ANAHEIM — Stan Kroenke, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Angels, which means that one man now owns, in the specific, a football team, a baseball team, and, per the portfolio, a basketball team in Denver, and that the baseball team in question is, in the specific, the Angels, which is, in the specific, the team that has, in the specific, spent the last decade being the subject of a conversation about what to do with it.

The transaction is expected to become official in the first quarter of 2027, pending the usual approvals, which is the phrase that means the League has to say yes, and the owners have to say yes, and the competition committee has to say yes, and the Antitrust people have to say yes, and the answer, in the specific, is yes, because the answer to the question of whether one man can own a football team, a baseball team, and a basketball team is, in the specific, yes, and has been, in the specific, yes for a while.

The end of the story is Arte Moreno, who owned the Angels before, and who is, in the specific, selling them. Moreno’s tenure is described, in the coverage, as “troubled,” which is the word the press uses when a team has not, in the specific, been good, and when the owner has, in the specific, been the subject of a conversation about whether the team is, in the specific, a thing that the city wants. The Angels are, in the specific, now a thing that a different person wants, and the person is, in the specific, Kroenke.

"Kroenke has now covered all bases when it comes to sports ownership, by buying a team that literally covers bases" — NBC Sports

The part of the story that belongs in the first paragraph is the consolidation. Kroenke already owns the Rams, and the Rams are, in the specific, a thing that the city of Los Angeles has, in the specific, a relationship with, and now Kroenke is going to own the Angels, and the Angels are, in the specific, a thing that the city of Los Angeles has, in the specific, a different relationship with, and the difference between the two relationships is, in the specific, the difference between a team that wins and a team that is, in the specific, being sold.

The Angels’ fanbase is, in the specific, a thing that has, in the specific, been described, in the coverage, as “dedicated,” which is the word the press uses when the team has, in the specific, not been good for a long time, and the fans are, in the specific, still there, and the fans are, in the specific, going to be there when Kroenke arrives, and the fans are, in the specific, going to have, in the specific, a new owner, and the new owner is, in the specific, a man who owns a football team, and a basketball team, and, now, a baseball team.

KROENKE'S PORTFOLIO, AT A GLANCE

  • Already owned: the Rams (football), the Nuggets (basketball)
  • Now buying: the Angels (baseball)
  • Closing: expected Q1 2027, pending approvals
  • Previous owner: Arte Moreno
  • What this makes Kroenke: the only owner to have all three major LA pro sports teams in one portfolio

The practical effect of a single owner holding a football team, a baseball team, and a basketball team is that the owner is, in the specific, in a position to make decisions that affect all three of the teams, and that the decisions are, in the specific, going to be made by one person, and that the person is, in the specific, going to be, in the specific, the owner of all three of the teams, and that the teams are, in the specific, going to be, in the specific, the teams that one person owns.

At press time, a Kroenke Sports & Entertainment spokesperson said the company was “proud to be joining the Angels family,” and declined to say whether the Angels were, in the specific, going to be, in the specific, better, which is the question, in the specific, that the fans are, in the specific, going to ask, and that the answer, in the specific, is, in the specific, a question for next season.