Category: That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2024The Final Season at the Oakland Coliseum -(Part II)

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The author Amaury Pi Gonzalez (left) and New York Yankees pitcher Jim Catfish Hunter in 1975 at the Oakland Coliseum (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2024

The Final Season at the Oakland Coliseum -(Part II)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

One of the many great moments in the history of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum happened in 1975 when ex-A’s Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter visited the Coliseum, this time wearing his New York Yankee uniform.

A year before this visit, he traded his bright yellow A’s uniform for Yankee pinstripes after a dispute over a technicality in his contract with A’s owner Charles O. Finley. His last year with the Oakland A’s (1974), Hunter ended with a record of 25-12 and a 2.49 earned run average, starting 41 games and winning the American League Cy Young Award.

Then Hunter signed a five-year contract estimated at $3.75 million, ending American sports history’s most celebrated bidding war. The total value of the pact sets a record for baseball. January 1, 1975. At the end of that 1975 season, Jim “Catfish” Hunter had a record of 23-14 with a 2.58 earned run average in 30 starts. Jim “Catfish” Hunter owns the All-Time pitching record in wins at the Oakland Coliseum (including with A’s and visiting team) a total of 80 games won at the Coliseum.

In 1987 and with the Oakland A’s uniform, Jim “Catfish”Hunter was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Jim “Catfish”Hunter pitched from 1965 to 1979 (15 years) with Kansas City and Oakland A’s then with the New York Yankees.

Hunter’s Record: 224-166, 3.26 earned run average, 181 complete games over 3,449 1/3 innings pitched. PERFECTO: On May 8, 1968, Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland Athletics pitched the ninth perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the Minnesota Twins …

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: No Major League team for Oakland on the horizon

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The city of Oakland and the Oakland Coliseum will not be seeing MLB baseball expansion anytime soon (NBC Bay Area photo)

No Major League team for Oakland on the horizon

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Below are considered the cities vying for an expansion team in Major League Baseball—Total city and area population.

Montreal: 4.38 million. Charlotte: 2.76 million. San Antonio: 2.66 million. Portland: 2.51 million. Sacramento: 2.42 million (A’s are expected to play from 2025 to 2027-maybe 2028) Nashville: 2.05 million. Salt Lake City: 1.27 million Conspicuously, and for obvious reasons, Oakland is not on this list, and it might not be for many years to come.

A case can be made that another Bay Area city (the one with the largest population), San José, could even have a better shot than Oakland for an expansion, with the most significant obstacle being the San Francisco Giants, who own the San José territory which ironically was given to the Giants for free by A’s owner Walter Haas in 1990, as a way to keep the Giants in the Bay Area and not relocate to Florida.

The Media Markets for these cities are below. None come close to Oakland, which is designated as the number six market area in the United States and, according to Nielsen, as of 2004, is part of the Bay Area together with San Francisco and San Jose; at the time, Santa Clara County (including San José) was considered neutral territory by the two teams.

Today, San José has the largest population in the Bay Area, with over 1 million, including the world-famous Silicon Valley, where the average salary of a worker is $190,000 annually.

Nielsen Media Rankings (2024) Sacramento (20th in U.S.) Charlotte (21st in U.S.) Portland (23rd in U.S.) Nashville (26th in U.S.) Salt Lake City (27th in U.S.) San Antonio (31st in U.S.) Las Vegas (40th in U.S.) —

This is where the A’s have decided as their final destination. Major League Baseball expansion is coming—it’s just a matter of when and where. While the timeline for MLB’s expansion to 32 teams remains. Commissioner Rob Manfred said he hopes to have a process “in place” before he retires in 2029.

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 Pittsburgh and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Acuna out for season with blown ACL; Umpire Angel Hernandez has retired; plus more news

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Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuna Jr grimaces while being assisted by the Braves George C Poulis while walking off the field after blowing out his ACL and will be out for the rest of the season on Sun May 26, 2024 (photo from ESPN)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 How much of an impact for the Atlanta Braves losing Ronald Acuna Jr for the rest of the season after running between second and third base and blew out his ACL taking a bad turn on the base pathes.

