventing new teams right after they move/solve those issues. Then the “awarded” teams get a couple years to get organized. Expansion’s at least a few years away, maybe even a decade.
2 tinfoil hat theories:
Then he should adopt a couple kids that like baseball so he can die in office
I’ve been LMAO (Literally) at those that thought Moreno was getting lowball offers. Sometimes you just need to stop needless (Clueless?) h8in!
I don’t know what the future holds in store Halo wise, but I hope this moves us closer to signing Ohtani long-term.
This /\ is what I’m thinking.
Ohtani and Arte have agreed.
On a backroom extension deal.
At least make it a haiku:
this is what I think
ohtani will soon resign
backroom extension
Thinking positive…a novel concept for most on this site.
If your going for positive you might want to change resign to re-sign.
One report says Arte got cold feet.
With multiple bidders, not sure what Arte’s game is here. Next time he puts the team up for sale, who’s going to want to go through this process, only to have the rug pulled at the last minute?
https://twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1617940908670058496
Seller’s remorse?
So Maybe Arte is so delusional that he believes that these record offers he received for the team were actually a ringing endorsement of how well he operates his baseball team on a day to day basis despite what all the know nothings in the press, in the cheap seats and even here on this site think of his team’s performance the last 12 years.
Yeah that sounds like Arte. No conspiracies necessary, the guy is just emotional and wishy washy.
Naw, I don’t think we have any evidence that Arte is wishy washy, or even emotional in the sense you mean (irrational and overly reactive).
Cold feet? Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson say hello.
That does not make sense. People don’t get “cold feet” when selling. They get cold feet when buying. Did the motivations for selling go away or disappear? If not, then the idea of squeezing more money out by waiting a couple of years make sense… I mean, the explanation Arte gave the media sounds like total BS.
You don’t wake up one morning 6 mos to a year after making such a huge life-changing decision that had to have been carefully thought out and discussed with his family and suddenly realize “I have unfinished business.” That is total BS.
This is total BS.
“You don’t get cold feet when selling”? Seriously?
Ummm, no it’s not.
The idiom “getting cold feet” typically refers to backing out of a plan “which requires a long term commitment (.)” This could be getting married, or the act of making a major purchase like buying a home or a professional sports franchise. Selling is not like that, since once your possession is sold any obligation to it or around it is gone.
You are the one pushing the BS.
Check it out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_feet
Interesting details on Alden’s thread:
2.5 BILLION! Definitely not chump change.
One of the buyers from Asia. Probably the japanese group that was mentioned a few months ago.
Source close to negotiations allegedly called the Angels “crowned jewel of a franchise.” Maybe Arte realized holding the Angels is worth more for and to him than selling it and getting the cash.
Here is why the Angels are considered a crown jewel instead of just a family jewel: https://twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1617941724185391104
Bingo – your last sentence is the key point! Arte must believe that he has some opportunity to leverage a higher value out of the franchise. From what I can see the only thing big enough to do that is having another inside shot at buying the property.
Manfraud claims no expansion until Tampa & Oakland settle their own stadium deals so 2 years may be little optimistic if hes really obsessed with that extra $100 million.
The way both Guggenheim & Ballmer blew everyone away and wrote blank checks to acquire the scandal riddled Doyers and Clippers makes me think that motivated by trying save “only” an extra $100 million is trivial chump change.
I believe nixing the sale was more about finalizing a development deal for the team and a new stadium.(whether its here or elsewhere) Lets face it Arte negotiated a killer stadium development deal for him and his family two different times that would have increased his family’s net worth (whether it was the team or the development company) by at least a billion dollars if the deal had gone through. That had to be so frustrating to watch a deal that they had worked on for years blow up into smoke at the 11th hour. In fact the frustration probably led to a decision to put the team up for sale only to realize now he can pickup where he left off with a new Anaheim administration or even a new City and finally max out the teams value.
Every shrewd businessman and developer I’ve ever been around NEVER leaves any amount of money on the table. Arte who sold built up his billboard company and sold it for a record $8 Billion dollars 25 years ago is no different today.
The good thing about expansion is the ability to shed a “No trade” or high dollar contracted player. You simply leave them unprotected.
Of course, we go back to uneven numbered divisions.
“Now batting for your Hawaii Surfers……..number 6…..second baseman….David Fletcher….(Cheers)”
LOL
Or you just add one team in each league and you become the NFL with 4 divisions and 2 to 3 wild cards in each league.
You could even go back to the old 2 division format that the league had from 1969 to 1995 but then have 4 wild cards per league
Interesting angle.
We’ll probably never really know why Arte scuttled the sale unless one of the potential buyers leaks something out. Arte keeps a tight ship. His college buddies are super loyal.