Tag: Amaury Pi Gonzalez

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball in England? “This is Bloody Cool”

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Photo credit: @visitlondon

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Major League Baseball’s first regular season series will take place this weekend from June 29-30 at London Stadium in London, England.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the greatest rivalry in baseball and perhaps professional sports. The Red Sox are the home team, which makes a lot of sense for their first ever game in England, since the Red Sox play in New England. The NFL and the NBA have played in England, but this is a first for the MLB.

The Yankees have an on-going major league record of 29 consecutive games hitting a home run, plus they just ended a 10-game homestand with a 9-1 record. As this series gets underway, the Yankees are leading the AL East with 52-28 and a nine-game lead over the reigning champion Red Sox, who are in third place.

The two-game series between the Yankees and Red Sox will see the biggest and oldest rivalry in US sports in front of an estimated 130,000 fans.

London Stadium is a multipurpose outdoor stadium with a capacity of 66,000. One of the most iconic cities of the world, London has Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and the Coca Cola London Eye, a huge observation wheel next to the Thames river. It is a scenario worthy for a James Bond movie.

It will be aired on FOX Sports Saturday, June 29 at 1:10PM EDT and ESPN Sunday, June 30 at 10:10 AM EDT.

Baseball in England is a spectacle, and like the British would say, “This is bloody cool.”

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: NL opponents always set for Dodgers; Astros hold onto first, everyone out for them too; plus more

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On Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, in the power rankings, everybody in the National League seems ready to chase the Dodgers as the team to beat every time they face the Dodgers.

#2 The Houston Astros the first place team in the AL West and have been giving their AL opponents some fits this season. Although they hit a rough patch, losing three of their last 10 games, they’ve been proving that opponents are going after them.

#3 The Milwaukee Brewers, who almost took out the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason last year, are another team who’s contending. They are just two games out of first place in the NL Central only trailing the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers are stocked with offense, including slugger Christian Yelich.

#4 Not too far in the distant future, the Tampa Bay Rays will be splitting their home games at Parc Olympic in Montreal. How much of a serious indication that their days in Tampa Bay are numbered?

#5 The Oakland City council are putting the Oakland A’s through the new stadium question test. Their main questions are paying for the new Howard Terminal location, and besides running a gondola from 12th Street BART to Howard Terminal, the council is looking for more answers to getting fans to the new stadium by other public transportation means.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish play by play announcer heard on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Fan hurt at Dodger Stadium; Safety at MLB parks

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AP photo: A young fan holds ice to her head after being hit with a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

A young woman was struck at Dodger Stadium by a line-drive hit by Cody Bellinger. She was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests. She was sitting just beyond the protective netting.

“I saw it literally hit her face,” Bellinger said “It was tough.”

While the odds are higher that you will have an automobile accident while driving to the baseball park as opposed to getting hit in a head by a baseball at the park, the fact remains that most stadiums are “fan friendly”and the fans are closer to the action. It is also true that today’s players are stronger than eve — pitchers can throw faster than ever and hitters can hit harder than ever. So if this is all true, the fans most pay more attention than ever, right? Not really.

Today, there are more distractions when you attend a baseball game than ever before. For starters, everybody carries a cell phone and many have one eye on the cell phone and the other eye on the action on the field. We are busier than ever. I remember when you went to the park to relax, enjoy the game and pay attention to the game and maybe even score the game, which is something that you seldom see today. Maybe with the older folks.

A line drive can hit anybody in the stands at any park at any given moment, even if you are paying attention to the game. One of the great things in baseball is that you feel part of the game, unlike any other sport, you can go home with a ball that you caught, show to your friends, save it as a souvenir or use it for a future player autograph.

Stadiums are protected by small screen/netting,most behind the dugouts and in other places. Ironically, the dated Oakland Coliseum, might be one of the safest parks to attend due to all that spacious foul territory. A line-drive doesn’t get to you as quick as most other places, so you have less of a chance of getting injured.

