Tag: That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Logo from the 1987 All Star Game hosted by the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum (logo from Oakland A’s and MLB)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

On July 14, 1987 the Oakland Coliseum hosted the 1987 MLB All-Star Game. There were two Oakland Athletics on this game representing the American League and both were in the reserves; first baseman Mark McGwire and relief pitcher Jay Howell.

A’s legend Rickey Henderson was in the starting lineup but for the New York Yankees. McGwire won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1987 and went on the establish the current record for a rookie of 49 home runs.

The A’s had three consecutive Rookies of the Year, José Canseco in 1986, Mark McGwire in 1987, and Walt Weiss in 1988. 49,671 were in attendance at the Coliseum for that night’s game won by the National League All-Stars 2-0 over the American League All-Stars in 13 innings; Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos was named the Most Valuable Player. This was the only time since the A’s played at Oakland that the Oakland Coliseum hosted an MLB All-Star game.

Named by the Oakland A’s ownership as part of the Clout Committee, I was privileged to meet with various civic personalities, including the Mayor of Oakland Lionel Wilson as well as others in the community. The All-Star Gala is always a special gathering of community and baseball people, my wife Gail and I sat at a table that included two Twins greats, Kirby Pucket and Tony Oliva.

Prior to the game at the Coliseum, Bay Area Media personality, Rich Lieberman introduced me to the one and only Larry King, who was said to have conducted over 50,000 interviews on radio and television, from Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Paul McCartney to Margaret Thatcher and thousands in-between.

The Walter Haas ownership of the Oakland A’s did a wonderful job organizing this big event together with the City of Oakland and Major League Baseball, it was a classy well-organized event that made Oakland proud.

There was a time when Oakland was a proud city, as a matter of fact Oakland was once called ‘City of Champions”, with the A’s winning three consecutive World Series in 1972-73-74, the Warriors winning the NBA title in the 1974-75 season and the Raiders winning in 1976 the first of their three Superbowl titles.

It is said that Gertrude Stein, who was raised in Oakland, when later she grew up and became an American novelist, playwright and art collector, and then moved to Paris in 1903 where she lived for the rest of her life once said about Oakland; ”When you get there, there isn’t any THERE there.”

Two years later, after the 1987 MLB All-Star Game, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the A’s vs Giants World Series, which the As swept in four games. It was felt that it would be inappropriate to have a parade in Oakland for the World Series champion Oakland Athletics.

They did celebrate, though with this subdued celebration (a victory rally) at the Jack London Waterfront and broadcast live by local San Francisco CBS affiliate, KPIX. It would be the last civic celebration by a professional sports franchise in Oakland until 2015 when the Warriors won the NBA title.

I always remember 1987 as a good year for Oakland and a “departing point” for what came later for the Oakland Athletics during the great Tony LaRussa years.

Tampa Bay Rays Yandy Diaz has been selected to the 2023 American League All Star Team in Seattle (Tampa Bay Times photo file)

Cuban Players in the All Star Game — No Embargo or Blockade here-

That’s Amaury News and Commenatary

By Amaury Pi-González

In 1960 de US government placed an embargo on Cuba’s communist regime after the government nationalized US-owned companies and offered zero compensation. Later Fidel Castro’s government also nationalized Cuban citizens-owned businesses.

Castro declared himself and his government a Marxist-Leninist. The great exodus of Cubans began around that time. Cuba is the leader in baseball in Latin America even before Castro (crazy about baseball) was even born.

Because he eradicated all professional sports in the island, including baseball, he did not make baseball more popular as the government sponsored all sports, as the Soviet Union was doing, but most of the Cuban players that were playing then in the Major Leagues and also in Cuba, like Luis Tiant, Octavio (Cookie) Rojas, Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, and Tony Taylor.

Mike Fornieles and many others who love the game of baseball left in the next few years. Castro forgot that these Cuban players although they loved the game they also loved the freedom to play in the Major League. That freedom was denied by the Cuban dictatorship.

Esteban Bellán, born in La Habana, Cuba, was the first Latin American baseball player to play in a North American professional league when it was formed in 1871 with the Troy Haymakers. Today, 63 years after the US-Cuban embargo, which also affected Cuban players because the Cuban government prohibited them from traveling outside and playing in the US, a total of at least five Cuban players have been selected for this 2023 MLB All-Star Game on July 11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

These are those Cuban players, Yandy Díaz (Tampa Bay), Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros) who should be back from the injured list, Randy Arozarena (Tampa Bay), Adolis García (Miami Marlins), Lourdes Gourriel (Arizona Diamondbacks, Luis Robert Jr. (Chicago White Sox). Others like, Yonnier Cano (Baltimore Orioles) could be in Seattle as well the possibility of Jorge Soler of the Miami Marlins.

