Baltimore Orioles catcher Andy Rutschman 25 year old who was the number one pick in the 2019 MLB draft and is off to an amazing start this season is seen here Mar 30, 2023 against the Boston Red Sox on opening day at Fenway Park in Boston (AP News)

A’s Fans might need Reparations

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

In my last article, I wrote about the “new” or unfamiliar words we have not seen or used in the English language in recent memory. Well, the way the Oakland A’s (2-7) are playing this season, so far, one of those words comes into my mind; r e p a r a t i o n s, a word that is all over the news these days.

If anything the last Saturday and Sunday in Tampa where the A’s were shut out in back-to-back days with the same score 11-0 might be enough at least if not reparations for the A’s fans (all joking aside) mitigate their pain and suffering with some free promotions for games at home.

Forget they might move, they are still in Oakland and they’re still the Oakland A’s, as they have been since 1968. In the recent three games at Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays (9-0) outscored the A’s 31 to 5.

True, the Tampa Bay Rays have started the season with a red-hot 9-0 record, which is the best start in a season for a team in the wild-card era. Tampa Bay is the only unbeaten team so far in 2023, During a 162-game season there is no weak team or invincible team.

But let’s also remember the Rays’ 9-0 record to start this season has been against three of the less talented teams in all of baseball. Opening the season at home in Tropicana Fields, they faced Detroit, Washington, and Oakland, so they swept all 3-game series and open this week on top of the major league world.

The Rays also matched the best start to a major league season in 20 years and outscored the opponents 75-19, the most runs scored so far this season while allowing the fewest. The last team to win the first nine games of a season where the Kansas City Royals in 2003.

The Rays have won each and every one of those nine games by four or more runs and they trailed only a 13-game run by the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association.

The A’s left Tampa on a 2 hours and 15 minutes flight to Baltimore, where they will open a four-game series against the much improved Orioles, before returning home and facing the New York Mets on April 14.

The Orioles in 2022 outperform in many ways (previous season ended 52-110) but last season with an 83-79 record, and a .512 winning percentage and finished the season in fourth place in that very competitive American League East division, where the Yankees, Red Sox, Tampa Bay, and Toronto play, considered the strongest division in the game.

The Baltimore Orioles leader is their young 25-year-old catcher Adley Rutschman, who was the #1 Pick in the 2019 baseball draft, he is the man among men in this Orioles team that are poised to get better with many young and talented players.

The A’s will play the Orioles in Baltimore in a 4-game series and then return to Oakland where they will open a 6-game home-stand, three games against the New York Mets, starting Friday the 14th of April, to be followed by three games against the Chicago Cubs.

Today’s quote: “Hitting is 50% above the shoulders” -Ted Williams.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play voice for the Oakland A’s radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com