Tag: Amaury Pi Gonzalez

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Beltrán Returns to the Mets as a Manager

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Photo credit: mlb.nbcsports.com

By Amaury Pi-González

On November 1, 2019, the New York Mets named the 42-year-old Carlos Beltrán their new manager. He is currently the fourth Puerto Rico born manager in the MLB, joining Alex Cora (Boston), Charlie Montoyo (Toronto) and Dave Martínez (Washington). The past two seasons, Cora and Martínez won the World Series. Beltrán is the first Latino manager in Mets history. Prior to getting the job, he said he only wanted to be interviewed by the Mets.

The outfielder played seven seasons with the Mets (2005-2011) and is sixth all-time list on the team with 140 home runs, 559 runs batted in, 374 extra base hits, .369 on base percentage and .500 slugging. In a total of 20 seasons, he was selected to 9 All-Star Games, 3 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers, and was the 1999 Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals.

Beltrán’s last season was in 2017 with the Astros, where he won his first World Series ring. He owns formidable numbers for a possible election to the Hall of Fame and will be eligible in 2023.

During his 20 years as a player, Beltrán played with Kansas City, Houston, NYM, San Francisco, St. Louis, NYY, Texas, and Houston (second stint).

Beltrán’s career numbers consist of a .279 average; 2,586 games; 9,768 at-bats; 2,725 hits; 565 doubles; 78 triples; 435 home runs; 1,587 runs batted in; and 312 stolen bases.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Nationals come into Game 6 with backs to the wall

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photo from chron.com: Houston Astros left fielder Michael Brantley (23) is high-fived by members of the Astros coaching staff after the team’s 7-1 win of Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.

On Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 With the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer out as a starter for Game 6 on Tuesday night in Houston and the Astros leading the series 3-2, the Nationals have their backs to the wall.

#2 In Game 2, the Nationals took a 12-3 win to take a 2-0 lead. At that point, it looked like the Nats could win the whole thing, but obviously, it would be almost miraculous if they could even keep up with Houston.

#3 On Sunday night, the Astros trounced the Nationals for a 7-1 to take the current 3-2 lead, and in Sunday’s game, the Nationals simply could not get any offense working to make any noise.

#4 The Houston Astros are granting permission to bench coach Joe Espada to talk with the San Francisco Giants for a second interview for the manager’s job. Espada met with Giants operations manager Farhan Zaidi and CEO Larry Baer for 4 1/2 hours last Thursday and at great length on Monday.

#5 The Astros became the fourth team in pro sports to lead in road victories. They’re undefeated in the series going 3-0 in Washington.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Bochy Says “One More Shot” as Manager

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Photo credit: cbssports.com

By Amaury Pi-González

It should not be a surprise to anybody that Bruce Bochy might want to manage again. The future Hall of Fame manager who began his career as the San Diego Padres manager (1995-06) and continued as San Francisco Giants Manager (2007-19) seems to be leaning that way.

“I’d love to have one more shot,” Bochy said Thursday in an interview with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on SiriusXM.

Bochy can call his own shots when it comes to where he wants to manage. His reputation is impeccable — players love to play for him, they respect his knowledge and leadership. However, he might want to end his managerial career with a winning record. After those 25 years divided between the Padres and the Giants his record is 2,003 games won and 2,029 games lost for a .497 winning percentage.

Today, Bochy is #11 among the top managers with over 2,000 wins. However, of those 11, only two ended their careers with an under .500 winning percentage — Connie Mack and Bucky Harris. If Bochy doesn’t manage again, he will be the third among the top 11 managers win under .500 winning record.

The San Francisco Giants gave Bochy a great sendoff, where many of his players — past and present — spoke, where Bochy’s family was present, where he spoke in front of a sellout Oracle Park, and at that time, one would think that was it “no más” or “no more” for Bochy, but those people could be wrong.

