The Associated Press

NEW YORK - A businessman who made a fortune in billboards won unanimous approval Thursday to buy the Anaheim Angels from Disney, a deal that will make him the first minority with a controlling stake in a major-league baseball team.

Arturo Moreno hopes to complete his $184 million purchase of the World Series champions next week, he said after the voice vote by baseball owners.

"Every guy's dream is to own a baseball team," he said. "It's an opportunity I've always dreamed about."

Moreno doesn't plan any immediate changes for the Angels, who started play in 1961 and finally won their first title last year.

"It's a learning process," he said. "I'm going to sit back and listen. I've been very successful by surrounding myself with good people and keeping those people in place."

Moreno, who is Hispanic and lives in Phoenix and La Jolla, Calif., doesn't want to be thought of as a minority owner. Even when he was asked a question in Spanish, the fourth-generation American answered in English.

"The first thing is I'm an American," he said. "I'm proud to be a Mexican-American, but as far as being the first minority, I think most of us are immigrants from some place, and I think we always try to do our best to be Americans."

INDIANS: By not hustling, Milton Bradley has run into some trouble.

Bradley, yanked from Wednesday night's game after the sixth inning by Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge, was benched for the series finale against the Seattle Mariners.

"We didn't see eye to eye," said Wedge, who refused to divulge his reason for pulling Bradley. "We talked last night and we talked again today. It's over, and we're going to move forward."

BLUE JAYS: Toronto removed struggling right-hander Tanyon Sturtze from the starting rotation Thursday and replaced him with Kelvim Escobar.

Sturtze went 3-4 with a 6.14 ERA in eight starts. He signed a $1 million, one-year contract with Toronto in the offseason after going 4-18 with Tampa Bay last year.

METS: New York reliever John Franco, 42, pitched one inning Thursday in his second rehabilitation appearance, exactly one year after reconstructive surgery on his left elbow.