Category: That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Athletics owner John Fisher announces the A’s will have a “Las Vegas” logo on players uniforms during a press conference announcing a marketing partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority at the Las Vegas Convention Center Friday, March 7, 2025. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Why is the A’s owner hated?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

We have all heard this phrase: “The customer is always right”, emphasizing the importance of customer satisfaction and prioritizing their needs. Many fans believe that A’s owner John Fisher has unfairly blamed the fans for the team’s struggles, thereby fostering considerable animosity. Baseball is a business; the A’s product is baseball, and the fans who attend the games and purchase their merchandise are the customers.

The A’s fans are correct to have certain expectations about the team; they pay to see the team play, and they expect to have a cohesive plan by management that, after a few years, you can finally have a team that performs well enough to be a competitive team, maybe worthy of a playoff birth, but not this season, as they looked like they will finish last, this would be the third time in the last five years they finish in last place.

While the phrase “the customer is always right” originated in the retail sector, it’s widely applied to various industries to encourage businesses to focus on meeting customer expectations. In September 2024, Mr. Fisher apologized for the team’s departure from Oakland in a letter addressed to fans. This letter was appropriately issued one day before the A’s open their final home series in Oakland, where they spent 57 years. That letter was not a hit with the fans; actually, it was more of a strikeout, with many fans believing it was an insult.

During the games in Oakland, after completing my preparation for the broadcast, which includes gathering statistics, reviewing starting lineups, and conducting interviews, I walk from the broadcast booth down to the seats and start conversations with fans.

The anger toward Mr. Fisher was evident to me from many fans during the last home stand in Athletics history at Oakland, September 2024.  I have spoken to A’s fans through the years at the park before games, and I would be conservative to say that 98% have shown great displeasure and animosity for the A’s departing Oakland and their desire for the owner to SELL.

From those who told me “How can we build a winning team, when he trades the good players, because he didn’t want to pay them,” to others who told me “he doesn’t care for Oakland, so Oakland should not care for him”. Other comments, I heard, would not be prudent for me to write here; let me say, it is the type of language you can see every day on social media. Where the “F word”is commonly used, before the owner’s name. I am not a fan of the “F” word, but it seems the youngest generation uses it with great frequency in our culture today.

KTVU CH 2 FOX Bay Area (FOX News) which is frequently cited as a top-rated news station in the San Francisco Bay Area, reported along with other news sources, the team is promising a $1 million fund for Coliseum workers impacted by its departure.

However, there have been reports from some workers who say they haven’t received assistance from this fund. reports indicate that some of the workers who expected to receive assistance from this fund were denied, leading to disappointment and anger among some former employees.

The A’s stated that the fund was created to provide meaningful support during the transition for the team leaving town. There is nothing like stiffing people that work very hard by the hour. In my world this is “immoral” some would call it “unethical”, dishonest, just pick one, they all fit very well..

The Oakland A’s relocated their entire broadcast operation this season, encompassing both radio and television, from Oakland to Sacramento, which included play-by-play announcers, commentators, producers, broadcast coordinators, directors, and other personnel.

However, they did not take their Spanish crew that they had for years in San Francisco, on station KIQI 1010AM, which also has a repeater station in Sacramento, 990AM. The Spanish crew consisted of three people. The only broadcast people that the A’s did not take to Sacramento were the Spanish broadcast crew. The team decided to “outsource “the Spanish to another station in Sacramento.

My friends at the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce note that over 560,000 residents in the greater Sacramento region (including El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties) identify as Hispanic.

Someone in the A’s organization never gave Mr. Fisher the memo that California is not like Maine or Vermont, where there are no Spanish speakers.  During the first of three years in Sacramento, the new digs have not been a great success for the ATH, selling just over 9,000 tickets per game, with approximately 20 home games left this season. Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento is a minor league park, with 14,000 capacity.

According to the website DIMERS, John Fisher is today the most hated owner in baseball.