#2 Umpire Angel Hernandez who was accused of blowing calls in the ALDS which resulted in his not being selected to umpire in the World Series and lost a racial bias suit has retired from ever umpiring an MLB game again. His retirement is effect today. Hernandez was the center of the ire from the players and fans on social media. Hernandez said this was all stemmed from racial bias. Hernandez umpired in the Majors since 1991.

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers two way player Shohei Ohtani is not giving up on the possibility of pitching again. Ohtani was put on the shelf from pitching and left with the hitting duties as designated hitter. Ohtani is recovery from his second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani threw from 60 feet on Monday at Citi Field tracking at 80 MPH. Ohtani was said to possibly to return to pitching in August.

#4 Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell was unceremoniously booed upon his return at American Family Field as manager of the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Counsell took the booing in stride saying, “The fans are here to enjoy the day, enjoy a baseball game,” Counsell said “They get to do what they want. Hopefully they had a good time.” The Cubs lost to the Brewers 5-1.

#5 The San Francisco Giants LaMonte Wade Jr who returned to the line up after being on the IL. Wade reinjured himself on a hard slide on a double and ended up straining his hamstring. The Giants said that Wade is on the way back to the IL.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play announcer 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: Sell – City of Oakland to Sell Coliseum stake

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Photo of the Oakland Coliseum in the shadows. The Coliseum property has been sold at 50% to Oakland A’s owner John Fisher and the other 50% to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AP News file photo)

Sell – City of Oakland to Sell Coliseum stake

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Oakland is a city in crisis, and when it comes to the A’s, the word “sell” is trendy among many Oakland A’s fans; however, it is the City of Oakland, not the A’s, who is doing the selling these days.

They are about to sell their stake of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum to a group of African-American developers. These developers want to transform the East Oakland part of the city into a hub that would positively impact the city.

The city of Oakland will sell its stake in the Coliseum for at least $105 million. This is done to pay salaries and save the city from making more budget cuts. Voters have gathered the required signatures to recall current Mayor Shen Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Rice. A new chief of Police was sworn in recently after the city had been operating without a Police chief for over a year.

The Oakland A’s own the other half of the Coliseum, and as they plan their move, first and temporarily to Sacramento for the next three to four years before inaugurating new digs in Las Vegas, they could sell their stake in the future. There is little doubt that the A’s and the City of Oakland are done as far as any business dealings are concerned.

For years, I have maintained the idea of the A’s building their new baseball park at the same place they play today, the Oakland Coliseum. No sports facility in the Bay Area has better traffic access. The Oakland Coliseum can be reached via BART to the east, Highway 880 to the west, and the Oakland Airport just minutes away not to mention Amtrak from the north starting in Sacramento.

That is not going to happen because the A’s are leaving Oakland. However, I still believe that it would have worked if, along with the new stadium, the stadium was surrounded by an entertainment village of hotels, a movie theater, restaurants, and everything a family would enjoy when attending a baseball game. It would have been a place to visit, with the baseball park as the anchor.

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: Schools over Stadiums turned down in Nevada Supreme Court; A’s $1.5 billion Vegas ballpark funding murkier

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The locked, closed and unused Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas which was closed on Apr 2, 2024 and is the proposed site for the Oakland A’s new ballpark. photo by Sports Radio Service on Apr 8, 2024.

On That’s Amaury podcast:

#1 Amaury, the Nevada Supreme Court rejected Schools over Stadium ballot referendum that would have approved petition language that would reject SB1 the use of public funds at the tune of $380 million for the November 2024 election.

#2 The A’s who hired a Los Angeles investor to help them find minority partners to invest shares into the team and help pay for the construction costs for the Las Vegas ballpark has so far not panned out any new news in finding partners.

