Tag: Oakland A’s

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Mayor Thao has been silent on A’s relocation since July; No mention of A’s in state of city speech on Tuesday

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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao speaks at the state of city of Oakland address on Tue Oct 17, 2023. Thao did not address the Oakland A’s relocation at the address and has been pretty much silent on the A’s move to Las Vegas since the MLB All Star break in July (photo from oaklandside.org)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao for the most part has not said a word regarding the A’s move since her journey from last July’s All Star game. Mayor Thao flew to Seattle with an Oakland delegation to present MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred with 30 books showing that the City of Oakland was in the middle of negotiations for the Howard Terminal ballpark when the A’s broke off talks to announce they had a binding deal in Las Vegas.

#2 Manfred did have some stinging comments back in September saying that if Thao was close to a deal why didn’t she throw $100 million on the table. Thao said the deal for Howard Terminal was ten percent of the way there but Manfred said the deal wasn’t even close.

#3 Manfred did have a working relationship with former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf but after Schaaf’s term was up and Thao took over as new mayor A’s owner John Fisher and Manfred said that they couldn’t get anything going with Thao hence turning their attention to Las Vegas.

#4 There are some theories why various teams might vote no to an A’s relocation, the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks beam their broadcast signals, stream, and market their brand in Las Vegas that would all go away if the A’s make Vegas their home base, the Mariners could object being the only AL team in the Northwest and that would put them geographically alone with the nearest American League in Anaheim and you guessed it Las Vegas.

#5 Another objection going into the owners vote in November is the A’s would be moving into the smallest TV market and have the smallest capacity of all the ballpark in MLB. The A’s could very well be the number four team behind the Aces, Raiders, Knights, and drop to fifth if an NBA franchise moves into town.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with inside analysis and updates on the A’s relocation and MLB owners relocation vote Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A Star is Born in 2023 and it is Esteury Ruiz

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Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz heads home after hitting a two run homer off the Detroit Tigers on Sep 23, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum. Ruiz led the American League with 67 stolen bases in the 2023 season. (AP News photo)

A Star is Born in 2023 and it is  Esteury Ruíz

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The Oakland A’s rookie, Esteury Ruíz stole a rookie record 67 bases this past season, born in Azua, a town of over 120,000 people west of the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 100 kilometers – 62 miles away.

Numerous players were born in Azua, including the Miami Marlins Sandy Alcántara who in 2022 unanimously won the Cy Young Award in the National League. The 24-year-old rookie was tutored by Major League Baseball Rickey Henderson, the undisputed stolen base king of all time.

The stolen base record for a rookie established by Ruíz this past season is the new major league record. The record of 66 was previously held by Kenny Lofton, in 1992 with the Cleveland Indians (that was the name of that team, today the Cleveland Guardians).

Esteury Ruíz established the new MLB record for a rookie in stolen bases during his 132nd game of the season. It was in Anaheim, with two games left in the 2023 season, a sunny Sunday when in the third inning the Dominican kid broke the Lofton record, stealing his 67 base of the season.

The rookie will never forget this 2023 season “nunca se me olvidará este año” trans- “I will never forget this year”. Yet, he knows he needs to exhibit more patience at the plate, as he only walked 20 times in 449 plate appearances.

It is unfair to compare this kid with Rickey Henderson, because one season doesn’t makes a career. However, not a power hitter, Ruíz has many other good tools, like his defensive play in center field, just one season after the A’s had another young kid playing that position, Christian Pache, now playing with the best team in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, probably on his way to the World Series.

Esteury Ruíz, who mostly hits in the lead-off position or last in the lineup is a good kid, enjoys the game, works hard and loves, I mean loves, to run the bases. He also knows there is only one Rickey, Because there is nobody like Rickey: In 1982 Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases, the current one-season record, then also became the first and only three time over 100 stolen bases per-year-player in history, in 1980-82-83, ending with 1,406 stolen bases, also the current record in history.

2023 a good year to steal? Yes. The bases are slightly larger, the pitchers are limited in how often they can throw over to first base, Second base is where the majority of the bases are stolen, it is “donde está la acción” trans- “where the action is”.