Bochy wants to take a year off and then look at the possibilities available to him. Who is going to tell him otherwise? Last week, the Padres named Jayce Tingler, who was a Texas Rangers’ major league field coordinator, as their new field manager. The ex-Padres and ex-Giants manager lives in the San Diego area, and there were rumors that if he came back from “retirement,” it would be with his first team, the Padres. The only one that knows if Bochy is coming back to manage, is him, his wife, and his family; and I am sure he will make a good decision.

So, for those that have said “No,he is not coming back,” you better wait until the whole Bochy story is complete and his book is out.

Playoff Team? Warriors’ Home Opener vs. Clippers at Chase Center Thursday Night

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Photo credit: goldenstateofmind.com

By Amaury Pi-González

In the NBA Western Conference, where the focus is here in the Bay Area, even the most optimistic would be pressed to pick the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA title this season. Many are asking “Is this Warriors team a playoff team?” And I said maybe, but in the fringe, maybe a #7 seat at the end and another trip to the playoffs. They are not better than the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron’s groin injury doomed the Lakers last season and he must be healthy for the length of this season, or the “other LA team,” the Clippers, could be the ones to beat. Incidentally, the Lakers open the season on October 22 at the Clippers, that other team that could also win the whole enchilada this 2019-20.

I believe the Warriors’ Stephen Curry has a chip on his shoulder, and now without Kevin Durant, he wants to be “the hombre” for this version of the Warriors at their brand new Chase Center in San Francisco. The great Michael Jordan recently said: “Stephen is not a Hall of Famer, yet.” All this — in my opinion — is motivating Curry, But, one thing is certain — for the first time in six years we are not looking at the Warriors and the Cavaliers will be towards the end.

There is no clear favorite to win the NBA title this season. I do not dismiss the Warriors,they still have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, while head coach Steve Kerr says Clay Thompson is unlikely to play this season as he is recovering from the knee injury he suffered during the NBA finals. So a lot of things have to go right for the Warriors to win this year, but they are a longer shot this season.

The franchise originally began in Philadelphia in 1946 and relocated to San Francisco in 1962 where they were named the San Francisco Warriors. In 1971, they moved to the Oakland Arena, where they changed their name to the Golden State Warriors. They played there until the end of the 2018-2019 NBA season.

The Warriors’ opener this 2019-2020 season will be at the Chase Arena Thursday, October 24 against the Los Angeles Clippers at 7:30 PM.

Chase Arena
Capacity 18,064
Multi-purpose arena
$1 billion investment
Parking:  950 spaces

Amaury Pi-González was the Spanish play by play radio announcer for the Golden State Warriors for most of the 1990’s. Amaury was also the play by play announcer for the LA Clippers on FOX Sports Deportes television in Los Angeles for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 NBA seasons.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Spanish Broadcast at Hispanic Night in SAP Center

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San Jose Sharks photo of Amaury Pi-Gonzalez and Jesus Zarate.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

For the second season in a row, the San José Sharks broadcasted in Spanish on Hispanic Night with Los Tiburones. Live broadcast on KIQI 1010AM/990AM, 10,000 Watts, 24X7X365 in San Francisco, Oakland, San José, Sacramento, Stockton and the Valley. Also, on SAP (Audio Channel), NBCSCA and social media outlets.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 30 Years Since the World Series, Loma Prieta Earthquake

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Photo credit: foundsf.org

By Amaury Pi-González

It has been 30 years later after that unforgettable October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake that stopped the Oakland A’s vs. San Francisco Giants World Series. Then-MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent decided on the classic postpone for 11 days. The A’s won two games prior to the earthquake and two more after in sweeping the Giants to win their fourth World Series in Oakland and ninth in total since they started playing in Philadelphia over 100 years ago.