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.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com

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.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Sacramento A’s circles the bases during one of his four home runs hit against the Houston Astros in the top of the ninth inning at Daiken Park in Houston Fri Jul 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

Baseball is Unique

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

Baseball is a Sport of failure. You get one hit in three at-bats, and you are a very good hitter, hitting .333, an average that is worthy of a batting title most of the time, even though you failed twice in three tries. But sometimes you can hit the big jackpot in one game, and the whole world will know your name, especially nowadays with social media constantly on our minds every single second of the day. Here are some examples.

Most recently: A’s Nick Kurtz, a 22-year-old rookie, went out and did something even rarer in a 15-3 blowout win over the Astros in Houston on July 25, 2025 Going a perfect 6-for-6 with four home runs, Kurtz became the first A’s player in franchise history with a four-homer game, the first rookie in MLB history with a four homer game, and the 20th player overall.

Prior to Kurtz, veteran Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit four home runs on April 25, 2025. Kurtz is just beginning his career, and only time will tell how good a player he will be. But in this 4-homer game, he was the King of Baseball.

Now everybody knows who Nick Kurtz is, and just like that, he became a contender for American League Rookie of the Year., Sometimes, One Day can make a Career. On May 9, 2010, Dallas Braden, while pitching for the Oakland Athletics, achieved the feat against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The game, which took place on Mother’s Day, was the 19th perfect game in MLB history. I was there, calling the game for the Spanish radio Network, at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. Braden pitched in the majors for only five years, all with the Oakland A’s, and ended his career with a 26-36 record and a 4.16 earned run average.

Not a great career by any means, but that Perfecto on May 9, 2010, opened the door for him, as he now works as the A’s television network analyst. Don Larsen was an American League pitcher who played 15 seasons in the Major Leagues from 1953 to 1987 (81-91) for seven different teams, including the New York Yankees, where he made history.

Larsen pitched a perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. This remains the only perfect game ever thrown in World Series history. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown houses several items related to Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, including autographed baseballs used in the game, tickets, and photos.

Larsen’s catcher, Yogi Berra, also had his mitt from that game displayed. After his baseball career, Larsen became an executive for a paper company, where he worked closely with farmers in California’s Salinas Valley. On a funny note: Charlie Silveira who was a third string catcher for the Yankees told me and other reporters that after that perfecto he asked Yogi Berra for a souvenir, “I warmed him up for that game” Silveira told me, and according to his story, he asked Yogi for a souvenir, Yogi said he had nothing left, but the next day Yogi gave Charlie a brown bag, (with a souvenir) it was Larsen’s cup, the one he wore on that game. Charlie, who passed a few years ago, told me, “I have Larsen’s cup in my living room as a souvenir”. In September 1971, Larry Yount was called up to the Houston Astros and was set to make his MLB debut as a pitcher. However, as he warmed up on the mound, his elbow began to hurt, and he eventually left the game without throwing a single official pitch or facing a batter.

This single unusual appearance in a game marked the entirety of his MLB career. He never played in the majors again. Because he was officially announced as a pitcher, Yount is in the baseball record books and even has a file in the Hall of Fame.

His brother Robin Yount played from 1974 to 1993, won two AL MVP Awards, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 Owner and Manager for one Game. On May 11, 1977, Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner added another story when he ventured from the owner’s suite to the dugout to manage the Braves. His job lasted only one night; Major League Baseball’s powers that be reminded Turner that a rule prevented managers from partial or full ownership of a team.

However, this was not unique to baseball. NFL George Halas, who founded and coached the Chicago Bears. Al Davis, also the owner of the Oakland Raiders, coached the team. But some did, if not just for one game, but multiple seasons.

A record in any sport for an owner and manager at the same time? Connie Mack, Philadelphia Athletics, was also at least a part-owner of the team from 1901 until 1954, as well as field manager. Last but not Least: Baseball is unique in that the defensive team controls the ball at the start of each play.. In most other sports, the offensive team initiates play by possessing the ball. In baseball, the pitcher (a defensive player) throws the ball to the batter (offensive player), making baseball the only sport where the defense starts with the ball.

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.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com