New Arte Moreno interview reveals why Angels owner backed out of sale

Arte Moreno has not done a public interview in years. He has refused to answer questions from the local media that covers the Los Angeles Angels which is unacceptable as there are plenty of things he should be answering for. While that's certainly the case, Moreno has done a couple of interviews with national reporters.

Moreno spoke to Jon Heyman of the NY Post soon after deciding he was not going to sell the Angels like he said he was before. Speaking was good, but he didn't really say much. In this newest interview with Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, Moreno gave us a little more insight as to why he did not sell the team, and they touched on other interesting topics as well.

New Arte Moreno interview reveals why Angels owner backed out of sale

Los Angeles Angels fans thought they were finally going to get a fresh start. They thought the days of Arte Moreno running the team were over, and that they'd get a new owner ready to do whatever it takes to win at the helm. Unfortunately, those dreams died when Arte Moreno opted not to sell the team.

Many people thought Moreno pulled the Angels off the market potentially because he did not get enough for the team to his liking. It turns out, that couldn't be further from the truth.

“I had some big numbers,” he says. “Yeah, it was above the Mets’ number. Well, it was considerably above the Mets number. I think I have one offer on my phone I can show you I got that was not only what I was looking for, I got more.” One source said Moreno turned down at least one offer of “more than $3 billion.” Moreno would not confirm or deny that figure. He did tell the story of meeting with one bidder at Angel Stadium that he says helps explain why he did not sell.

Moreno says pretty clearly that he got even more than whatever it was that he was looking for. He got several offers that beat the Mets purchase price of $2.4 billion, and money was not the reason why he backed out of the sale.

Moreno backed out of the sale because he simply wasn't ready to go. He says he loves the game too much, and couldn't go through with it. “When you got right down to it, I didn’t want to go.”

Moreno's tenure with the Angels has featured more downs than ups for Angels fans. They're in the midst of eight straight losing seasons. Nine straight seasons without a playoff appearance. Moreno refuses to spend like an owner of a team he calls the Los Angeles Angels should spend. There are several stories about his outdated facilities, mistreatment of minor leaguers, and stadium problems just to name a few.

The Angels could potentially lose Shohei Ohtani for nothing, something Moreno seems to not even be thinking about as he says there's no shot they trade him if they're close to competing.

If Moreno loves the game so much and he couldn't leave, he should look himself in the mirror and do better. Improve not only the MLB team, but the organization as a whole. Angels fans who are upset about this decision and his rationale have every right to be.