This 2023 season stolen bases were at an all time high 81% success rate. And Ruíz did his part, Felicidades Esteury!. Quote: I was stealing all the bases, and when you had to go to arbitration they say, “You know, only the big boys make the money “So I got to try and figure out how to hit a Home-run too”. -Rickey Henderson.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcasts and commentaries at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Wisconsin legislators approves over $500 million to keep the Brewers

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American Family Field is seen Sept. 15, 2023, in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin state Assembly was set Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, to approve a Republican-authored plan to spend more than half-a-billion dollars to help cover repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium. (AP News photo)

By Amaury Pi-González

Wisconsin State Assembly just approved a plan to keep the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin until at least 2050 in exchange for spending nearly $550 million in state and local money to finance the team’s stadium. After legislators raised the prospect of the Brewers leaving Wisconsin is the state didn’t fund repairs at America Family Field.

Mark Attanasio, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers also chairs the Major League Baseball committee regarding the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas. The Brewers needed the funds to repair the stadium in Milwaukee. Mr.Attanasio fortune is estimated to be $700 million.

The State of Milwaukee has a total population of 5.8 million people, Milwaukee is the largest city, although a small baseball market, it represents a lot of the economy and name recognition of this state in the world of sports.

Mr.Attanasio who chairs the MLB committee regarding the relocation of the A’s from Oakland to Las Vegas, recently said about the owners committee; “The committee, we are literally in the middle of our process, which therefore, I can’t comment,” Attanasio said. “Even if I were to comment, we’re still doing our work. In fact, we had a meeting a couple of days ago. We have another meeting scheduled this week, so we’re addressing it in a broad context and there’s a lot to address.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expects the vote by the owners regarding the approval of the A’s move to Las Vegas will take place this November. Three-quarters of the owners votes are needed for the A’s to move to Las Vegas.

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

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Warrior owner Lacob knows he can’t buy what’s not for sale

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There is zero chance that Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob can buy the Oakland A’s as A’s owner John Fisher is keeping the team and moving them to Las Vegas (AP file photo)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob confirms that he still has a standing offer to buy the Oakland A’s and that he’s very interested in purchasing the team.

#2 When A’s owner John Fisher decided it wasn’t going to work in Oakland anymore he’s headed to Vegas but Lacob said he would interested in buying the team. However Lacob said you have to have someone who wants to sell something to be interested in buying it.

#3 Lacob, did make an attempt to buy the A’s when former A’s owners Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman put the team up for sale only to sell it to Lew Wolf who just so happened to be a sorority brother of former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig at the time.

#4 Lacob’s dream at the time was to build a new park at the current Oakland Coliseum location and build a baseball village around it. Now with Fisher owning half the Coliseum property and moving the team to Vegas it’s looking tougher to save the A’s.

#5 Fisher know he will increase the value of the team by moving it to Las Vegas and having the A’s play at the Tropicana on the strip. The only thing that will stop him now is if the MLB owners vote no. Otherwise any hope to keep the A’s in Oakland looks almost like no chance.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s relocation podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Historic Tropicana Hotel to be torn down for A’s ballpark

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Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas is expected to begin deconstruction in 2024 after the MLB owners vote to relocate the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas. The Tropicana will be cleared of debris and start building the A’s ballpark that will be completed in 2028. There are only two roadblocks that could stop the move the owners vote no in mid November or Schools over Stadiums is successful with their ballot measure to stop the public funding of the A’s ballpark. (AP News file photo)

Oakland A’s relocation podcast:

#1 For the Oakland A’s their regular season ended last week but they’re future in Las Vegas is just about to get started. The A’s are waiting for the MLB owners to hold a vote in mid November to decide whether to relocate the A’s or not.

#2 The latest discussion is on the historic deconstruction of the Tropicana Hotel and Resort. The Tropicana who has been in business for 66 years will tear down it’s hotel and resort historic buildings and clear the property of debris and build the ballpark.