Nevertheless, baseball games offers fans a unique experience. It is the ultimate game to take you family on a sunny Sunday afternoon to enjoy. There will always be accidents, but I believe that if you pay attention, you are more aware and therefore, you can see a ball if it is coming your way.

The largest stadium in the MLB is Dodger Stadium with a capacity of 56,000. As of today, the Dodgers have the largest attendance in all of baseball — 2,049,295 in 43 home games. That is an average of 47,658. They have the best record in the game, 54-25 leading the NL West, 13 games over the Colorado Rockies and on their way to their seventh consecutive divisional title. The current record is 14 in a row by the Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 2005.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is heard on the Oakland A’s Spanish flagship station KIQI 1010 San Francisco and can be heard weekly on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: ESPN Deportes saying Adios by September

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Photo credit: espn.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Social Media has done it once again. They just about eradicated print media in this country as they continue to advance as part of the biggest media transformation of our lives. ESPN Deportes from Bristol, Connecticut confirmed that their radio channel in Spanish will cease to operate this fall. As a result, many full-time and part-time jobs will be going away. Most of these jobs are in Coral Gables (Miami) as well as in New York. However, while Miami and New York were their major hubs, they have stations all across the country. Maybe the best example of what has been happening for a decade with the social media transformation is the New York Times, the most famous newspaper in the country, received a loan from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim in 2009. Slim gave the NYT $250 million dollars to keep operating.

“Hispanic audience consumer habits are changing rapidly and this requires ESPN to evolve as well,” the statement said. “It’s no secret Hispanic fans skew heavily on digital and social media, which is why we made the decision to discontinue ESPN Deportes terrestrial radio (ESPN Deportes radio) in September.”

It is obvious that the majority of people in the US get their news and sports via social media. Everybody has a cellphone and can now access live and instant information at their fingertips. Social media facilitates the sharing of information and ways of expression via virtual communities and networks.

The future of media is truly in the hands of social media, the main engine of transformation in this business. Print media was first, then radio and television finding a way how to “befriend” social media.

Until as recently as 2016, today’s Oakland Athletics flagship station KTRB 860 AM was part of ESPN Deportes. When it comes to social media in relation to “old” media, the best thing to do is listed below.

In other words, if you can’t beat them, join them!

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Yankees look for more pitching to get past Rays; A’s-O’s series could feature close games; plus more

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is actively going shopping looking for pitching. One of the strong prospects of winning in the postseason is good pitching. The Yankees, who have been hampered by injuries, are looking forward to a healthier second half of the season with a compliment of good pitching.

#2 The Oakland A’s are facing the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series. The Orioles have struggled all season, but like in the show, a team like the Orioles could come out of it and make a series of it. The A’s might very well be involved in some close games in this series.

#3 As of late, the A’s have been getting some hitting production at the bottom of their lineup from Jurickson Profar, Josh Phegley, Matt Chapman, Khris Davis, Marcus Semien, and Ramon Laureano.

#4 The A’s put together a four-game winning streak before dropping the final game of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays to conclude their last road trip at 6-4.

#4 The San Francisco Giants are playing the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Dodgers Stadium the last time these two teams met at Oracle Park it nearly turned into a zoo when Max Muncy was circling the bases after pitcher Madison Bumgarner told Muncy to quit watching the ball and run and Muncy told Bumgarner if he doesn’t like it he could go into the ocean and get the ball. Amaury describes if this one will be a rivalry again.

#5 David Ortiz attorney José Martínez Hoepelman has said that the tireless effort by authorities have been fruitful and that the people want information, but they just have to wait. Dominican police say they are closing in on the ring leader Gabriel Alexánder Pérez Vizcaíno, according to the Associated Press.