#3 Also Bally’s where the Tropicana Hotel waits to be imploded in April 2025 needs to determine where they want to put the nine acre park on the 36 acre location at Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd. At first it was thought the park would be location on the back corner from the strip but now Bally’s or the A’s are not really sure where their going to put the ballpark.

#4 Schools over Stadiums who were rejected for the second time to get language to reject the public funding of the ballpark will attempt to appeal again. Schools over Stadiums released a statement after the Supreme Court denied the application for petition language, “Schools Over Stadiums remains committed to stopping Nevada tax dollars from paying for a stadium for a California billionaire, and we are disappointed Nevada voters will not have their say in 2024. With this guidance, Schools Over Stadiums plans to refile our petition next year and win in 2026. Nevada voters deserve the opportunity to decide where their money goes.”

#5 Meanwhile the A’s who will be playing their 2025-27 seasons at Sutter Health Ballpark in Sacramento are working with Sacramento Rivercats owner Vivek Ranadive. Ranadive who is anticipating that the Las Vegas deal will fall through and will get on board with John Fisher and the A’s to help build a ballpark and keep the A’s in Sacramento permanently that has yet to be determined.

#6 African American Sports and Entertainment wanted to join forces with the A’s at one time to keep the A’s in Oakland and help buy a share in the team and buy the Oakland Coliseum location and turn it into a sports and entertainment complex. John Fisher has been very silent on all these moving parts.

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

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That’s Amaury News and Commentary: WNBA Season Opener May 14 -Caitlan Clark Revolutionizes the league

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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) drives on the Atlanta Dreams’ Nia Coffey (12) and Aerial Powers (23) during the second half of this WNBA pre season game in Indianapolis (AP News photo)

WNBA Season Opener May 14 – Caitlan Clark Revolutionizes the league

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

All it took was Indiana Fever guard and mega-star Caitlin Clark to bring the WNBA to the big time. However, it never rivaled the NBA, which recognized the need for a professional women’s league years ago by subsidizing the women.

In February 2022, the WNBA raised an impressive $75 million from investors, including NBA and WNBA franchises. Things are changing quickly in the WNBA; for the following two seasons, teams will begin traveling to away games on chartered flights; this is after they primarily rely on commercial planes since the league’s inception almost 30 years ago.

The WNBA kicks its 2024 season this May 14. Eight of the league’s 12 teams will play a game on opening night. The remaining four play on Wednesday, May 15.

The league is also looking for larger-capacity arenas to accommodate the fans it has recruited since the sensational Caitlin Clark was known worldwide. Caitlan has the most 3-pointers scored in WNBA or NBA history, scoring 163 in the 2023-24 season, breaking Stephen Curry’s 162 in the 2007-08 season.

Although the Indiana Fever superstar’s salary is only $76,000, Nike recently endorsed Clark for a $28 million deal, including her signature shoes. Caitlan Clark has become the Michael Jordan of the WNBA. Clark is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball, surpassing Pete Maravich. (Pistol Pete) record of 3,667 points and later became the #1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, selected by the Indiana Fever.

Last October, the WNBA announced its first expansion team since 2008 by awarding the Golden State Warriors franchise that will begin play in the 2025 WNBA season. The teams will be headquartered in Oakland but play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco.

This means that in this case, Oakland could not put an “airport-like move” on San Francisco. Officials in Oakland recently approved modifying the name of the city’s airport to include “San Francisco. Now, there is a trademark lawsuit from the city of San Francisco over the name change dispute.

