Category: MLB

Giants sign slugger Jorge Soler to cap off first week of camp

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Former Miami Marlins designated hitter Jorge Soler is looking forward to joining the San Francisco Giants this spring. Soler signed a three year deal with the Giants on Sun Feb 18, 2024 (AP News file photo)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants announced the signing of free agent slugger Jorge Soler to a three-year, $42-million deal to wrap up an interestingly-productive off-season for the team and President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi.

Despite popular belief, the Giants had a solid off-season. They brought on the old-time baseball man, Bob Melvin, as their manager. Then after missing out on Shohei Ohtani, they struck gold with Korean superstar, Jung-hoo Lee. They also added veteran left-handed starter Robbie Ray, as well as flame-throwing reliever Jordan Hicks, whom they will convert to starter.

Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Arizona, but that didn’t stop Zaidi from adding to the club. It has been a slow off-season throughout Baseball, and with quite a few choices still to choose from, Zaidi set his sights on the slugging outfielder, Jorge Soler.

Zaidi had traded outfielder Mitch Haniger to the Seattle Mariners in January, and right away, Zaidi got into contact with Soler. The Giants’ pitch to Soler included a zoom call, which was joined by Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada, whom along with Logan Webb and Mike Yastrzemski, are considered the clubhouse leaders for the Giants.

The deal was first reported Monday night by Susan Slusser, the Giants Beat Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Soler was introduced Saturday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium, the spring training home of the Giants.

“This is a guy that [brings] you a real impact as a manager,” said Manager Bob Melvin, who plans to hit Soler cleanup. “One guy can have a big impact, especially with that type of power. One swing’s always potentially three runs [with Soler].”  

Soler, who hit 36 home runs for the Miami Marlins last season, is a good fit for the Giants. He is the first true slugger they have had since Barry Bonds left at the end of the 2007 Season. The Giants have not had a single player hit 30 home runs in a season since Bonds hit 45 in 2004, and Soler who also hit 48 home runs in 2019, stands a good chance of ending this slump.

“I expect to have good numbers here,” said Soler through translator and Giants Spanish Play-by-Play Announcer Erwin Higueros. “As far as the team, I was able to talk to the coaches [and] to [Melvin], and hearing about the chemistry that they have, [that is what] I like most.”

Soler also has two rings. He was a big part of the 2016 Chicago Cubs, who beat the Cleveland Indians in a seven-game fall classic to end the 108-year Curse of the Billy Goat, the largest championship drought in Sports History. 

Soler was also the 2021 World Series Most Valuable Player for the Atlanta Braves in their six-game series win over the Houston Astros. He led off that world series with a home run, and then hit a mammoth home run that left Minute Maid Park entirely in Game 6. 

Soler will primarily be used as a designated hitter, but he should see time in the outfield, where the Giants are pretty much set with Michael Conforto in left; Lee in center; and Yastrzemski in right. 

The Giants are now also set offensively, as J.D. Davis (third); Marco Luciano (short); Estrada (second); and Flores (first) are set to make the infield. There is also excitement surrounding Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, who is entering his sophomore season.

Other Notes:

  • Position players reported to camp on Saturday, and are set for their first official workout today, and they will continue to get ready for the Giants’ cactus league opener next Saturday against the Chicago Cubs. 
  • The Giants will also be joined by guests, as is the custom every spring. This year’s guests will include Barry Bonds; Buster Posey; Hunter Pence; Will Clark; Ron Wotus; Dave Righetti; and Dusty Baker.
  • Giants’ two-way prospect, Reggie Crawford, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee, will now primarily focus on hitting. 

“The primary focus is hitting,” said Crawford. I decided on that a few weeks ago, so that’s what we’re going to do.

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Commissioner Manfred says Bay Area needs only one team; How much influence do the Giants play in keeping an Oakland team out?

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Does San Francisco Giants and team CEO Larry Baer play a influential role in encouraging MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to make sure Oakland never gets an expansion team so the Giants will have the East Bay as their territory as well? (AP News file photo)

On Oakland A’s relocation podcast:

#1 Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson said on Friday after meeting with Oakland A’s team president David Kaval that in order for the A’s to get a three year lease at the Coliseum MLB has to agree that Oakland will get an expansion team. That decision rests with baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

#2 Manfred said of any expansion team or any idea of another MLB team coming to Oakland “First of all we do have a major league team in the Bay Area.” Manfred was referring to the San Francisco Giants it’s been everyone’s understanding that Giants team CEO Larry Baer and the Giants who voted to have the A’s moved out of Oakland to Las Vegas during the owners vote on Dec 16th that the Giants would like to have the Bay Area including the East Bay as Giants territory and their market. Do they want the Commissioner not to allow any team to expand or move to Oakland and Oakland would become Giants territory.