That day was an unforgettable day as Evelio Areas Mendoza and yours truly were ending our pregame show on radio, when just minutes past 5 p.m., the earth shook Candlestick Park. Many people at the press box ran to the elevators, and many were trapped there because all electricity was lost. I remember fist images that I was able to see was that of KPIX CH 5 then-anchor Ana Chávez and the shot of the Bay Bridge, where cans fell into the bay. At that time, the whole world stopped, and we realized that when “mother nature” speaks, the World Series seems insignificant.

We became news reporters and witnesses. Manolo Alvarez, who was covering the game for WQBA AM in Miami came over and asked me how many more earthquakes were coming next. He is from Miami, where they are famous for hurricanes and not earthquakes, and had no idea. I explained to him that usually the after shocks are lesser in intensity. It was a 6.0, a very strong quake and we were lucky in the Bay Area as casualties were not as high as anticipated minutes after it happened.

It was a night to remember for all of us at that game were all of a sudden witnesses and interviewed. I remembered the experience for a few outlets in Mexico and Latin America. For me, that was one of the most hectic moments in my life and the most powerful earthquake I have ever felt to date.

Just a few days ago, we felt another shaker — this one, 5.4, almost 30 years to that October 30, 1989 shaker.

Amaury Pi-González is the pioneer in establishing Spanish baseball play by play in the Bay Area. With 40 years experience in radio and television in the Bay Area with the A’s, Giants, Warriors games as well as in Los Angeles with the Angels and Clippers for Fox TV play by play. Inducted into three Hall of Fame, BARHOF (Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame), The Cuban Sports Hall of Fame(Miami), and The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland A’s after 2019

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photo from bleacherreport.com: Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin says a game could go right down to a home run or a strikeout.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

There are basically four ways of building a championship team:
1. Farms system
2. Free Agent signings
3. MLB Draft
4. Trade of players

Of course not one is always the easiest, but instead, a combination of all four.

“The focus next year will be winning more games and trying to win our division,” said manager Bob Melvin after the A’s lost the Wild Card game to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

For the second year in a row, the A’s ended 97-65 in second place behind the Houston Astros. The last game of the season this year at the Coliseum had a record 54,005 attendance, a record for a Wild Card game in all of baseball. Unfortunately, the same results for the Green and Gold dating back to 2000. The A’s have lost nine consecutive winner-take all games. We have to go back to the team of the 1973 World Series’ Game 7 against the New York Mets. That was the last time the A’s won a do or die game.

In today’s baseball, things are much different. We are now in a game where is down to “home-run” or “strikeout” — both keep going up each season. For the record, winning the division is important, like Melvin mentioned, but let’s not forget that in 2005 the Atlanta Braves won the Division championship for the 14th consecutive year (1991-2005). That is the current MLB record for winning consecutive division titles. However, during that record-setting streak the Braves, under manager Bobby Cox, only won one World Series in 1995 over the Cleveland Indians. In 2014, Cox was elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager by the veterans committee.

Under the current system, it is much difficult to make it all the way to the October Classic — especially for a wild card team — with the goal of winning 12 games in the postseason to bring home the hardware.Winning your division is definitely a better way of going into the postseason for obvious reasons. A one-game Wild Card playoff is basically a “coin flip” on who is going to win. In the case of the game against Tampa Bay, I did agree with starting Sean Manaea, who was pitching great after his return, but we also have to respect Rays pitcher Charlie Morton, an established mainstay in their rotation with experience, a guy that made the last out of the World Series giving the Astros the title two years ago.

The last handful of games during the regular season the A’s were not hitting, scoring one to three runs per game and unfortunately that carried into the October 2 Wild Card game against the Rays in a 5-1 loss. The future is bright for the young A’s who are getting younger in their rotation for 2020 with Luzardo. Montas. AJ Puk joining Sean Manaea and Mike Fiers. Minus a couple of relievers and possibly Jurickson Profar the A’s position players will be mostly the same as this year. They will not need the services of veteran pitcher rentals Homer Bailey and Roark. Piscotty and Ramon Laureano now could be joined in left field by Seth Brown a young player with talent who hits left-handed. Khris Davis could use this off season to clear his mind and work toward adjusting his batting so he can have a new approach to hitting and be the Khris Davis that we all know.