In 1968 a total of six Cuban players went to the All Star Game at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. In 2014 at Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota four Cubans were selected. Today there are over 20 Cuban-born players in the major leagues.

They have suffered along with the Cuban people the lack of freedom in their country of birth. The great majority had to escape the island in very dangerous circumstances. Some when playing outside of Cuba, defected and asked for political exile, like Oakland A’s Aledmys Díaz.

Many had no choice but to leave their families behind as they chose their dream, like the majority of baseball players all over the world, to play in the Major Leagues. All-Star Game: This July 11th at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. A’s outfielder-DH Brent Rooker was selected to represent the Oakland A’s.

Rooker had an excellent first half of the season, however anybody that follows the A’s, for this whole first half knows that rookie Esteury Ruíz has been the most productive and exciting player for Mark Kotsay’s team. Brent Rooker has played in72 games, average of .243 with a team leading 14 Home runs and 41 runs batted-in.

Esteury Ruíz is the A’s everyday center fielder and makes all the plays, and then some, he has played 83 games with 33 RBI, top in doubles for the team with 19 and has stolen 42 bases which is #1 in the major leagues.

Rooker has played for Minnesota and Kansas City prior to arriving with the A’s, he is not a rookie. Ruíz playing, in his very first season in the major, he is a rookie and could be a serious candidate for Rookie of The Year.

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

Former Oakland A’s outfielder Jose Canseco participates on Juice Night Promotion in Las Vegas had an amazing 1988 season for the A’s (file photo Las Vegas Review Journal)

Memories of Oakland  1988 — — No.5 in Series

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–1988 was the best-ever season at Oakland that did not produce a World Series title. The Athletics ended the regular season with a 104-58 .642 record, their best since (and to date) since their first season at Oakland in 1968.

Cuban-born slugger José Canseco unanimously won the American League Most Valuable Player, becoming the first ever to steal over 40 bases and hit over 40 home runs (42 home runs and 40 stolen bases), hit for .307 average, and also drove a major league-leading 124 runs. José Canseco was born in Regla, a small fishing town on the other side of Havana harbor.

He came to the United States very young and his Spanish (when I first talked with him) was not good or clear, but he understood more than he speak and has learned since. He was much more tuned in to the American culture than Cuban. During one of my interviews, we spoke about other stuff aside from baseball; he told me his favorite musical group was ‘Foreigner’ a popular American-British rock band.

After he won the Rookie of the Year in 1986, I covered him at the Houston Astrodome for the All-Star Game. I met and spoke to his late father, Jose Canseco Sr., a sales executive in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for AMOCO Oil Company. As most fathers are, he was a proud papa.

The 1988 World Series matched the AL Champion A’s against the NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers beat the New York Mets in seven games during the NLCS to advance to the Fall Classic. Tommy LaSorda’s team won 94 games during the regular season, but in this World Series, the Oakland A’s were heavy favorites.

One of the many reporters that came to California to cover this series was Manolo Alvarez of WQBA radio in Miami; he was doing interviews, and he asked me if the A’s would sweep the series, I told him that was impossible to predict. However, such was the national sports media concept of the A’s as a much more superior team of that of the Dodgers.

The 1988 World Series began at Dodger Stadium, but Game #1 was the most memorable. The A’s took the lead in the second inning with a blast by José Canseco to straight-away center field, which hit one of the NBC cameras for a home run; it looked like the A’s with their ace Dave Stewart on the mound could do no wrong. Stew pitched eight complete innings and allowed three runs. But the whole story of this classic was settled in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Manager Tony LaRussa brought in Dennis Eckersley to close the game, but a pinch-hit home run by Kirk Gibson, who could not start the game because of injuries, provided for one of the most improbable and iconic moments in World Series history, as Eck threw one slider after another, and at the end, one landed in the right field seats for a walk-off home run and a come-from-behind thrilling victory by the underdog Dodgers by 5-4.

