OT: Los Angeles Angels Talk

[Hockey Duckie]

No way the Samuelis are interested, and fans shouldn't want them either. A big market baseball franchise (after the $2B+ purchase price) requires a $200M+ payroll plus a ton more money spent annually on infrastructure, scouting, development, etc. There is way more involved than with a hockey franchise. After seeing the way they've pinched pennies over the years with the Ducks, the last thing you would want as an Angels fan is similar treatment when 10x more money and assets are involved.

Hopefully the new ownership is local to some degree, but all that really matters is that it's someone with a shit load of money, and passion for the game.

Maybe and off-the-wall idea, but maybe LA Clippers' (NBA) owner Steve Ballmer has more than enough money to burn, is hands off, had already has the Clippers creating their own arena, and is very passionate. I dunno if he's passionate about baseball because it's a slow moving game compared to basketball.

huh... Moreno is advertising the Angels during the season. He's generating a lot of buzz and hoping to see a potential bidding war.

 

[ADHB]

What other known billionaires is there out there that could afford to buy and maintain the Angels ?
What about an ownership group like the Dodgers and Kraken have ?

No clue. I don't pay much attention to rich people lol... but with how much money is out there these days, and how many people have made a killing in business, the market, crypto, whatever... I'm sure there's no shortage of candidates. They don't even have to be local. They can be from anywhere as long as they're committed to the team and realize how much money they can make with it in Orange County.

Obviously a situation like the Dodgers would be ideal, but even if you can get a wacko like Cohen or Ballmer, anything would be a huge step up.

 

[Rybread86]

What other known billionaires is there out there that could afford to buy and maintain the Angels ?
What about an ownership group like the Dodgers and Kraken have ?

I wouldnt doubt that ends up being a serious option. And if thats the case, the Samuelis still could be part owners and share ownership with a number of other investors.

The more I think about that, I think that could work really well. They have the organization aspects of it down, they already know the area and market, and certainly would benefit from an ownership stake, but be able to spread some of the financial burden out among a number of others.

If it went that route, regardless of the Samuelis being involved, an ownership/management group that had some investors from the area or even former athletes from the area could be interesting.

 

[Rybread86]

My main point is that there is way more involved with operating a baseball franchise. Yes, there's the huge payroll, but to be successful in the modern MLB, you have to put so much into development, analytics, affiliates, minor league staff, foreign staff, etc. Your staff is probably 50x larger than an NHL team. The Samuelis have notoriously been cheap when it comes to development, analytics, off ice staff, etc. And that doesn't even take into consideration the seasons where they wouldn't even spend an extra $5 million on the roster. Hopefully that's changing some with Verbeek coming in and implementing new systems, expanding some departments, etc. but still... the last thing I'd want is an owner who isn't willing to invest what it takes to be successful.

The stadium situation is another disaster in waiting. The Samuelis have it good with their arrangement with Honda Center and the surrounding area. Dealing with a beast like what's happening with Angel Stadium is a huge undertaking. And based on their history, I just don't see them being interested in something like that.

You dont have to be hands on to be an owner. This could be much more a business deal than a passion project. Just look at the management teams that already have in place. You put your management team in charge and back away to deal with the numbers and business deals.

You keep bringing up the Samuelis and being cheap. First, I disagree. They have shown in the past they have no problem spending to the cap to win. Secondly, its not being cheap, its investing properly. When the team isnt good enough, and everyone knows it, they arent going to waste money to acquire talent that gets them no where. This market demands that you win. If you cant, then dont waste your money. Were not hockey town and our economy doesnt revolve around hockey in SoCal.

"Know when to hold em, know when to fold em."

This is as much about business as it is about the team or winning. They have operated at a deficit many, many times. So when they know they arent in the running, cut costs where yo can to not be in the red. With that said, their marketing department could use a ton of help because in those times is when they should be ramping up, and they never seem to.

All of that is hockey. Hockey in a non-hockey centric area. Far more people will goto a baseball game "just because" than a hockey game.