Do not expect the A’s to be actively trading this winter because they do not need to They still have the core of the young players under contract. In my opinion, Marcus Semien — the team’s MVP this season — should win in arbitration.

I picked the Houston Astros to win the World Series before the season began. After they picked up starter Zack Greinke on July 31, my opinion became much more easy to make.  But it is baseball, and it is not perfect science. I remember the 1988 World Series all too well, when the A’s lost to the Dodgers. I worked that series, and after that series, I learned that anything is possible in baseball so the main thing is to make it to the World Series and bring home the trophy. That should be every team’s goal. Postseasons are nice, the fans love it and get into it, but sometimes you have to deliver and go much deeper into October.

As for the A’s, they will have to wait another year for that chance and hopefully in 2020 they could be playing at the end of October.

Amaury Pi-González is the pioneer in establishing Spanish radio play-by-play broadcasts in the Bay Area since the middle of the 1970’s with the Oakland Athletics. He has been a longtime contributor to sportsradioservice.com

How it ended: A’s season ends with a thud fall to the Rays 5-1

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sfgate.com photo: After surrendering three home runs Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea heads for the A’s dugout as the Tampa Bay Rays win the AL Wild Card game at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday night 5-1

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND- The Tampa Bay Rays won the Wild Card game and advanced to the ALDS against the Houston Astros. The Rays, with the second-best road record in baseball, scored all of their runs on the strength of four home runs. They sent A’s starter Sean Manaea to an early exit as he gave up three bombs in two-plus innings of work. The A’s could do nothing against Charlie Morton and the Rays’ bullpen.

The A’s had opportunities, but they failed to cash in, and that cost them the game. The A’s have made the playoffs five times in the Bob Melvin era. They failed to advance in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, and now in 2019. Billy Beane and David Forst have to make some moves to improve the team over the winter.

Let’s see what happens. The Rays took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With the count 3-1, Yandy Diaz homered to right field. Sean Manaea settled down and struck out the next three hitters. The Rays lead 1-0 with the A’s coming to the plate. The A’s were able to load the bases as Marcus Semien led off with a single. The Rays’ starter Charlie Morton struggled with his command as he walked two hitters to load the bases.

He got Jurickson Profar to fly out to right to end the threat. The Rays put two more on the board in the second. Former San Francisco Giant Matt Duffy led off with an infield single. The next hitter, Avasail Garcia, hit a blast that went about 420 feet over the centerfield fence to give Tampa a 3-0 advantage.

In the top of the third, Yandy Diaz hammered his second homer of the night to make it 4-0. A’s manager Bob Melvin, decided to remove Manaea from the game. Yusmeiro petit came in and was able to stop the damage. Manaea’s line was two innings pitched, four hits, and four runs. The Rays tagged him for three big flys.

The A’s put their first run on the board in the bottom of the third. Marcus Semien reached third on a throwing error by Rays’ third baseman Mike Brosseau. Semien scored on a Ramon Laureano’s sacrifice fly to right. With two out in the fifth, the Rays continued to send the ball out of the park. Rays’ DH Tommy Pham hit the Rays’ fourth home run of the night over the center-field wall to put the Rays in the drivers’ seat 5-1.

The A’s bullpen shut down the Rays the rest of the way. The Rays’ bullpen stifled the A’s offense to secure the win. The Rays travel to Houston to play the Astros in the American League Division Series. Game notes- The winning pitcher was Charlie Morton, and Sean Manaea took the loss. There was some controversy about Bob Melvin’s choice of Manaea over Mike Fiers. Fiers led the team with a 15-4 record this season.

He was the A’s best pitcher, and many people were surprised by Melvin’s choice. Melvin said Manaea pitched very well when he returned from the IL and was 4-0 in five starts before the Wild Card game. Manaea gave up three home runs and four runs in two-plus innings of work. The bullpen gave up just one run in the last seven innings of the game. The A’s offense went to sleep Wednesday night.