#3 After the A’s announced and got confirmation from the Nevada State Legislature to the tune of $380 million for the Tropicana ballpark the A’s and MLB were confident that this was going to be smooth transition but the offering was rushed they left out where John Fisher A’s owner was going to get his share of the $1.5 billion for the construction costs and also where the A’s were going to play between 2025-27. Now Manfred is under pressure to find a place for the A’s to play for those remaining three years and Fisher doesn’t want to walk away from $70 million in TV money for those three years.

#4 Who will blink first. The City of Oakland and the Coliseum Joint Authority will lease out the Coliseum to the A’s only if Oakland is guaranteed an expansion team this boxes in Manfred who wants to get out of Oakland all together and is being counted on by the Giants to make sure that happens. The A’s must have a place to play decided by July. The Players Association will not sign off on playing in a minor league park and the Coliseum is the only practical viable place to go.

#5 Sharing a ballpark with another MLB team won’t especially if the A’s leave the Bay Area to play their home games and they lose the $70 million TV money.

Jerry Fetielberg is an Oakland A’s beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Asian Connection MLB Open 2024 Season in South Korea

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San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee is bringing a lot of excitement to the Giants for the 2024 season at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

The Asian Connection -MLB Open 2024 Season in South Korea

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

For the first time, Major League Baseball’s regular season will open its 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea, as the Los Angeles Dodgers will face during a two-game series on March 20 and 21, where each team will play once as the home team. “There are a lot of baseball fans in Seoul, and it’s a beautiful city, so the MLB proposed that it would like to hold the opening games here, and of course, we agreed,” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, 63, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The series will be played at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, the home of the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO. It was also the host site of first-round games in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The domed stadium was built in 2015 and has a capacity of 16,744

Although only 4% of all Major League players are Asian, fans in Seoul, South Korea, are hoping to see Dodgers players like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both from Japan as well as San Diego Padres Yu Darvish, from Japan and also a nice homecoming for South Korean Ha-Seong Kim.

Chan Ho Park, the pitcher, was the first South Korean former professional baseball player to play in the major leagues and was the first South Korean player to be named an MLB All-Star. But there is little doubt that the most significant baseball star that fans want to see, Shohei Ohtani, has become the most well-known international figure of American Major League Baseball; Ohtani has excellent global traction.

Talking about this two-game season opener in South Korea, Commissioner Rob Manfred, “We’re going to get off quick. We’re opening in Korea, and it’ll be Ohtani’s first game (with the Dodgers),” he said, before adding with a smile, “every once in a while, you get lucky in terms of the way things shake out.”

Baseball is the most popular professional sport in South Korea, with around 6.4 million spectators during the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) in 2022.

American missionaries introduced baseball to Korea in the 19th century. South Korea played baseball under Japanese colonial rule under the Joseon name. Lee Young-min hit South Korea’s first-ever home run in 1921.

Local interest: Are there any South Korean players in the Bay Area? Last December, the San Francisco Giants signed signed 25 year old South Korean star outfielder Jung Hoo Lee.

ESPN will carry the Dodgers-Padres two-game opener of the 2024 MLB season from South Korea. “Why do people sing Take Me Out to The Ballgame when they’re already there? -Alex Rodríguez.

Oakland A’s relocation podcast Augie Mesenburg: Sacramento is A’s first choice for 2025 season; City of Oakland wants guarantee of expansion team

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Oakland A’s team president David Kaval has met with the Oakland Coliseum Joint Powers regarding a lease extension beyond 2024. The A’s could play the remaining three years at the Coliseum 2025-27 before the Tropicana ballpark is ready in Las Vegas (photo by ABC Sky7 still photo)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Augie:

#1 The Oakland A’s brass met with the Oakland Coliseum Joynt Powers. Seeing that players’ union most likely will not sign off to play in a minor league ballpark and most importantly the A’s don’t want to miss out on that $67 million annual television money from NBC Bay Area Sports California contract.