#6 Turning to Los Angeles where the San Francisco Giants are playing a three-game series with the Dodgers, our attention turns to a topic we didn’t get to talk about — In feature article in the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish announcer Jaime Jarrin, whose 84-years-old, lost his wife last month in May after 65 years of marriage. The Dodgers paid a tribute to their marriage and Jaime, who is a huge part of the Dodger family, talked about losing his wife last February 28th.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez does the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play and News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: David Ortiz Shot for $8K Bounty

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Photo credit: @nypost

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was shot Sunday in Santo Domingo for an $8,000 bounty according to the latest police reports from his hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. While $8,000 would only pay for a couple of months rent in a San Francisco apartment, in the D.R.–a poor Caribbean country of 12 million people, $8,000 is a lot of money. As a matter of fact, that is the equivalent of $400,000 Dominican pesos.

Ortiz was shot at a bar as part of a plot that also included two cars, a motorcycle and at least a half-dozen men, Dominican police revealed Wednesday. That was the motive behind the attempted murder of Big Papi, a national heroe in the baseball rich island. During the ambush, Ortiz and two others were wounded. Dominican police investigators believe the conspirators met hours before the ambush, hoping to collect the $8,000 bounty. Ortiz was shot inside the Dial Lounge and Bar. Witnesses captured one man, a shooter of Ortiz, beat him and waited until the police arrived. The police instantly put him in jail.

Two other suspects were arrested. According to the D.R. police, this attack involved several people who arrived in two cars and a motorcycle, per Ney Aldrin Bautista, Director de la Policia Nacional (Translation: Director of the National Police). At this time, the Dominican police has not revealed who paid the bounty for the murder of Ortiz. The investigation continues. As of today, the Dominican Police now have six people in custody who revealed that somebody hired 10 people to kill Ortiz.

After a successful second surgery, Ortiz is resting comfortably in a Boston, Massachusetts hospital. Of all the countries outside the United States, the D.R. remains as “Numero Uno” as far as major league talent today.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Check the Ball? On Pace for 6,513 Home Runs

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Photo credit: @SportmaniaM

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

It used to be the Home Run was the most exciting play in the game of baseball, but at this pace, the 2019 MLB season is becoming so much of a routine event that it’s like “an intoxication of eating too much candy”. Last season, there was a total of 5,585 home runs hit among all 30 teams, but that is not the record for a single season. The record for a single season was established in 2017 with 6,105. Today, we are on a pace for 6,514 or more.

On Sunday, the Washington Nationals hit four straight home runs off of pitcher Craig Stammen. It was the ninth time in MLB history a team has hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers. On Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies hit 13 home runs at Citizens Bank Park. The D-Backs finished with eight home runs while the Phillies hit five for the new major league record.

A major league ball is supposed to weight between 5 and 5 1/4 ounces. Nowadays, pitchers throw harder than ever, and hitters have the launch angle mode, which is the perfect storm as managers really do not have to use a lot of strategies. It is all about Earl Weaver’s favorite play, the three-run homer. The game has changed and the ball has also “changed”.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Warriors squeak by to live another day as Durant leaves arena on crutches

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Warriors On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Warriors and Raptors played to a one-point contest 106-105 with the Warriors keeping themselves alive in the Finals trailing Toronto 3-2 in the series and they did it without Kevin Durant towards the end of the game.

#2 An unlucky shot by the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry that didn’t go in ended up forcing a Game 6 and a possible elimination game for Toronto.

#3 But it was a big offensive night for the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who led Golden State with 31 points, followed by splash brother Klay Thompson, who finished with 26.

#4 The big question is will Durant be able to return for Game 6 and how badly do the Warriors need him back in the lineup considering risking more damage to his already injured calf?

#5 So Game 6 will definitely wind up being the last home game ever for the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena, a building they played in since 1966.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish play-by-play radio talent for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Very possible Big Papi was a target of a hit; Resting comfortably in Boston hospital

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ap photo: Fans at walk past a photograph of Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz before a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Oct. 1, 2016.

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Amaury Pi-Gonzalez:

Big Papi (David Ortiz) is the face of those World’s Championships Boston Red Sox teams who won three World Series. In the Dominican Republic, he’s almost like a God, he could probably run for president and win. Let’s face it, Ortiz can run for president and win. Ortiz is an idol and the bad guys know that Ortiz had money there are kidnapping and robberies there and there really isn’t any solid proof why he got shot, but his publicist said that this was a hit job.

