by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–I was recently invited to a local elementary school in the East Bay for Career Day. I was invited to talk to the kids (fourth graders) about broadcasting and my career in the business. The regular questions were asked, but one student asked me – when are the Athletics going to win the World Series. When I told him -and the class- that they have won a total of four(4) “one more than the Giants”they looked at me like I just arrived from the planet Mars. Even their teacher(after I have spoken) told me she didn’t know that.

Interesting, that in a world where you can Google anything and in 20 seconds find an answer, there are probably many people in the Bay Area that believe that the Giants have won more World Series than the Athletics. A lot has to do with the Giants propaganda, their beautiful stadium and ,of course, they have won three times in the last five years, but you would think that the Bay Area awash in Orange and Black would understand that there is another Major League team, that has been playing on Oakland since 1968. What came to my mind immediately is the old Janet Jackson song “What Have You Done for Me Lately”. And I can understand that. After all; how many cars were carrying those little Giants flags, before 2010?

But, can the Giants win another World Series this year and tie the Oakland Athletics Bay Area baseball record of four World Series titles?(1972,1973,1974,1989). The saying going around is that “the Giants win the Series every two years”, and that of course is just kidding. But that is what they have done during the past five seasons.

It is way too early to come to any conclusions, with approximately 45 games played by each of the thirty teams in Major League Baseball. Some teams have already started making trades to “fix”their weaknesses, others have not. The Giants ended the Casey McGehee experiment, for the time being, as they sent the third baseman to Sacramento(AAA)but there still is a chance he comes back to the Giants if Frank Duffy doesn’t do as well as many expect in the organization. And as well as things have gone for the Giants in the recent past, McGehee might comeback and be a hero in the postseason. I wonder if these same kids in this classroom remember Travis Ishikawa? Most people had no idea who was Ishikawa until that homerun.

The biggest advantage for the Giants is that they cannot lose this year to the favorite division foes Los Angeles Dodgers. Recently they have swept the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium and at AT&T Park. Still many games left, but something is happening where not even the great Clayton Kershaw can beat the Giants in 2015. This could become “mental”for the Dodgers. Baseball is a funny game, Angel Pagan is a key player for the Giants,we all know that, yet since Hunter Pence arrived from the disabled list, the team caught fire. Can the Giants pitching hold on for the next four months? Can Pagan’s back stay healthy? What kind of Matt Cain(when he comes back)the Giants will see? These, and many other questions will remain unanswered as the season makes it to the half way point, in mid-July and the All Star Game takes place in Cincinnati with Pete Rose involved in some capacity during the celebrations.

Baseball will teach everybody patience, things happen and not in a hurry, it takes time to develop a rally, sometimes a player doesn’t do well half way inside a season, and then in the second half that same player goes nuts and carries the team. I saw Mike Trout the first time the LA Angels brought him up from the minors, he could do little right, they sent him back down. We all know today who is Mike Trout.

There are many so-called experts in the game of baseball, but most of these experts could have never predicted the Giants winning three World Series. The Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958 and won their first World Series in 2010, for those counting, it took 52 years. Talking about patience? Many Giants fans I knew died before they could win the first of three titles. And I know people that work for the Giants organization that admitted to me, that they never expected to win this many in this short amount of time. Some even told me “we were lucky”.

So here we go again, although It might look like the Western Division of the National League will be between the Giants and the Dodgers, please do not forget about the San Diego Padres. One of these three teams will win the west. If you think otherwise, I suggest some serious therapy.

But, in a way, I can understand, since the Giants propaganda and publicity especially by winning three World Series since 2010, gives the impression to many that they have won the most.

NOTE: Today here at Angel Stadium in Anaheim prior to the third and last inter-league game between the Angels and the Padres I had the pleasure of talking with legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, who recently won the Ford C. Frick Award Hall of Fame for boadcasters. Enberg is the television play by play announcer for Padres baseball, and his booth was next to mine.He threw the ceremonial first pitch yesterday, and he threw it well,but today he told me his arm was “acting up”. Here in Southern California, Dick Enberg has been one of the most popular guys behind the mic, for many decades and people like Joe Torre, Dave Niehaus and Don Drysdale joined him during many baseball broadcasts. A great guy Dick Enberg. Oh My! Congratulations!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the TV Spanish voice for the Angels and the Radio Spanish voice for the A’s and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com