Tag: Sports Radio Service

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Sharks try to put an end to 4 game loss streak Saturday against Seattle

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Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) dives after the puck next to San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun (3) during the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa:

#1 The Edmonton Oilers Jeff Skinner scored on a tip that broke a 2-2 deadlock against the San Jose Sharks in the latter part of the second period that eventually got the Oilers the 3-2 win.

#2 Skinner’s goal came after Leon Draisatil left the game with an undisclosed injury. Draisaitl never returned and head coach Kris Knoblauch that he had no update to Draisaitl’s injury.

#3 The Oilers Connor Brown and Viktor Arvdisson scored to give the Oilers their third straight win. Goaltender Calvin Pickard save 27 shots.

#4 The Sharks are on a four game loss streak and are in dead last place in the Western Conference and have lost the first of three games against the Oilers with two weeks left in the season.

#5 The Sharks host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Seattle are 32-38, they are seventh in the Pacific Division and have been playing .500 hockey losing four of their last ten games. Face off Saturday at 7:30pm PDT. How do you see this match up.

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025: Caps Ovechkin 3 goals away to catch the Great One: Canadiens push to make post season since 2021 win 3rd straight game; Senators Ullmark saves 31 shots in 3-1 win over Lightning; plus more news

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Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and the Boston Bruins defenceman Ian Mitchell (14) push each other as linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) intervenes in the first period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025

#1 It’s been a long time coming for the Montreal Canadiens as their push for a Stanley Cup Playoff birth continues. The last time the Habs were in the post season was in 2021. The Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 for their third straight win at the Belle Centre on Thursday night. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki scored a goal a piece and an assist. Sam Montembeault had 18 saves. The win gives Montreal a two point lead over the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

#2  Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for the Ottawa Senators and put an end to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s four game win streak. The Senators came up with a 3-1 win on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel tried to score on a short handed break away but Ullmark stopped the shot at 5:58 in the third period to keep the score at the time to 2-1.

#3  Cale Makar had himself an evening for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his 30th goal and picking up two assists in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Thursday. Makar became the ninth defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since the Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green had 31 in 2008-09.

#4  The red hot St Louis Blues tied a franchise record with their 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Enterprise Center on Thursday night. Robert Thomas scored at 2:12 in the overtime stanza for the winning goal. The win ties the Blues with the Stanley Cup Champions Blues who won 11 in a row between Jan 23-Feb 19 2019.

#5 The Dallas Stars Wyatt Johnson got a goal in his sixth game in a row and the Stars won their seventh game in a row with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. In the NHL Johnson’s streak is the longest active run. The Stars Jake Oettinger saved 28 shots in the win.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson Fri Apr 4, 2025: Kings try to end 3 game skid tonight against Hornets

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All the Sacramento Kings defense can do is watch is awe as the Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr shoots over Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) in the first half at the Capital Center in DC on Wed Apr 2, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Sacramento Kings lost a brutal game against one of the NBA’s worst teams the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in DC 116-111. The Wizards Jordan Poole scored 23 points and the two teams wound up splitting the season series.

#2 The Kings lost to one of two teams with the fewest wins in the NBA at 16 the Utah Jazz being the other team.

#3 The Wizards Bub Carrington and AJ Johnson each scored 19 points. Tristan Vukcevic scored 17 and Anthony Gill had ten points.

#4 The Kings DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for the night and had 20 points scored in the fourth quarter. The Kings came back from behind down 14 points outscoring the Wizards 34-25 but couldn’t catch them losing in the final minute and losing by four points.

#5 The Kings get another chance to get back in the win column as they take on the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte Friday at 4:00pm PDT. The Hornets who are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference at 19-57, the are another struggling team who have lost eight of their last ten games. Jeremiah how do you see the Kings chances in this one?

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the Kings podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservicce.com

Utah Hockey Club game wrap: Los Angeles Kings Rule 4-2 Over Utah HC With Wild Card Slipping Away

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Los Angeles Kings right winger Adrian Kempe (9) fights with Utah Hockey Club’s center Logan Cooley (92) in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–The Kings scored twice in a 44-second span in the third period to take control of a tight game which they would go on to win 4-2.