#2 There has been no disclosure to how much a year and how long the A’s will be staying at the Coliseum as the new park in Las Vegas is supposed to be ready by 2028. It’s sounding like it might be the three years 2025-27 to finish up in Oakland similar to what the Raiders did before they left Oakland for Las Vegas.

#3 Some are asking could this lead to something being worked out with the Mayor of Oakland and the City of Oakland for a chance that the A’s brass could re-visit Howard Terminal again? It doesn’t seem likely on the surface but there are two law suits coming from Strong Public Schools and Schools over Stadiums that will challenge the Nevada public funding of the Tropicana ballpark and the A’s might be looking at a back up plan.

#4 Augie, the A’s try hard as they may have not nailed down a location to play their games after 2024. A’s owner John Fisher and team president David Kaval have looked at numerous sites Las Vegas Ballpark (home of the A’s minor league triple A team), Sutter Health Park (home of the Sacramento Rivercats), Salt Lake City (home of the minor league Bees), and Oracle Park in San Francisco. All of the parks didn’t work out either it was a minor league park or at Oracle Park they would have to share it with the Giants and the Giants were concerned about the turf being torn up. The latest from Thursday’s news is Sacramento’s Sutter Health Ballpark is a front runner for the A’s in 2025.

#5 This might be more than just a kick the tires meeting to see if it’s worth to come back to the Coliseum after 2024 the A’s who were rumored at one point considering just shutting down operations between 2025-28 have not much choice and no where to go but the Coliseum until the new park in Vegas is ready that is if the Vegas ballpark can withstand the lawsuits by Schools over Stadiums and Strong Public Schools in Las Vegas.

Augie Mesenburg filled in for Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s relocation podcasts heard Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com. Augie is also a reporter for KHAI FM 104.5 and AM 950 Honolulu.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Coliseum to the Rescue? A’s wouldn’t have to shut down operations

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Oakland Alameda County Coliseum at night (photo file by Ticketmaster.com)

The Coliseum to the Rescue? A’s wouldn’t have to shut down operations

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

In the never-ending saga of the only baseball franchise in Bay Area history to have won four World Series, the Oakland A’s are now to meet with the City of Oakland and County of Alameda to renew a new lease past this 2024 season (last year for the current lease).

As Spring Training in Arizona is getting underway, the Oakland A’s, who are scheduled to inaugurate a new ballpark in the Las Vegas strip by 2028, have obstacles still on the horizon, the most important being the financing for the $1.5 billion stadium in Sin City as well are the renderings of the proposed new 30,000 seat facility.

If you call the Tropicana Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas today hoping to get a reservation for a stay, you can do so until April. The iconic Tropicana has already officially announced that they will not take any reservations after April 2 because they are making way for the demolition, which is also scheduled for this year.

While the A’s build their new park in Las Vegas, the one city that makes the most sense for the team to keep playing is Oakland, which is common sense, but as we all know, in this current story, ” common sense is not common anymore.”

If the Oakland A’s were to extend their lease with the City of Oakland and Alameda County for 2025 and beyond, that would ensure the team keeps playing in a major league facility. As dated as the Coliseum is today, granted, it is not the most attractive baseball park.

However, it is still a major league facility, and the Players Union will probably never approve of the A’s playing in a smaller setting, barnstorming in minor league cities outside the Bay Area.

So get ready. More discussions are underway. This makes sense, there is money for everybody, if they extend it, plus the A’s will still keep the millions they get in television broadcasting revenue, and the city and county also will benefit financially. This is not amateur sports; this is the Big Leagues, and when there is money to be made, everybody likes to talk about it.

Let’s see what happens now.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: MLB and A’s are not talking about what’s beyond 2024

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According to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao the door is still open to negotiate a deal at Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland. Oakland A’s owner John Fisher in the event the Las Vegas deal falls through is welcomed to call Thao. (photo by the Nevada Independent)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, how impossible is the idea for the Oakland A’s to go and disband for three years and MLB to carry with just 29 MLB teams from 2025-27?

#2 The idea that the A’s could shut it down for three years is it a clear indication that either financially John Fisher doesn’t have his share of the stadium costs or he’s trying to scrape enough together between 2025-27 in order to pay for his share saving money by shutting down operations.

#3 If it all falls apart in Las Vegas there is really no where else for the A’s to go. Commissioner Rob Manfred said the A’s will play out west and did really know where himself. The players association will not play in a minor league park hence Salt Lake City, Portland, Sacramento or Summerlin.