The only run they scored was unearned in the third inning. The A’s managed eight hits, all singles. The Rays had seven hits, but four were home runs, and that was the difference in the game. There were 54,005 fans at the park Wednesday night and that set a record for a Wild Card game. The time of the game was three hours and eighteen minutes. The A’s season ended sadly, but they have an excellent young team, and they will be back next year.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Why Omar Vizquel would be a great pick for Giants managerial job

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By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO — Omar Vizquel was one of the best ever defensive shortstops in major league baseball history,winning 11 Gold Gloves(second most in history to Ozzie Smith’s 13) during a 24-year career with Seattle, Cleveland, San Francisco 2005-2008,Texas, Chicago White Sox and Toronto.

Vizquel ended with a solid .272 batting average in 2,968 games with 2,877 hits. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Detroit Tigers first-base infield and base-running coach. Vizquel was the Captain of the Venezuelan World Baseball Classic Team in 2016 and a member of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame. He is 52 years old and bilingual in English and Spanish. He is a very smart baseball man who told me in the past his post-retirement goal was to manage in the major leagues.

The Giants will pick somebody to succeed Bruce Bochy, a future Hall of Fame manager that brought three World Series to San Francisco, a franchise that won their first World Series in 2010, the first for the club in 52 years since moving from New York. One of only 10 managers that have won three World Series, a sure thing for Cooperstown.

Vizquel received 182 votes in the 2019 ballot for the Hall of Fame, falling short of the 75% required for election, as he got 42.8 percent. His chances are good for membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in the next few years.

Vizquel is a good teacher and excellent communicator in two languages (Spanish, the second language in baseball), and there is little doubt in my mind that he will get a chance to manager in the major leagues. Maybe the Giants would give him the opportunity, among the many candidates that they will interview, if not, he will manage someplace, sooner than later. He was at the Bruce Bochy reunion this Sunday at Oracle Park. He loves the Bay Area and would be thrilled to be back here. He could be competing with another ex-player and also bilingual baseball man in Raúl Ibañez.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer in establishing baseball radio broadcast in Spanish in the Bay Area with the Oakland A’s since the the 1970’s and a longtime contributor to Sports Radio Service.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: The case for Marcus Semien as A’s 2019 MVP

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Photo credit: nbcsports.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

He is the Oakland Athletics shortstop since he came in via trade with the Chicago White Sox in 2014. I would be pressed to find any A’s player that has shown more improvement during that period than Marcus Semien. His glove and his bat are at an all-time high during the 2019 season, his last one under a one-year contract by the A’s.

Semien plays the shortstop position considered the most valuable defensive position in the infield except for catcher.

In 2015, Semien lead the league for a shortstop with 35 errors. To date, he only has committed 12 miscues. Ex-A’s coach Ron Washington and current coach Matt Williams have a lot to do with that.

Semien has played 153 games, leading the American League in that department.

Semien leads the team in runs scored, which is one of the most important stats for a player. After all, scoring runs is the most important. If you have any doubts, please ask Mike Trout.

Semien’s over .280 batting average, with 31 home runs and 87 runs batted-in, which are by far his best offensive numbers ever.

Semien’s OPS (On Base Plus Slugging) is over .800 and is one of the new sabermetric baseball statistics.

Aside from A’S MVP in 2019, Semien will get some consideration for American League MVP, although the Angels’ Mike Trout, the Astros’ Alex Bregman and the Yankees’ D.J. LeMahieu will get more recognition nationwide.

Semien is a good teammate who works hard. He was born and raised in the Bay Area.

The A’s will have a decision to make, but Semien already said he would like to stay here and sign a multi-year deal.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer is establishing Spanish radio play-by-play in the Bay Area since the mid-1970’s with the Oakland A’s. He is also a longtime contributor on sportsradioservice.com