Photo credit: @Vince_Cestone

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, April 25, 2019

On Tuesday, the Athletics announced that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A’s of the County’s 50 percent interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $85 million.

The County Board of Supervisors and the A’s will now work to draft acquisition documents based on the non-binding term sheet. The final acquisition documents will require approval by the Board of Supervisors.

The Coliseum site is currently owned jointly by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. If the transaction is finalized, the A’s will own the County’s 50 percent interest in the site.

In November 2018, the A’s unveiled their vision for the redevelopment of the Coliseum site, seeking to transform the current Coliseum site in ways that will address several specific community needs and opportunities expressed by East Oakland residents.

Working with the city, public agencies, and community residents, the A’s seek to revitalize the Coliseum site by pulling the adjacent neighborhood fabric into the site and creating new economic, cultural, and recreational opportunities.

Preliminary plans include a large park, surrounded by substantial new housing, including affordable housing, a skills center, community gathering space, office and retail developments, and restaurants.

The new park would be anchored by the two focal points of Oakland sports history: Oracle Arena, repurposed as a concert and cultural events center; and the original Coliseum baseball diamond, preserved to inspire the next generation of ballplayers.

There was, however, no further statement concerning the possible construction of a new baseball stadium on the current Coliseum site.

OL’ CROOKED HAT TIES CY
Around the Turn of the Century, “Cy” Young pitched in 906 major league games. A’s reliever Fernando Rodney pitched his 906th career game last Saturday against Toronto.

There is, of course, a difference. Hall of Famer Young started 815 of his games, and Rodney has not started a game since his MLB debut in 2002.

Rodney, by the way, is fifth on the all-time list for games without a start. John Franco is first with 1,119, followed by Kent Tekulve with 1,050, Trevor Hoffman (1,035) and Francisco Rodriguez (948).

Rodney is also the last active MLB player who was born in the 1970s.

A’s FACE TORONTO THIS WEEKEND
The A’s will try to avenge a three-game sweep they suffered at the hands of Toronto last week, when they start a three-game weekend home series against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays’ top prospect, is expected to be in the Toronto lineup. Guerrero was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday. He was hitting .367, with a .424 OBP, three home runs and eight RBIs at Buffalo.

Friday’s probables are righthanders Marcus Stroman (1-3, 1.76) for Toronto and Mike Fiers (2-2, 8.28) for Oakland.