#4 Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said recently that her door is open and if Fisher wants to talk about working a deal out at Howard Terminal if Las Vegas falls apart. Her offer out numbers the State of Nevada number $428 million to $380 million.

#5 The A’s pre season starts Sat Feb 24th in Mesa Arizona at Ho Ho Kam Stadium it’ll be the first pre season game this one is against the Colorado Rockies on the same day two Oakland A’s fan clubs the Oakland 68s and the Last Dive Bar will host a Fans Fest at Jack London Square that would raise money to help with legal fees for law suits filed by Schools over Stadiums and Strong Public Schools who are trying to stop the public financing of the Las Vegas ballpark.

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

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Augie Mesenburg: Did Vegas Mayor have some weight behind her “A’s belong in Oakland” comment?

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Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman just recently won the hearts and minds of Oakland fans saying “the A’s belong in Oakland” this week in an interview with Front Office Sports (photo by the City of Las Vegas)

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Augie:

#1 Augie, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman’s remark’s that the “A’s belong in Oakland” after seeing that the Oakland A’s missed the deadline on presenting renderings and that owner John Fisher is asking the Las Vegas business community to help invest in the team.

#2 Later Goodman partially walked back what she originally said saying that she wanted what was best for Las Vegas, Paradise, and Clark County and that she wanted to welcome the A’s to Las Vegas and that the A’s only belonged in Oakland if they can’t get the financing their looking for.

#3 The interview with Mayor Goodman was conducted with Front Office Sports and it was audio recorded as well. Goodman said that the A’s “need to listen to the people that are up there (in Oakland). It’s there team.”

#4 Fisher has said that he is seeking financial assistance and that had put doubt in Goodman’s mind that Fisher doesn’t have the money. Goodman is not mayor of the A’s future home at the Tropicana location which is located in the Paradise city limits and ran by Clark County. Goodman and her husband former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman have been trying to bring MLB to Vegas for 20 years.

#5 Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao upon hearing what Goodman had to say that the A’s are Oakland ‘s team said with excitement in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea, “100%! Keeping the A’s in Oakland is what’s best for everyone including Las Vegas. My door is open to John Fisher and to anyone else that has the means and desire to purchase the A’s and keep them in the town. We have the plan, the sites, and the money. Let’s keep the A’s rooted in Oakland.”

#6 John Fisher is a vilified figure as many fans in Oakland want Fisher to sell the team and find a buyer who will keep the team in Oakland. Fisher repeatedly has said the team is not for sale. Daniel, in the hypothetical circumstance that Fisher can’t pay for the costs of the stadium in Vegas or if the whole Las Vegas ballpark plan fails can you see him going back to Oakland as Mayor Thao who says she has a existing offer on the table.

#7 Augie, a political action committee group Strong Public Schools has filed a lawsuit on Monday which also named the State of Nevada, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo and state Treasurer Zach Conine as defendants saying that the state is “financing a world class Stadium for a California billionaire while ignoring Nevada’s second class education system.” The A’s nor anyone from Major League Baseball would not make a comment on the lawsuit that argues the SB1 bill violated the Nevada constitution because it was passed on a majority vote and not a two thirds vote. The A’s nor anyone from Major League Baseball are named as defendants.

#8 Schools over Stadiums according to sources has raised funding for their legal fees to get the proper petition language to put an initiative on the November ballot that would stop the public funding for the A’s ballpark on the Las Vegas strip with legal counseling. Schools over Stadiums can thank Oakland A’s fans namely the Oakland 68s and the Last Dive Bar who helped raise funds to help pay for the legal fees.

Augie Mesenburg filled in for Daniel Dullum who hosts the Oakland A’s Relocation podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Born in Oakland planning for Nashville

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Former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart being honored in August 2009 photo at the Oakland Coliseum is now a part time owner and seeking to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville (photo from wikipedia)

Born in Oakland, planning for Nashville

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

During a time when it seems people are talking about Oakland, Oakland, Oakland, for better or for worse, perhaps no other man currently represents Oakland better than Oakland A’s Hall of Fame pitcher Dave Stewart,

The Oakland A’s are not considered contenders. Still, the eyes of the baseball world are expressively focused on Oakland and this franchise’s trials and tribulations, especially during the 2024 baseball season, which is expected to be their last in Oakland. Dave Stewart is one man with a plan. His plan has been working for years to take an expansion team, minority-owned, to the city of Nashville.