We were talking how “lay back” are Dodger fans, but after than Gibson home run it felt like Dodger Stadium went 1,000 feet up in the air. This World Series went five games, and the Dodgers won it, one of the big upsets in the history of World Series. Oral Hershiser won 2 games and was declared the MVP.

He was celebrating during that decisive game five at the Oakland Coliseum. Previously for game No.3 at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, Mark McGwire hit a walk-off home run from reliever Jay Howell and won 2-1.

The only game won by the A’s. 1988 was the first year of the three consecutive trips to the Fall Classic for Tony LaRussa’s Athletics; they would have to wait for next year and during an Earthquake to beat via sweep their Bay Area rival, San Francisco Giants in 1989.

Unfortunately for A’s fans Kirk Gibson is a name that will live in infamy, Gibson is to A’s fans, what Yankee Bucky Dent is to Red Sox fans.

While the A’s still have five years to play in their new ballpark in Las Vegas, which they hope to inaugurate for the 2028 season, José Canseco beat the A’s to Las Vegas. For a few years now, José owns and runs a Car Wash and Mini-Mart a couple of blocks from the strip in Sin City, sometimes he is there to sign autographs and to meet with fans. To read more on the car wash: https://sportsradioservice2013.wordpress.com/tag/jose-canseco/

Amaury Pi Gonzalez calling the play by play of Oakland A’s baseball on Spanish flagship station KBRG 105 FM San Francisco in 1977 (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

Memories of Oakland 1977– –No. 4 in a Series–

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–Three years after the A’s dynasty of winning three consecutive World Series, 1972,73-74 Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s missed the playoffs, ending with a record of 63-98 (.391) and in seventh place in the American League West.

Finley went through two managers, Jack McKeon (26-27) and Bobby Winkles (37-71) players like Dick Allen, Tony Armas. Rob Picciolo, Mitchell Page, Wayne Gross, and other characters plus a hard working starting pitching staff of Mike Norris, Rick Langford, Matt Keogh, Steve McCatty and Brian Kingman, all who would grace the cover of Sports Illustrated a few years later.

Only two Spanish speaking players, which I got to know and lots of interviews from were catcher Manny Sanguillen, born in Panamá and pitcher Pablo Torrealba, from Venezuela. Sanguillen, whom I interviewed a few years ago for an article published on this site, resides in Florida, Torrealba lives in Venezuela.

I remember when Sanguillen told me the story about his good friend Roberto Clemente, they were close teammates in Pittsburgh, and he, Sanguillen, was supposed to fly on that chartered DC 3 plane with Roberto to Nicaragua filled with help for the people of the terrible earthquake in 1972, but eventually he could not make it. As fate had it.

The first Spanish radio broadcasts were on KBRG 105.3 FM. The first Spanish FM radio station in San Francisco, with a music format. My good friend Al Dougherty was the Sales Manager and a huge baseball fan, a transplant to San Francisco from New York City.

We talked baseball a lot and as a sports reporter that is where I cut my teeth. I started broadcasting baseball games in Spanish for the Bay Area. I was located at what was then Box 19 almost aligned with the third-base side of the infield and from the press box.

It worked perfectly for me as I had a regular day job from Monday to Friday at a financial company in San Francisco. The games were mostly weekend games for Charlie Finley A’s, under the direction of Carl Finley who as I remember was in charge of just about everything that had to do with the A’s, except play on the field, however he was very gracious with me and gave me anything I needed as far as notes and team related news. The A’s front office was only a handful of people.

The studios of KBRG 105.3 FM were located at Market Square, 1355 Market Street in San Francisco. Today that is the building-headquarters for one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk’s Twitter. About Al Dougherty, I learned a lot about radio, from the sales side to what used to be called the “log” with all advertisers for each program, including baseball.

In 1977 the final tally for the Oakland A’s home attendance at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was 495,599, an average of 6,157 per game. Across the bay in Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants who finished in 4th place, ended with a 700,056 attendance, an average of 8,643 per game.

Although the A’s were not drawing lot of fans those years, the Giants were also drawing in the low numbers. The early success of the A’s winning three consecutive World Series did not translated to huge crowds, since by 1977 Charlie Finley let a lot of his star players become free agents and eventually signed multi-million dollar contracts with other teams.

Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter left in 1974 after they won their third World Series and got a very lucrative contract with the New York Yankees for which he finished his great career, later elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1987.

1977 was a year to remember in the history of the Oakland As and for me, one year I will never forget.

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