#3 Part of the Tropicana will be taken down and the rest will be imploded to make way for the nine acre ballpark.

#4 The A’s have architect Gensler and Bjarke Ingels Group/HNTB will be making multiple designs which A’s president David Kaval and owner John Fisher will look over and decide which rendering they will choose from.

#5 Daniel, from the prospective of the people who live in Oakland, the people who work at the Coliseum and those who have a long running history with this organization that will be a tough day once deconstruction on the Tropicana is started.

Join Daniel Dullum on the Oakland A’s relocation podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2023 The Worst Year for the A’s in Oakland

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Oakland A’s pitcher JP Sears delivers against the Los Angeles Angeles in the first inning at the Big A in Anaheim on Sun Oct 1, 2023. Sears and the A’s went through the worst season in Oakland history. (AP News photo)

2023 The Worst Year for the A’s in Oakland

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The bad season for the A’s combined with the news this year the team is moving to Las Vegas, makes it the worst year ever in Oakland A’s baseball history.

The 2023 Oakland A’s season ended in Anaheim, on October 1, with their 112 loss of the season. They ended with 50-112. At the bottom of the American League and Major League Baseball in the win and lost column, as in most statistical departments, obviously including attendance. The 112 games lost is ten more than 2022 when they lost 102 games. In 1979 Oakland lost 108 games, so there have been other bad years for the ball club since they moved from Kansas City to Oakland in1968.

However, in 55 years of playing in Oakland, this is the first year that the team is planning to leave the city of Oakland, build a new stadium in Las Vegas which they hope to inaugurate on opening day 2028. The combination of bad performance on the field and the eventual departure of this franchise without a doubt makes it the worst year.

Some take solace that they won 50 games, but that is not what history will remember this team for, because when you end with 50 wins during a 162 game season, everybody knows what happened.

Bright spots: Young position players like Zack Gelof, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Esteury Ruíz, Jordan Díaz, Shea Langeliers, have shown they are major league talent. Their pitching is also very young, and the club will need some stability forming a rotation, they have some very good arms.

Lefty J.P Sears started 32 games for the team, he was their most consistent pitcher. Sears ended with a record of 5-14 and 4.54 earned run average, hardy a positive record, but what more could he do with a team that lost 112 games? Pitchers are many times the benefactors of the teams they pitched for, but also their numbers suffer when they pitch for a bad team. It is part of baseball.

Zack Greinke ended the season with a record of 2-15 and 5.06 ERA for the last place Kansas City Royals in the central division. The Royals ended with a 56-106 record, and Greinke a potential Hall of Fame pitcher, could not escape the poor performance of his team. A pitcher with over 200 wins (granted at the end of his career) was not helped at all by his team performance. Zack Greinke said before the season, this was his last year.

What the A’s need? They have to find a way to build a decent rotation, guys like JP Sears who gets the ball every fifth day, has that unique consistence is badly needed on a young club like the A’s.. People should know that this 2023 team have some great young arms, the ones I think are the best: Kyle Mueller, Luis Medina, Mason Miller,Joey Estes and Joe Boyle, they all need more seasoning, but they have the tools. In years past when the A’s were “rebuilding”, a most favorite term, they also signed a veteran pitcher than can get outs, guys like a Jon Lester, Bartolo Colón.

They do not have to take a loan to sign pitchers like that, but guys that will help a very young pitching staff and they bring a lot to the table, with their experience, and in Colón’s case I remember one A’s pitcher telling me, “this guy is great to have because he has been around and he still throws strikes and he is mentor to the kids that are trying to become good pitchers”.

What will happen? Nobody knows. There will be changes, some players will not be back, others will be traded, maybe some new faces will be signed and that could bring another dimension to the 2024 Oakland Athletics.

I am not going to write here about the move to Las Vegas, because everybody have their own opinion, it has become a very emotional issue, in some cases incendiary. It is a salad of owners, construction companies, labor unions, school teachers unions, politicians, lawyers and one Commissioner, what they call a “mix salad”.

