Sacramento A’s Shea Langeliers slugs his second of three home runs against the Washington Nationals in the top of the fifth inning on Tue Aug 5, 2025 at Nationals Park in DC. Langeliers leads the A’s in home runs with 26. The A’s opened a six game road trip on Tue Aug 19, 2025. (AP News photo)
A’s Best of Last Place Teams
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi Gonzalez
The objective is to win, but there can only be one champion. When all is settled, only one of 30 will get the trophy. In the Big Leagues, unlike Little Leagues, there is no “participation” award, and the closest thing to that is the Wild Card, which has been in place since 1995.
You always have the elite teams, such as the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and a few others, ‘the regular suspects’, but what about if we start from the bottom and see what’s happening there, with under 40 games left for most teams?
That could be interesting, and these are the ones at the bottom. The Cellar. These are the teams that, if the season ended today, would finish last in each of the six divisions. Orioles, White Sox, Athletics, Pirates, Nationals, Rockies.
In this group of non-contenders, the Rockies and White Sox have the best chance of reaching the dreaded 100 games lost. By the way, the White Sox established the new record for most games lost with 121 last season.
The Athletics and the Orioles had been evenly matched for most of the season. However, there is a big difference here, while the O’s were expected ‘in some way’ to be contenders, maybe as a wild card, nobody picked the A’s to do much, but to try to survive another year, they are the most criticized franchise in recent memory (thanks to his owner, who was brutally booed by fans at their home park a few days ago) they were expected to finish, like last season out of the cellar.
I could analyze this until the cows come home, but I will make it easier. Oh yes, there is another difference between the O’s and the A’s, the Orioles’ payroll is $154 million, while the Athletics is $77 million. The A’s lineup is a young and aggressive one.
The first in MLB this year to have three guys with 25 home runs: Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, and the Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz. If the A’s retain the same nucleus of players and can improve their pitching from starters to closer (they traded one of the best in Mason Miller), and perhaps spend a little money??? In the off-season, they could be very interesting in 2026, possibly challenging for a wild card.
For the Orioles, it is even more interesting; they play in a tough division with the Jays, Rays, Yanks, and Red Sox, and it could be much more difficult to be relevant next season.
However, there are always trade possibilities; they have already traded veteran Cedric Mullins to the contending Mets, and I expect the Orioles to be busy in the trade and free agent markets this winter. Players on last-place teams often struggle to stay motivated when playoff hopes are lost and fan energy is low, highlighting the importance of professionalism.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
@Central Park Fremont – Fremont CA
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
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Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
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Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
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