He has been traveling in baseball circles, including the Winter Meetings, where baseball executives gather yearly to discuss trades and other organizational decisions. If you have not heard much about “Mister Smoke” talking about the A’s situation (unless he has to, as a baseball on-the-air commentator), he is not focused on such a thing. He is a proud Oaklander; everybody knows Stewart and his integrity for the game.

We will never forget during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Dave Stewart by the old Cypress freeway where most of the damage was done in Oakland by the quake, including fatalities. I asked Stew after the Loma Prieta earthquake, “You should run for Mayor.” he laughed at the idea. Nashville is the first of two MLB candidates for expansion and is assumed to be a foregone conclusion.

Nashville will have to pay a $2 Billion expansion fee plus the price of a new stadium. The Capital of Tennessee, Nashville, has a population of 700,000, 300,000 plus more than Oakland, and 2 million in their metropolitan area, the Capital of Country Music.

Yes, Dave Stewart, born in Oakland, has been working on a real plan for Nashville.

Quote: Baseball is a public trust. Players turn over, owners turn over, and certain commissioners turn over. But baseball goes on.” Peter Ueberroth (Commissioner of Baseball from 1984-1988.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast with Michael Duca: A’s getting lots of publicity in Vegas during Super Bowl week; SF Giants latest deals

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Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman is in talks with the San Francisco Giants as of Thu Feb 8, 2024 (AP News file photo)

On the MLB podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, when Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman says the A’s should stay in Oakland, that the A’s need to live their dream with a waterfront ballpark and they don’t have any plans is that not only truthful talk but also from a mayor whose city will not reap the financial benefits from a team that will be playing in unincorporated city like Paradise?

#2 It’s Super Bowl week and with Mayor Goodman speaking out on the A’s and grabbing headlines from football what does that say about how important relocating teams the wrong way in baseball?

#3 Michael, talk about the lawsuit by Strong Public Schools that argues the public money for the A’s Las Vegas ballpark was not voted on legitimately by the Nevada State Legislature back in April. That the legislature was supposed to vote on SB1 as a two thirds vote not by a majority. Strong Public Schools say they have a strong case and it could take down what is now looking like a house of cards for the Tropicana, the A’s and MLB.

#4 Michael switching over to the San Francisco Giants are talking with Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman talk about his chances of coming over to San Francisco and what it would mean to have him in the line up everyday?

#5 The Miami Marlins Jorge Soler is in talks with the Giants. Soler is in the final year of his three year $36 million contract and had opted out for agency. Soler is a right fielder and designated hitter he hit .250 with 36 home runs last season how do you see Soler helping out in the Giants line up for 2024?

Join Michael Duca Thursdays for the MLB podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Vegas Mayor says A’s belong in Oakland; Schools over Stadiums ready to move language for petition drive to stop A’s ballpark funding

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The Tropicana Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas the future home with the Las Vegas A’s hoping to break ground in April 2025. The issue of private financing has been so off schedule and unorganized that Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has said the “plans don’t make sense” (Las Vegas Review Journal file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, because of all the lawsuits the Oakland A’s might lose the public money because of all the lawsuits and the Schools over Stadiums initiative ballot that stops using public money that could make the public ballot. This money is only earmarked for the Tropicana location and no where else. The A’s might be having problems figuring how to get a ballpark on nine acres at the Trop.

#2 MLB had no comment after Las Vegas Mayor Goodman said that the A’s ought to stay in Oakland.

#3 Mayor Goodman can read between the lines as the reaction at the Chamber of Commerce meeting was cold and talk has been the business community now has it’s doubts about the A’s since owner John Fisher has been going hat in hand looking for financial support.

#4 It’s Super Bowl week Amaury, and you would think the biggest news in Vegas would be about the Big Game but now the Oakland A’s are a headline with the Mayor saying the A’s shouldn’t come to Vegas but stay in Oakland.

#5 Amaury, the Last Dive Bar and Oakland 68s who are strong A’s fan groups are holding a Fan Fest at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland proceeds will help with legal fees toward Schools over Stadiums in Las Vegas to stop the use of public money to finance the ballpark. The first step of success is Schools over Stadium had Oakland A’s fans raise enough money to cover Schools over Stadium’s legal fees to get language to stop the public funding and get a petition drive to get initiative on the ballot for the Nov 2024 election not to mention that Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has been named as a defendant by Schools over Stadiums.

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