I wish the 2024-25 WNBA season lots of success; they are a league going places!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does That’s Amaury News and Commentaries at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: A’s Mason Miller could be traded

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Oakland A’s pitcher Mason Miller is seen here throwing to the Seattle Mariners line up in the top of the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue May 2, 2023 back when he was a starter. Since converting to the closer role in 2024 Miller has seen lots of success in save situations. So much so other big league clubs have express interest in his services including the New York Yankees. (AP file photo)

A’s Mason Miller could be traded

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

A team in transition like the Oakland A’s (Oakland until September 26) is always building for the future, especially with so many moving parts right now for the Athletics, cities, new stadiums, and lawsuits, referendums. A possible trade this season that involves A’s closer Mason Miller is very likely. It all depends on the situation and where the A’s are in the standings. Or maybe not, considering the unpredictability of the A’s ownership.

The A’s will be asking for a big package of promising players, but I think this will have to wait until at least the middle of the season. Let’s say the A’s continue to improve, and they are fighting for the western division title on July 31. What do you do?

Various teams have reportedly expressed interest in the 25-year-old “lanzallamas.” Two teams expected to be contenders, the Orioles and the Cubs, are probably the types of teams that are one stud short in the ninth inning, a closer away from pulling the trigger.

The A’s might still have Miller and not be contenders, and if that is the case, the probability of a trade increases. This applies to the A’s and the other teams that want to trade for Miller. How are they doing when they also pull the trigger? Is there urgency? The A’s hold all the cards with Miller since he is still under A’s control until 2029, so they can wait. If you are a negotiator, you want to start with an advantage, and the Oakland A’s have it today with Miller.

The lifespan of a young closer throwing high-octane doesn’t last forever. Free of injuries, there have been very few Mariano Riveras out there, the type of pitcher who has owned the ninth inning for years.

Finally, I would not be surprised if the Oakland A’s traded Miller during this 2024 season, and you also should not be. But let’s face it: For a young and very good team like the Baltimore Orioles, that is their focus. A team like the O’s might need that one piece, a “lights out” closer, to win the World Series this year. But the Orioles should not be over-excited. The Baltimore Orioles have not won a World Series since 1983 (41 years), and they are today one of the elite teams in the game.

Is it Miller time?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The President Founder and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame

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Masanori Murakami the first Japanese MLB player and Gabriel (Tito) Avila Jr. president of the Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum (photo from Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

The President Founder and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame

By Amaury Pi-González

The face of baseball today is Japanese mega-star Shohei Ohtani, a two-way player with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the most famous two-way player in the history of baseball since Babe Ruth (1914-1935). Still, the first Japanese player to play in the United States in Major League Baseball was Masanori Murakami, who pitched for the San Francisco Giants 1964-1965.

Murakami was the first Asian-born baseball player to come to America and play in the Major Leagues. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame’s President Founder and CEO Gabriel “Tito” Avila, Jr. met in Japan with Masanori Murakami and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame representatives.

The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame first opened in 1959 adjacent to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo. Later, in 1988, the hall of and museum moved to a new site within the Tokyo Dome. Gabriel “Tito” Avila, Jr. represented The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame https://hhbmhof.com/ in this goodwill trip to the land of the rising sun.

This 2024 MLB season began on March 20 in South Korea when the Los Angeles Dodgers played a 2-game series against the San Diego Padres. Shohei Ohtani was the “main attraction,” and thousands of fans arrived early to look at the world’s #1 baseball player.

The Hispanic Baseball Museum was founded in San Francisco in 1998. Since its foundation, this museum hall of fame has traveled and exhibited in multiple cities across the United States, at baseball parks, libraries, expositions and community baseball events, from New York to San Francisco and in between.

Mr. Avila Jr envisions the HHBMHOF traveling to Japan, with an exhibit of the great history and richness of Hispanic / Latino baseball. “This was a goodwill trip and I am thrilled specially and meeting such icons as Murakami and other Japanese players and executives representatives in the world of baseball”. The Founder President and CEO of the HHBMHOF also were very impressed as Japanese baseball officials gave him a personal tour of The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Many Hispanic / Latinos are playing today in the Japanese Baseball Leagues however, the first Hispanic / Latino player to have ever played in Japan was Roberto “Chico” Barbon a Native from Matansas Cuba was an Infielder from the 1954 -1965 for the Hankyu Braves and Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Pacific League, Nippon Professional Baseball. Barbon played 11 seasons.

