Tag: Ben Grieve

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: Pitch clock shaved from 20 to 18 seconds; Jackie Robinson statue was melted down for it’s metal; plus more news

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Former New York Met Tommy Pham stands in the on deck circle at the Grapefruit League against the Washington Nationals at Port St Lucie Fla on Sun Feb 26, 2023. The pitch clock this season 2024 has been reduced from 18 seconds to 20 seconds with runners on base. The Players Union protested but MLB implemented the decision regardless. (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports with Charlie O:

#1 Major League Baseball has cut the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds and will remain at 15 seconds with no runners on base. MLB Players Association Chief Tony Clark said it was too soon to cut two seconds off with runners. Clark said that was a conversation that union leaders and the players had with MLB but MLB implemented the two second shave anyway.

#2 The cleats of Jackie Robinson baseball first African American player from his bronze statue that was cut at the ankles will be donated to the Negro League Museum in Kansas City. Robinson’s statue was cut and stolen. A vehicle that was involved in loading the statue was found at a complex in Wichita. The statue was found melted by the Fire Department. It was not believed to be racially motivated crime. It’s believed that three suspects were involved in the cutting of the statue and one suspect was named Ricky Alderete 45. The value of the statue is priced at 75,000 and anything over $25,000 is considered felony theft.

#3 The story of the bad uniforms continues. The jerseys have no stitched lettering like last years, the letters and numbering are embroidered, the batter man on the back of the jersey is lowered and the uniform pants are see through. Tony Clark once again speaking for the players saying it’s a disappointment that uniforms now have taken center stage and is hoping the uniforms can change before opening day.

#4 The New York Yankees Alex Verdugo says he has no hard feelings against Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Verdugo was traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees saying that Cora was hard on him but there are no hard feelings. Verdugo said that he loves Cora outside of the game, his kids and his family. That there is nothing personal between him and Cora.

#5 On Saturday 1320 ESPN had a chance to attend the Fans Fest sponsored by the Last Dive Bar and the Oakland 68’s at Jack London Square at Alice and 2nd Streets in downtown Oakland. Former A’s players were there Grant Balfour, Coco Crisp, Billy North, Mike Norris, Trevor May and Ben Grieve. This was not a Fans Fest to bash the Oakland A’s but a Fans Fest to support the A’s to stay in Oakland.

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Fans Fest at Jack London Square: Strong support from fans hoping for an A’s to stay in Oakland miracle

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Former Oakland A’s pitcher Grant Balfour is thumbs up on the Fans Fest celebrating Oakland Sports and hosted by the Oakland 68’s and the Last Dive Bar at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (photo by Bay Area News Group)

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Saturday’s midday Fansfest next to the Jack London Amtrak station billed itself as an affirmation of civic pride Oakland’s sports heritage. It specifically stated that it was not a protest of the current ownership of the currently Oakland Athletics.

It certainly was an outpouring of Oaktown pride and love for its local sports teams. The Fansfest also clearly was an implicit rebuke to the Fisher-Manfred-Las Vegas axis. Even the weather cooperated.

The experience in downtown Oakland was diametrically opposed to that of a typical day at the once imposing pleasure dome on the banks of the River Nimitz, a venue that Peter Gammons once called the best in baseball and which was highly praised by Allan Temko, the architecture critic of the once mighty San Francisco Chronicle. The sky was clear; the temperature, sweltering. And the place was jam packed with A’s fans, many of whom took advantage of the free indoor parking.

Both outdoors and in the enclosed Block 15, also teeming with the faces you used to see at the Coliseum, the mood was festive and co-operative. Ex-A’s Grant Balfour, Coco Crisp, Khris Davis, Ben Grieve, Mike Norris, Bill North, and Trevor May, as well as retired Giant and current Oakland Ballers coach, JT Snow were scheduled to be available for autographs.

I was only able to exchange a few words with the first two. My colleague, Stephen Ruderman, had better luck and managed to conduct a podcast interview, which he reported in his own dispatch.

Block 15’s attractions included a wall of vendors offering bobble heads, statues, drawings, enough to make your head spin. While I was there, Vida Blue’s children were describing what it was like to grow up in the Coliseum, but I could hardly hear their presentation.

The list of sponsors, corporate and individual, was impressive, in spite of the last minute withdrawal of Drake’s Brewery, a withdrawal that the Athletics’ front office vigorously denies having influenced. Whatever the reasons behind that decision, the brewery’s absence wasn’t particularly notable; plenty of suds were on sale to thirsty attendees.

Stands offered an incredible variety of baseball merchandise, from socks to caps, and a wide assortment of baseball arts, crafts, and memorabilia. Cal Athletics, the Oakland Roots, the Oakland Ballers also had booths.

Let Las Vegas match that.

Lewis Rubman is a MLB beat writer for sportsradioservice.com