The stadium thing has been as much Artes fault than anyones. They can build a new stadium in the same parking lot and play in the current stadium while its being constructed. I bet changing the name back to the Anaheim Angels would go a long way with the city too to get some help. Tell me the city wouldnt love the Angels to be named Anaheim again and have an entertainment superhub that spans from Orangewood to Cerritos Ave. Thats where the subsidizes come into play.

Thinking strictly business, it sounds like a homerun to either be the owners or be in the ownership group.

 

[BringBackTheIceman]

I think it’s gonna be Joe Lacob. Makes too much sense.

 

[Rybread86]

I think it’s gonna be Joe Lacob. Makes too much sense.

The Warriors owner? What makes you say that?

We're all going to throw out guesses and lay out really good reasons why it makes sense and then its going to be some 24 year old crypto kid out of left field.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I wouldnt doubt that ends up being a serious option. And if thats the case, the Samuelis still could be part owners and share ownership with a number of other investors.

The more I think about that, I think that could work really well. They have the organization aspects of it down, they already know the area and market, and certainly would benefit from an ownership stake, but be able to spread some of the financial burden out among a number of others.

If it went that route, regardless of the Samuelis being involved, an ownership/management group that had some investors from the area or even former athletes from the area could be interesting.

Yeah Magic Johnson is part owner of the Dodgers.
Ownership groups look like where the future is going.
It reduces the chance of one person like Arte going out of control in Al Davis mode.

 

[Rybread86]

Yeah Magic Johnson is part owner of the Dodgers.
Ownership groups look like where the future is going.
It reduces the chance of one person like Arte going out of control in Al Davis mode.

Well the days of buying a sports franchise for $70mil (Ducks) or $183mil (Angels) are over. So its either that Elon Musk comes in to buy the whole thing or you almost need an Ownership group model.

 

[ADHB]

You dont have to be hands on to be an owner. This could be much more a business deal than a passion project. Just look at the management teams that already have in place. You put your management team in charge and back away to deal with the numbers and business deals.

You keep bringing up the Samuelis and being cheap. First, I disagree. They have shown in the past they have no problem spending to the cap to win. Secondly, its not being cheap, its investing properly. When the team isnt good enough, and everyone knows it, they arent going to waste money to acquire talent that gets them no where. This market demands that you win. If you cant, then dont waste your money. Were not hockey town and our economy doesnt revolve around hockey in SoCal.

"Know when to hold em, know when to fold em."

This is as much about business as it is about the team or winning. They have operated at a deficit many, many times. So when they know they arent in the running, cut costs where yo can to not be in the red. With that said, their marketing department could use a ton of help because in those times is when they should be ramping up, and they never seem to.

All of that is hockey. Hockey in a non-hockey centric area. Far more people will goto a baseball game "just because" than a hockey game.

The stadium thing has been as much Artes fault than anyones. They can build a new stadium in the same parking lot and play in the current stadium while its being constructed. I bet changing the name back to the Anaheim Angels would go a long way with the city too to get some help. Tell me the city wouldnt love the Angels to be named Anaheim again and have an entertainment superhub that spans from Orangewood to Cerritos Ave. Thats where the subsidizes come into play.

Thinking strictly business, it sounds like a homerun to either be the owners or be in the ownership group.

The Samuelis refused to spend to the cap when the team was in its window back in the mid 2010's. And it's a fact that historically their off ice staff has been much smaller than most other teams. Like I said, hopefully that's changing to some extent with the new management.

As for hands on or hands off, I never brought that up. But certainly ownership has to approve the overall budget, even if those working under them are managing everything. And there have always been limits with the Ducks, despite the fact that the Samuelis have so little use for their money that their main business is giving it away. No one said they should go crazy in free agency or anything when it's not warranted. But certainly a "smaller market" team could take advantage in other areas, maybe by having a bigger development staff, or a bigger analytics staff, or bigger strength/conditioning department, etc. That hasn't ever been the case though.

You brought up possibly being involved as partners of a larger group. That I could see being much more possible and much more beneficial than them trying to buy the club outright. And barring an egotistical billionaire similar to Cohen buying the team, hopefully that's the setup we see. A structure similar to the Dodgers would be ideal.