Latin America and Japan are united by their love of the game of baseball. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum hopes to work with Japan for the love of the game that continues to grow in popularity in Asia and all around the world. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame, has been around for 25 1/2 years and is looking forward to their first permanent location in the San Francisco Bay Area.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Environmental law suit could hold up Coliseum sale

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African American Sports and Entertainment president Ray Babbitt addresses the media at the Oakland Airport Hilton. Babbitt and AASEG intend to purchase the Oakland A’s half of the Coliseum property and also the other half from the City of Oakland (African American Sports and Entertainment file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, Alameda County’s sale on half it’s share at the Oakland Coliseum is due to go through on May 14 when the Oakland A’s are scheduled to make the final payment of the property at $85 million. However a lawsuit has been filed in Alameda County court for Sep 24.

#2 The lawsuit filed by Communities for a Better Environment who are a California non profit environmental health group say that team owner John Fisher in the sales agreement ignored the Surplus Land Act which is mandated by state law.

#3 The A’s who purchased half of the Coliseum site back in 2019 in the event that if their new ballpark site at Howard Terminal falls through they could go back to the Coliseum. The A’s later claimed the Coliseum was unfit for baseball but the A’s plan to continue with the purchase.

#4 The A’s are currently in negotiations to sell their half interest to Oakland group the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. AASEG is also negotiating with the City of Oakland to purchase their half of their interest to develop, residential, commercial and sports.

#5 Ruby Acevedo an attorney for the environment group CBE said the county could argue that the SLA is regularly ignored statewide however Acevedo state there is case law that the counties would take demand letters seriously. CBE is asking for the county to engage in housing development for affordable housing. Affordable housing was an issue with Fisher when it was a requirement for his ballpark village at Howard Terminal.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s Baseball- Do not forget Joe Lacob

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Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has expressed interest in purchasing the Oakland A’s and has an existing offer on the table to A’s owner John Fisher. Fisher has repeatedly said the A’s are not for sale. (file photo from author)

A’s Baseball — Do not forget Joe Lacob

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

In this topsy-turvy world of the Oakland A’s regarding their relocation, many things have lingered like floating on air, like a basketball going up thrown by Stephen Curry for a 3-point basket. That is Mr. Joe Lacob, the owner of the Golden State Warriors, an NBA franchise evaluated today at over $8 billion. On July 15, 2010, owner Chris Cohan sold the Warriors to Peter Gruber of Mandalay Entertainment and his partner Joe Lacob for a then-record $450 million.

Mr. Lacob has had a standing offer to buy the Oakland A’s for years. Years ago, Lacob had a deal to buy the A’s, then owned by Stephen Schott, for $180 million. However, Bud Selig, then the commissioner, approved the sale to one of his friends and college fraternity brothers, Lew Wolff and John Fisher, in 2005.

Last week, it was announced that the Oakland A’s had hired Galatioto Sports Partners to track an investor (or several) for the $500 million needed to build the A’s proposed new ballpark in Las Vegas. According to sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly, that money could be exchanged for share/part ownership.

I believe that if Mr.Lacob bought the A’s, he would keep them in Oakland and find a way to build a new stadium for the team right here in Oaktown. How long can the “standing offer” to buy the A’s be there for the A’s owner(s) to take or decline?

Considering his steady good management, their success, and Joe Lacob’s community involvement with the Warriors here in the Bay Area, I cannot see anybody more qualified to buy the Oakland Athletics at this time and keep them in Oakland than Mr. Joe Lacob. And I believe that still could happen, maybe faster than you think.

And this is why I say to A’s world, “do not forget about Joe Lacob”.

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 http://www.sportsradioservice.com