Utah HC entered Thursday night’s tilt against the Los Angeles Kings nine points out of the final Western Conference Wild Card slot with seven games to go in the regular season. Mathematically it isn’t impossible for Utah to make the playoffs, but they are running out of race track. The Kings had all but officially punched their ticket to the postseason, entering the matchup in second place in the Pacific Division behind the Vegas Golden Knights.

The two squads kept each other off the scoresheet in the first period, with Karel Vejmelka turning away all three shots which got past his defensemen, and Darcy Kuemper fending off 16 shots from the Utah offense. Vejmelka made his 19th consecutive start in front of the net for Utah, extending his career high.

At 6:56 of the second period, Los Angeles forward Andrei Kuzmenko shot the puck at the Utah net as Logan Cooley pushed Adrian Kempe into Vejmelka, deflecting the puck over the goal line to give L.A. a 1-0 lead.

At 12:21 of the frame, Utah forward Lawson Crouse found an impossibly small gap between Kuemper’s shoulder and the upper corner of the net for his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Jack McBain to even things up at 1-1.

Early in the third period, Utah defenseman John Marino gave the puck away in front of the Utah net to Kevin Fiala who knocked it past Vejmelka unassisted for his 29th of the season. In frustration, Marino swung his stick at the goal post, his stick blade joining the puck in the back of the net.

44 seconds later, Trevor Moore took advantage of a Utah miscue in their offensive zone and raced across the length of the ice to put the Kings up 3-1 with his 18th of the season, assisted by Quinton Byfield. With Vejmelka pulled for an extra attacker, veteran L.A. defenseman Drew Doughty scored into an empty net at 18:10 to put the game out of reach.

As fans headed for the exits, Utah went on the power play when Brandt Clarke was whistled for tripping against Alexander Kerfoot with 27 seconds remaining. Utah controlled the faceoff and Jack McBain cut the deficit in half with 20 seconds left on the clock with his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Kailer Yamamoto and Sean Durzi, but it wouldn’t be enough to change the outcome.

With the loss, Utah remains nine points out of the Wild Card picture with just six games remaining.

In the locker room, Lawson Crouse spoke about his team’s effort. “Yeah, frustrating. … We were in the driver’s seat for the first two periods, and unfortunately, what happened on the four on four and they capitalized on two chances. That’s how quick the game can get away from you, and we were playing catch up from there.”

Forward Dylan Guenther, who played with a transparent cage after breaking his nose in the previous game, commented, “I honestly thought we played pretty well. Maybe get inside a little bit more and try to create more secondary chances. I think we know that they were pretty good in the neutral zone. They had more speed, but we just need to find a way to score more goals.” When asked what the team is learning at this point of the season, Guenther added, “I think how every play matters. Every shift, no matter what happens, all you can do is go out there and try to win your shift so just take it a step at a time.”

Head coach André Tourigny said, “I think we played a really solid game, I think there’s a few broken plays which made the difference in the game, but I think the guys were ready and we were really structured. We didn’t give up much. Unfortunately, a few breakdowns made the difference.” With regard to Guenther’s broken nose, Tourigny commented, “there’s not many guys in any locker room in the NHL at this point of the year who don’t have something wrong. You know that’s for sure. When you have a cage and a bubble and you have a broken nose and everybody sees it, but there’s a lot of it… it’s a tough sport, and there are tough players and they go through a lot, and they demand a lot from their bodies. It’s 82 games, and that’s the way it is. And I think I have tons of respect for all of them who battle through and manage their life 24/7 to make sure they’re capable of keeping playing at the elite level. So Gunner and others, tons of respect.”

Utah returns to the ice for the third game of the homestand on Saturday afternoon against the division leading Winnipeg Jets.