So, I like to end with this quote.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” Helen Keller

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

Oakland Finishes Off 2023 Season With Loss to Angels 7-3

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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Michael Stefanic (38) waits for the throw as Oakland Athletics Esteury Ruiz (1) steals third base during the third inning at the Big A in Anaheim on Sun Oct 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Oakland A’s (50-112) took on Los Angeles (73-89) at Angel Stadium. They were hoping to avoid losing the series and at the very least finish off the 2023 season with a win.

In the game two win over the Angels, the A’s reached the 50 win mark and had a chance to win this series. The A’s didn’t pass the third game of the series taste test and dropped their last game of the regular season with a 7-3 four run loss.

This game did not go well for the Athletics. Through six innings, the Angels scored in every inning with the exception of the second inning. They hit three home runs two of them off the bat of Brandon Drury and after six innings held a 7-0 lead.

Drury had a homer in the first inning and the second in the fifth inning, a two-run home run. In the third inning Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer and this game was all Angels. Going into the eighth inning Los Angeles held onto the lead allowing two Oakland runs.

The A’s finally scored in the seventh inning. Nick Allen singled Lawrence Butler home preventing an Angel shut-out.

In the eighth inning Oakland celebrated a special moment when Brent Rooker, at his final at bat in 2023, hit his 30th home run. This was for sure a little lemonade in this lemon of a season. Los Angeles held on. While this was certainly a disappointing season for the Angels, it was an unbelievably painful year for the Oakland A’s.

The A’s had eight hits in this game but only scored two runners. Los Angeles had ten hits cashing in bringing seven runners home. It was another disappointing appearance on the mound for JP Sears to finish this year off.

He allowed four hits and three runs and lasted only four innings. Kyle Muller relieved for one inning allowing three hits and three runs. It was another rough afternoon for the Oakland bullpen.

Rather than dwell on the season record one can turn to the last couple of months for the A’s. There has been growth among these players and the way they have evolved has been encouraging. It has been a season of steps forward and steps back.

Next season these guys will be a year older and they will have had an entire MLB season under their belts. This has been the worst Oakland season ever and you have to take your hats off to these young guys who persevered through incredible negative publicity, through the anticipated move issues that wove their way throughout the season, and just getting to know each other.

If this team remains intact, they will be miles better next season. The caveat always remains with this organization. Due to the horrible mismanagement of the Oakland front office this team is always behind the eight ball from the get go season after season.

They no sooner start to play great ball when the players who are succeeding are traded away leaving the coaches to pick up the pieces and start over. Selling this team to someone who cares is the only thing that makes any sense at all. What a shame to single handedly destroy a major league baseball team.

Barbara Mason is an Oakland A’s beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s lobbyists suing Schools over Stadiums for blocking Vegas ballpark public funding

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Las Vegas Tropicana Hotel and Resort Park renderings. The Park is expected to be ready for the 2028 season upon approval by the MLB owner relocation vote in mid November. If the Schools over Stadiums initiative makes the ballot and is voted down in Nov 2025 shovels could be in the ground as soon as Dec 2025. If it doesn’t make the ballot or A’s lobbyists win their lawsuit to stop the ballot measure shovels could be in the ground as soon as Jan 2025 (renderings from the Oakland A’s)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, Schools over Stadiums is being sued by Oakland A’s representatives for trying to put a measure on the ballot to stop the use of public funds that will go towards a Las Vegas Tropicana ballpark to the tune of $380 million.

#2 Schools over Stadium are seeking repeals of the State of Nevada’s funding to build the A’s Tropicana ballpark on the Las Vegas strip. Nevada is 49th in the US in education. During the Nevada Legislative special session where the A’s were awarded the $380 million public funding education was left out of the budget in June, Schools over Stadiums seeks to block the funds for the ballpark.

#3 The teachers group says that the state should have invested public monies for education and not a baseball stadium. At the time Schools over Stadiums were considering launching the petition drive critics of the petition drive said it would not impact they’re plans to move ahead to fund a ballpark in Vegas but now they are filing the lawsuit to try and block the potential ballot measure. If the A’s representatives weren’t so concerned before why be concerned now?