And besides, I think this is all pointless speculation anyway. The Samuelis likely have no interest. I'd be surprised anyway. Susan is the big hockey person, and likely a big factor in them buying the Ducks. Henry is a basketball guy. I'd expect any potential new acquisition (if any) to be NBA and not MLB.

Yeah Magic Johnson is part owner of the Dodgers.
Ownership groups look like where the future is going.
It reduces the chance of one person like Arte going out of control in Al Davis mode.

Well to be fair, the Dodgers have one majority owner who put up a huge chunk. Magic Johnson has a tiny share. Guessing they involved him for publicity and marketing reasons.

 

[BringBackTheIceman]

The Warriors owner? What makes you say that?

We're all going to throw out guesses and lay out really good reasons why it makes sense and then its going to be some 24 year old crypto kid out of left field.

Grew up in Anaheim as an Angel fan. First Job was working at the stadium. Tried to buy the team from Disney and has tried to buy the Dodgers and A’s as recently as this year so obviously interested in owning a baseball team. All that being said it will probably be someone on no one’s radar haha.

 

[Rybread86]

Grew up in Anaheim as an Angel fan. First Job was working at the stadium. Tried to buy the team from Disney and has tried to buy the Dodgers and A’s as recently as this year so obviously interested in owning a baseball team. All that being said it will probably be someone on no one’s radar haha.

Didnt know that! Yeah then he would be an option too I would think.

 

[Rybread86]

The Samuelis refused to spend to the cap when the team was in its window back in the mid 2010's. And it's a fact that historically their off ice staff has been much smaller than most other teams. Like I said, hopefully that's changing to some extent with the new management.

As for hands on or hands off, I never brought that up. But certainly ownership has to approve the overall budget, even if those working under them are managing everything. And there have always been limits with the Ducks, despite the fact that the Samuelis have so little use for their money that their main business is giving it away. No one said they should go crazy in free agency or anything when it's not warranted. But certainly a "smaller market" team could take advantage in other areas, maybe by having a bigger development staff, or a bigger analytics staff, or bigger strength/conditioning department, etc. That hasn't ever been the case though.

You brought up possibly being involved as partners of a larger group. That I could see being much more possible and much more beneficial than them trying to buy the club outright. And barring an egotistical billionaire similar to Cohen buying the team, hopefully that's the setup we see. A structure similar to the Dodgers would be ideal.

And besides, I think this is all pointless speculation anyway. The Samuelis likely have no interest. I'd be surprised anyway. Susan is the big hockey person, and likely a big factor in them buying the Ducks. Henry is a basketball guy. I'd expect any potential new acquisition (if any) to be NBA and not MLB.


Well to be fair, the Dodgers have one majority owner who put up a huge chunk. Magic Johnson has a tiny share. Guessing they involved him for publicity and marketing reasons.

Main reason for buying or partially buying the Angels for them wouldnt be for love of the game. It would be for expansion and business reasons. For that reason alone, I would think they at least have discussions about it.

I still disagree about them being cheap. I think they are practical. For the right players, they will spend to the cap. You also have to consider you were viewing it through the lens of Murray the GM who tried to find bargains everywhere and never wanted to pay asking price. Maybe it was a mix of the two at certain times but weve been at the ceiling before, there isnt always an internal budget.

 

[AngelDuck]

I wonder if Musk would kick the tires

 

[Rybread86]

I wonder if Musk would kick the tires

I think Musk is done doing business in CA

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Mark Cuban has always wanted a MLB team.

 

[ADHB]

Lacob went to UCI also, so plenty of connections to the area.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

No way the Samuelis are interested, and fans shouldn't want them either. A big market baseball franchise (after the $2B+ purchase price) requires a $200M+ payroll plus a ton more money spent annually on infrastructure, scouting, development, etc. There is way more involved than with a hockey franchise. After seeing the way they've pinched pennies over the years with the Ducks, the last thing you would want as an Angels fan is similar treatment when 10x more money and assets are involved.

Hopefully the new ownership is local to some degree, but all that really matters is that it's someone with a shit load of money, and passion for the game.