NBA podcast Michael Roberson Thu Apr 3, 2025: Finger gun pointing has NBA calling for an investigation on Grizzlies Morant; Sixers Embiid expected out 6 weeks; plus more news

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Memphis Grizzlies Jo Morant (middle) watches the game against the Utah Jazz in the first half at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Mar 25, 2025. The NBA is investigating Morant for making a finger gun gesture toward the Golden State Warriors bench on Tue Apr 1, 2025 in Memphis (AP News photo)

NBA podcast Michael Roberson Thu Apr 3, 2025:

#1 Michael, the NBA had called for an investigation into Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant who used his hands to mimic shooting a gun at the Golden State Warriors bench on Tuesday night. The league also is investigating a report that the Warriors Buddy Hield gestured before Morant’s finger guns. NBA officials said they spoke to Morant and Hield on Wednesday.

#2 The Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is prepared to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The 76ers say they will reevaluate Embiid’s knee in six weeks and will make a determination if he has fully recovered. Embiid for the last few weeks has been trying to solve his knee problems that has been hampering him for more than one year.

#3 Carmelo Anthony has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the class of 2025. Anthony was a six time All NBA selection and broke in when he was the third overall 2003 draft choice by the Denver Nuggets. That draft also saw LeBron James going to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwayne Wade getting picked fifth for the Miami Heat.

#4 Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx owner Glen Taylor has agreed to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez having 100% ownership of the NBA And WNBA teams at the cost of $1.5 billion. Taylor and the Lore-Rodriguez groups had agreed on the price back in 2021. The agreement entails that Taylor would not appeal an arbitrators ruling that favored Lore-Rodriguez on the sale of the team contract.

#5 The amazing turn around of the Warriors Stephen Curry who scored 52 points against the Grizzlies on Tuesday night after Curry suffered a pelvic contusion. Watching Curry you would have never know he had suffered such an injury?

Michael Roberson does the NBA podcasts Thursday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips: Giants off to a hitting start; SF home opener Friday at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants Heliot Ramos (17) is thrilled about hitting a double off the Houston Astros in the top of the second inning at Daikin Park in Houston on Wed Apr 2, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips:

#1 San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores, Luis Matos and LaMonte Wade Jr all hit home runs as the Giants defeated the Houston Astros 6-3 at Daikin Park in Houston on Wednesday. The win help complete a three game sweep.

#2 This is the fourth time that Flores has hit a homer this season and has hit only four last season in 71 games. Flores is tied with a pretty good circle of hitters for home runs Aaron Judge, Kyle Tucker, and Seiya Suzuki for second most home runs in MLB.

#3 Flores didn’t waste anytime getting things started in the first inning with his home run in the top of the first putting the ball in the left field seats off Astros starter Framber Valdez. The Matos home run was a blast to center field and made it 3-0.

#4 The Giants Heliot Ramos hit a double with an out and now has a six game extra base streak going that started this season. Ramos tied former Giant Felipe (1963). Ramos’ double scored two runs to make it 5-0.

#5 The Giants return from their road trip to host the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park in San Francisco for a 1:35pm PDT first pitch. Starter for the Mariners Bryce Miller 0-1 ERA 4.76 for the Giants Justin Verlander 0-0 ERA 3.60.

Join Morris for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Minor League action: SJ Giants best Ballers 5-2 at Municipal Stadium Wednesday

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Battle of the Bay promotional image hangs on the fence at Municipal Park in San Jose before Wed Apr 2, 2025 game between the Oakland Ballers and San Jose Giants (San Jose Giants X photo)

Oakland Ballers—2 San José Giants—5

Time: 2:22

Attendance 2,843

April 2, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

SAN JOSE’–Baseball has a long tradition of in-season exhibition games, complimenting the pre-season variety. In the days before teams travelled by plane, the two major leagues would travel by overnight train between games in their informal eastern and western divisions, based respectively in the Eastern and Central Time zones.

These big league teams would stop off in the afternoon and play, often against their local farm clubs. Even after those whistle stop exhibitions, for which the players weren’t paid, ended, midseason contests between local major league teams remained popular.