#4 Plaintiffs Danny Thompson and David Morely who filed the lawsuit in First District Court in Carson City against Schools over Stadiums because language in Senate Bill 1 are only in portions, the petition is invalid, the plaintiffs want the Nevada Secretary of State to block the measure from getting on the Nov 2025 ballot, block Schools over Stadiums from circulating the petition for signatures, and invalidate any signatures that have been collected.

#5 Defendants named in the lawsuit Schools Over Stadiums, its officers Dawn Etcheverry, Chris Daly and Andrea DeMichieli, and Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar in his official capacity. Chris Daly is a former San Francisco Board of Supervisor and is familiar with the Bay Area landscape and can explain how a move by the A’s to Las Vegas would have a tremendous economic impact Oakland and the greater East Bay.

Daniel Dullum will continue his Oakland A’s podcasts regarding the MLB relocation of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Skid Continues Losing to Angels 5-1

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By Barbara Mason

After a very long 2023 MLB season (far longer for some then others) the Oakland A’s (49-111) took on the Los Angeles Angels (72-88) to finish off their season in a three game series at Angel Stadium. Neither team had anything to play for other than pride. For the A’s there was nothing to be proud about as Oakland lost it’s fourth out of it’s last five games 5-1 on Friday night.

The Angels had a disappointing season but no one got close to the disaster that the A’s suffered through with the exception of the Royals, the Rockies and the White Sox.

It can’t get any worse than being touted as the worst team in baseball. Despite all of that, the Athletics continued to fight through the season. They held their heads high and did play a better brand of baseball in the final months of the season.

Despite a losing season, the Angels drew a nice crowd for this finale with 32,333 in attendance. The A’s did get on the board first in the third inning. Brent Rooker doubled Zach Gelof home giving the A’s the 1-0 lead but that would be the one and only run for Oakland in this game.

Los Angeles scored three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth inning. As the third inning finished up the Angels had taken a 3-1 lead and in the fifth inning, Mickey Moniak hit a two-run home run for a 5-1 lead which was the final. Moniak had not seen action since September 5 due to left back tightness

It was a tough outing for A’s pitcher Ken Waldichuk who gave up seven hits and four runs walking three players. Los Angeles pitcher Chase Silseth gave up two hits and the one run in four innings.

This was his first start since August 26 after being hit by an errant throw from third baseman Trey Cabbage. Relief pitcher for the Angels Davis Daniel went five scoreless innings for his first major league win.

The A’s are now on a 3-12 skid and they have the most losses in the major leagues since the Detroit Tigers went 47-114 in 2019.

The Angels have not yet decided on a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game two. Oakland will send Joe Boyle (1-0 ERA 0.00) to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 PM in this final weekend of the regular MLB season.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s end 3 game series with Twins with 2-1 win; Oakland opens 3 game series tonight against Angels

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Oakland A’s starter Luis Medina throws to the Minnesota Twins line up in the bottom of the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Sep 28, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s, behind Luis Medina’s best performance of the year and timely hitting by the A’s offense, gave the A’s a 2-1 win over the Central Division champions, the Minnesota Twins.

#2 It was Medina’s last start in 2023, and he made it a good one. The young man from the Dominican Republic can go home knowing how well he pitched Thursday afternoon.

#3 The Twins did score a run off Medina in the bottom of the sixth. However, relievers Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, and Trevor May pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to secure the win for the Green and Gold.

#4 The A’s were facing their former teammate Sonny Gray in the final game of the three-game series. Gray had been a first-round pick of the A’s in the 2011 Amateur Draft. Gray had been a standout pitcher at Vanderbilt University.

#5 The A’s will close out the season with their final series against the Los Angeles Angels tonight in Anaheim. Starting pitchers for the A’s Ken Waldichuk (4-8 ERA 5.29) for the Angels Chase Silseth (4-1 ERA 4.10) first pitch 6:38pm PT.

Jeremiah did the Oakland A’s podcasts Fridays during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com