I have talked to Dominicans and it looks like a hit job it was premediated and these two guys came on motorcycles and they stopped by the bar restaurant that Big Papi was seated at. They shot Ortiz in the back and the other friend, whose a famous news anchor in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was with.

Ortiz is resting in a Boston hospital resting after a long surgery. Doctors reportedly removed part of his spleen and liver and it has been reported that Ortiz is not out of the woods yet. Eventually, Ortiz will have to go through therapy and then he will probably have therapy for his mental well-being after going through something like this. One of the two suspects who fell of their motorcycle was caught by witnesses and beaten before police came and arrested him and he had confessed to the crime.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez does News and Commentary each Tuesday and is the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play announcer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Adjusting to Hit Against the Shift

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Photo credit: chicagotribune.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

During the last 10 years or so, the shift has taken over, which was something that was an oddity. Harry S .Truman was the President of the United States when during the summer of 1946, Cleveland Indians Manager Lou Boudreau witnessed three Ted Williams hit three home runs during the first game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. Which was very interesting because the shift never stopped a ball that went over the fence for a home run. But Boudreau was sick and tired of Williams pulling the ball to right field, so he decided to put four infielders between first and second. During that time only one player came to the plate with that defensive alignment. Therefore, it was called the “Ted Williams shift” for many years.

The Houston Astros are one of the teams that have used the shift the most. Nothing rare to see a left-handed hitter, that could be hitting .236 to see Yuliesky Gurriel at first-base, Jose Altuve the second baseman playing between first and second in short right field, shortstop Carlos Correa playing between second and first, to the right of Altuve and their regular third-baseman Alex Bregman playing just behind second base. Right-handed hitters also hit with the shift with frequency like Atlanta’s Freddy Freeman, and that is why he is a .300 hitter.

Matt Olson is he first-baseman for the Oakland Athletics. Olson is the 6’5″ and 230 lb cleanup hitter for the A’s. He has hit 142 home runs since his debut with the team in 2016. Yet, he has bunted looking for a base hit a few times this season to the opposite side of the shift for him the left side.

“Honestly, I think it’s always in play unless it’s kind of late in the game and I’m a tying or go-ahead run, something where driving the ball would be big for us,” said Olson.

And why not? I need to mention that there are major league players than can hit to the opposite field with frequency like I have recently seen more players with power like Olson trying to get on base with the bunt. A bunt hit today is breaking news and should be reported by Wolf “Breaking News” Blitzer on CNN. The bunt is healthy when used to be an integral part of the game, whose purpose is to get on base and score. Baseball historians say that the bunt was invented by Dickey Pearce, who played seven seasons with the New York Mutuals, Brooklyn Atlantics and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The bunt was not common until the 1880’s and then it was integrated in the 20th century as part of baseball strategy.

Thousands of home runs are hit in today’s game,specially with a “new”and lighter baseball it is common to see the balls going over the fences 420,430 feet or more. It would be ironic if the bunt is making a comeback but what is not ironic but a reality, is that power hitters with very low batting averages are trying to do more than just hit home runs and that is to bunt when they have the shift right in front.

Can the bunt have a revival in 2019? Maybe not, but we are seeing it with more frequency, and I do not mind especially when and if it works. Not only a sacrifice bunt, but a bunt for a base hit against the shift. Although home runs will never be boring and most fans love it.

The bunt? Let’s face it, it is a beautiful thing. By the way, the best I ever seen here in the Bay Area when it came to the art of bunting is Dagoberto “Blanco” Campaneris, a three-time World Champion shortstop for the Athletics from 1972-74.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is a pioneer of Spanish broadcasting in the Bay Area and has been broadcasting in the major leagues since 1979 for radio and television. He is currently on KIQI 1010AM/990AM Oakland Athletics Spanish radio network, covering the Bay Area and Sacramento/Stockton. Amaury got his start with A’s owner Charlie O. Finley.