New York had its Mayor’s Cup Series, in which the Dodgers and Giants vied alternatively against the Yankees and in which bonus babies like Sandy Koufax, who otherwise would have languished on the bench, got a chance to see some big league action.

(In the early 1950s, a player who received a signing bonus north of $4,000 had to remain on his team’s 25 man roster for two full seasons or be placed on waivers). The bonus baby rule was dropped after the 1957 season, just before the Dodgers and Giants moved west.

Locally, after the A’s moved into The Town in 1968, we had our Battle of the Bay, in which fans of the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants took mid-season time off from the pennant races to give often literal meaning to that moniker. Those days seemed to be gone forever.

But in a stroke of marketing genius, the Giants’ low single A California League farm team in San José and Oakland’s unaffiliated Ballers of the MLB’s partner Pioneer League, faced each other this evening in an exhibition match in which the Giants easily crushed the visitor’s from the east bay, 5-2, The score belies the game’s one sidedness.

The home team’s play was crisp; the visitors’ wan’t. No Baller hurler lasted more than an inning; the team was behind once Walker Martin blasted a solo home run to right in the bottom of the first. . Tyler Lozano’s solo shot to left knotted the score briefly in the top of the second, but the Giants forged ahead in the home fourth, and the closest Oakland came to scoring after that came when they left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth. The image that perhaps best represents the Ballers’ unreadiness for prime time is the two runners who fell gratuitously to the basepaths, one early, the other late in the game.

It was a lively crowd for what was publicized as an historic occasion. That might have been an exaggeration. But this first meeting between an affiliated minor league baseball club and a member of what’s called a partner league may prove to be a turning point in the relationship between the MLB, MiLB combine—what used to be called Organized Baseball—and its grass roots.

The game was played under California League rules, eliminating the confusion caused by those of the Pioneer circuit, which include a complex system of ball and strike calls and allowing re-entry to players temporarily removed from action.

A true amalgam, this was both a pre- and an in-season set to. For the teams on the field, it occurred at the end of spring training for one and at its very start for the otherl San José opens its regular season this coming Friday in Modesto, Oakland’s spring training starts in about a month. Its regular season opener won’t take place May 20. That probably explains the qualitative difference in their performances.MLB began official play on March 18 in Tokyo and on the 27th state side.

As of this writing, no official box score has been released. By my reckoning, the Ballers used nine pitchers, with Mac Lardner taking the loss. Since Charlie McDaniel, San José’s starter, was on the pitcher of record when the Giants went ahead for the last time, but didn’t pitch after that, the winner would have to be the scorer’s decision. To the best of my knowledge, that decision is TBA.

Headline Sports podcast Jessica Kwong: Pistons and Timberwolves suspend a total of five players over Sunday brawl; Suns Durant expected to be out a week due to ankle injury; Plus more NBA news

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Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland (00) and the Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DeVincenzo (0) fight in the first half at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sun Mar 30, 2025. Both Holland and DiVincenzo along with three other players have been suspended by the NBA for fighting as announced on Tue Apr 1, 2025. (AP News photo)

Headline Sports podcast Jessica Kwong:

#1 As a consequence of Sunday’s brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves resulted in suspensions three for Detroit and two for Minnesota the NBA announced on Tuesday. The Pistons center Isaiah Stewart was suspended two games, teammates Marcus Sasser and Ron Holland II was suspended a game each. Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid were suspended one game.

#2  The Phoenix Suns Kevin Durant sprained his ankle against the Houston Rockets on Sunday and is not expected back during the current three game road swing. The Suns began their trip on Tuesday in Miwaukee, Friday in Boston, and on Sunday against New York to close out the road trip. Durant is expected to miss a week.

#3 If things weren’t tough enough for the New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williams and guard CJ McCollum will be out for the rest of the season. Williamson has a lower back injury that he suffered on Mar 19th against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williamson will now play less than 30 games or fewer this being the fourth time in the last six years. McCollum was injured on Mar 23. McCollum scored 40 points when he got injured and will go through a rehab program of treatment and rest said the Pelicans.