I already get that with Arte though, and WITH the added benefit of him being mocked relentlessly for taking the name of the city 35 miles away and using that "big-market" leverage to avoid spending $200M (let alone the luxury tax) on payroll every season while allowing his GMs the bare minimum of spending around the margins and having to scrounge the waiver wire in mid-June when the pitifully thin roster inevitably suffers injuries.

At least with the Samuelis, I get the appeal of watching them try to build their fanbase up at the grassroots level in the market their team actually plays in (which is absolutely not an issue with baseball, this is one of the best amateur hotbeds in the entire country), they try to build fan engagement, their amateur scouting is consistently excellent (never forget that Arte gutted his department a week before the 2020 draft to save money), and though I have had qualms about how they handled Sean Skahan's tenure, they generally try to bring in high-quality support staff and appear to have given Verbeek and Solomon carte blanche to build out an analytics department. You're right it's on a completely different scale in terms of staffing, but Moreno loses because he constantly misunderstands why teams win, and I think the Samuelis grasp at least the basics.

 

[ADHB]

I already get that with Arte though, and WITH the added benefit of him being mocked relentlessly for taking the name of the city 35 miles away and using that "big-market" leverage to avoid spending $200M (let alone the luxury tax) on payroll every season while allowing his GMs the bare minimum of spending around the margins and having to scrounge the waiver wire in mid-June when the pitifully thin roster inevitably suffers injuries.

At least with the Samuelis, I get the appeal of watching them try to build their fanbase up at the grassroots level in the market their team actually plays in (which is absolutely not an issue with baseball, this is one of the best amateur hotbeds in the entire country), they try to build fan engagement, their amateur scouting is consistently excellent (never forget that Arte gutted his department a week before the 2020 draft to save money), and though I have had qualms about how they handled Sean Skahan's tenure, they generally try to bring in high-quality support staff and appear to have given Verbeek and Solomon carte blanche to build out an analytics department. You're right it's on a completely different scale in terms of staffing, but Moreno loses because he constantly misunderstands why teams win, and I think the Samuelis grasp at least the basics.

I agree with all this FWIW.

But it’s all moot anyway. Times has already reported Samuelis aren’t expected to be interested, which I figured.

One interesting name, who wouldn‘t be the owner, but could be a major player if they want him to be is Theo Epstein. Think he would be very interested if some rich guys buy the team and give him carte blanche to build the organization in his vision. He’s supposedly happy in his current position with the league, but I’m guessing he’s just waiting for the perfect opportunity to come up.

 

[TheStuntman]

Another name that's being thrown that might be interested in the Angels is Rams/Nuggets/Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke.

 

[Quack Shot]

Interested to see where this goes. I haven’t really followed the team since I was a kid before the name change. Had the entire lineup memorized as an 8 year old through that entire championship run.

Would love to see them go back to the Anaheim Angels and an owner that isn’t so involved.

 

[McDonald19]

Angels value: $2.2 Billion

Henry Samueli net worth: $6.9 Billion

Source: Forbes

 

[AngelDuck]

They’re going to sell for more than that, I’m pretty positive. I see them selling for around 3 billion

 

[McDonald19]

They’re going to sell for more than that, I’m pretty positive. I see them selling for around 3 billion

It depends on who is really interested.

If it’s someone like Steve Ballmer buying the Angels to move them to west LA I could see $3 billion.

If interest is lower than expected and it ends up being an investor group trying to keep the team in Anaheim I’d say $2 to $2.5 billion.

 

[bsu]

Angels value: $2.2 Billion

Henry Samueli net worth: $6.9 Billion

Source: Forbes

Angels seem like a bottomless pit (from multiple directions) in Anaheim to me. They have two players in their prime that are all time greats but it's going to take years and years to rebuild that team and fanbase. Doubt Samueli is interested at all.

 

[AngelDuck]

Angels seem like a bottomless pit (from multiple directions) in Anaheim to me. They have two players in their prime that are all time greats but it's going to take years and years to rebuild that team and fanbase. Doubt Samueli is interested at all.

With the correct management in place I don’t believe it will take as long as you think it will. They’re just terribly mismanaged.

Regardless, buying a sports team is always a long term investment