#4 The Boston Celtics set a franchise record going 6-0 on Monday with a 117-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Celtics have now won eight in a row overall and are 32-7 and are just two wins away from Golden State’s NBA record. The Celtics had that win streak record snapped getting clobbered Wednesday night 124-103.

#5 The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, 12 assists, in 27 minutes. The Thunder defeated the Chicago Bulls 145-117 on Monday night for their tenth win in a row. The Thunder are having a great season with a overall record of an impressive 63-12.

Jessica Kwong does Headline Sports podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Fall to Lowly Wizards In Shocker 116-111

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Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) dunks the ball as the Sacramento Kings guard Molik Monk (right) looks on in the first half at the Capital Center in Washington DC on Wed Apr 2, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (36-40) continue to struggle on the road losing to the Washington Wizards (17-59) 116-111 at the Capital Center in DC. This one was a shocker since the Wizards are the second worst team in the NBA. This loss could not have come at a worst time with the Kings fighting for a play-in spot.

This game really had one scratching their heads. Lately the Kings have struggled with inconsistency and injury but despite all that this was a real stunner. Perhaps Sacramento took the Wizards a bit too lightly and Washington had a great night finishing with 17 shots from beyond the arc. This is only the Wizards eighth home win of the season.

Game recap: The first quarter was about as close as a quarter could get with the Wizards leading throughout the quarter by a point or two. The games was tied five times in the final three minutes of the first 12 minutes of play in a real shocker, in fact, as the quarter came to an end, the game was tied at 26.

The second quarter saw Washington take a three-point lead 35-32 prompting head coach Doug Christie to take a time-out to re-group. When play got back underway, the Wizards continued to extend their lead taking a 38-32 lead.

At the half, the Wizards had a 55-52 lead. Washington had absolutely nothing to play for while the Kings had everything at stake and playing spoiler was exactly what Washington had in mind.

The Kings had to wake up in the second half or not only continue their road losing streak but just about kiss any hope of a play-in spot goodbye. With the tough schedule that lies ahead of them tonight’s game is a must-win.

The third quarter was even more disappointing than the first two with the Wizards outscoring the Kings 36-21 and leading 91-77. The Wizards were outscoring the Kings from the field 54 to 42 %.

It got even more lop-sided from beyond the arc with Washington outshooting the Kings 41 to 25 % through three quarters. The 14-point Wizard’s lead was their largest of the game. The Kings largest lead through three quarters had been five points and the third quarter had been all Washington. The Wizards were on a roll and it was going to be hard to stop them as their momentum continued to build.

The game would go into the fourth quarter and it was crunch time for the Sacramento Kings. At 7:39 the Kings took a time-out as the reality of a possible loss loomed. They trailed 99-88 and trading shots was not going to result in a win.

They needed stops and some big-time shooting and so far in this game it just was not happening. The Kings pulled to within six points at the seven minute mark 93-99 only to watch the Wizards push their lead back out.

With under five minutes left in the game, the Wizards had a ten-point lead and continued to bleed the clock and finish off possessions with baskets. Every time the Kings got close, the Wizards answered.

With 1:11 left in the game, the Wizards were hanging onto a three-point lead 111-108. This game got even closer with 55.6 on the clock and Washington leading 111-109. The Wizards took a timeout and it worked out beautifully for them but not so much for Sacramento losing to Washington 116-109 in an absolute shocker.

The hight for the Wizards was former Warrior Jordan Poole with 23 points and Bub Carrington had a great game going 5 of 11 from beyond the arc and scoring 19 points. AJ Johnson also scored 19 in the winning effort.

The high for the Kings was DeMar DeRozan with 29 points and Domantas Sabonis turned in another double double with 16 rebounds and 18 points. Zach LaVine had 19 points in the loss. Keegan Murray was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc finishing with 19 points.

Game notes: Wednesday evening the Kings traveled to Washington taking on the Wizards looking for the seemingly non-existent road win. While this is a game that Sacramento will not take for granted there is absolutely no reason for a King’s loss.

They have the offensive weapons needed to put this game away but they have really had some rough games lately falling apart in the final minutes of games, having some poor starts, giving up significant leads, too many turnovers and the list goes on and on. This team should not be fighting right now for a play-in spot. There has been too much inconsistency in these final games as the team struggles to find the answers.

This was only the Wizards eighth home victory of the season and it could not have come at a worst time for the Sacramento Kings. Friday night the Kings will continue on the road taking on the Charlotte Hornets another bottom dwelling team with a record of 19-56.

After what went down Wednesday night all bets are off as to who might win this game. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM with the Kings looking at three more road games which includes the Charlotte game before returning to Golden 1 to finish out their final three games of the season.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Athletics traded Latino Player and American League record holder

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Former Oakland A’s 2023 base stealing leader Estuery Ruiz was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wed Apr 2, 2025. The A’s will be getting right hand pitcher minor leaguer Carlos Duran (AP News file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

The Athletics traded Latino Player and American League record holder

By Amaury Pi-González

Esteury Ruíz, the speedy outfielder for the A’s who established the current American League record for stolen bases by a rookie in 2023 with the Oakland A’s, is now wearing the blue and white uniform of the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

In return, the Dodgers shipped to Sacramento Minor League right-handed Carlos Durán. Although I have not spoken with Esteury since his departure, I wish him nothing but the best, a hard working and good young player who at least is lucky to leave the A’s and going to the best team and organization in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, a much more cohesive system with young players will probably benefit young Dominican and make him a better player.

It has been challenging for the A’s organization to keep a good Latino player long enough to be identified by the A’s fans. The latest that comes to mind was Cuban Yoenis Céspedes, who was happy playing for the A’s in Oakland, as he always told me and in one occasion when the A’s asked me to interpret for him in front of a group of Oakland A’s fans. Céspedes played the first three of his eight-year career in the major leagues with the Athletics. For the A’s, the Céspedes story is nothing new.

It is difficult for a good Latino players to stay with this organization. In 2003 Miguel Tejada (Dominican) was traded, because the team claimed they could not afford him because they were a “small market team”,an excuse for saying they actually do not want to spend the money for good players.

The Bay Area is not a small market if you call an area with 7 million people “small” (at the time Tejada was traded) it was a two-team major league market, Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. This past season, during an A’s player reunion, the last one at Oakland, Miguel Tejada came to our KIQI 1010AM Bay Area-KATD 990AM Sacramento broadcast booth at the Oakland Coliseum.

He told me during an interview during the game, “siempre me gustó jugar aqui en Oakland, estos son buenos fanáticos” trans-:”I always enjoyed playing here in Oakland, these are good fans”.Miguel Tejada won the AL MVP in 2002 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. He was a six-time All-Star and the MVP for the 2005 All-Star Game, earning two Silver Slugger Awards in 2004 & 2005.

Decades before Miguel Tejada, another Latino shortstop played for the A’s, Dagoberto Blanco (Campy) Campaneris, from Cuba, he played shortstop for the A’s during their dynasty of three-World Series championships. 1972-73-74. During his 19 seasons in the majors, Campy played 9 seaons with the Oakland A’s.

In the Bay Area, San Francisco, Oakland, and San José, have a large Hispanic population of about 30%, represented at least 20% in every county, including the affluent Marin County, the least in proportion. As far as Media market, the Bay Area ranks #5 in the country.

The A’s present home is Sacramento, which is the #20 media market in the country, but ‘there is more!’ After Sacramento, in about three years, they keep going backward (as planned) to Las Vegas, which is the #40 media market in the United States. I believe this is unprecedented in the history of Major League Baseball, maybe in the history of all pro-sports in the US.

For Esteury Ruíz at the end of the day, leaving the A’s and landing with the Dodgers could be the break of his life.

About Trades: Jesse Chávez, pitcher, is the most traded player in MLB history, traded a total of ten times.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame