Tag: That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball Funny Quotes

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cbssports.com file photos: The late great Yogi Berra shown in his retirement days (left) and his active days (right), is quoted below by Talk Show host Amaury Pi Gonzalez in Baseball Funny Quotes

Amaury Pi-González

(This is a compilation from baseball books and publications)

-It gets late early out here- Yogi Berra-A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz- Humphrey Bogart

-I knew when my career was over when my baseball card came out with no picture. -Bob Uecker’

-I watch a lot of baseball on the radio -Gerald Ford

-Hi fans,we are in Yuma Arizona for this Spring Training game,is not the end of the world,but you can see it from here -Lon Simmons – -After Jackie Robinson the most important black in baseball is Reggie Jackson -Reggie Jackson

-Any pitcher who throws at a batter and deliberately tries to hit him is a communist -Alvin Dark – Baseball is dull only to dull minds -Red Barber – There are three things you can do in a baseball game.You can win or you can lose or it can rain -Casey Stengel

-If a horse won’t eat I don’t want to play on it -Dick Allen

-You don’t realize how easy this game is,until you get up in the broadcast booth -Mickey Mantle

-He looks like a Greyhound, but he runs like a bus -George Brett on teammate Jamie Quirk

-So I’m ugly, so what? I never saw anybody hit with his face -Yogi Berra

-I’d be willing to bet you, if I was a betting man, that I have never bet on baseball -Pete Rose

-Aw, c’mon, how can he lose the ball in the sun, he is from Mexico! -Harry Caray about Jorge Orta misplaying the ball

-The future ain’t what it used to be -Yogi Berra

-Why does everybody stands up and sings, ‘take me out to the ballgame’when they are already there -Larry Anderson

-They should move first base a step to eliminate all those close plays -John Lowenstein

-They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball, and they tell you to hit is square -Willie Stargell

-I never questioned the integrity of an umpire, their eyesight, Yes -Leo Durocher

-Trying to sneak a pitch by Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise by a rooster -Joe Adcock

-On hearing that Reggie Jackson was reported to have an IQ of 165. Yankee teammate Mickey Rivers said “Out of what- a thousand?”

IMPORTANT SPECIALLY DURING THESE TIMES. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies*, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. * (immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies)

Have a great and safe weekend.

Stay well folks!

Catch Amaury for News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A Chat with Nancy Finley (Daughter of Carl Finley A’s assistant))

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Sports Illustrated 1972 file photo: Oakland A’s surround owner Charlie O Finley, from left to right (top) Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi, Vida Blue, (middle) Reggie Jackson, Charlie O Finley, Gene Tenace, (bottom) Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Campy Campaneris

A Chat with Nancy Finley

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

Athletics owner Charlie O Finley was a visionary,a man that knew how to promote the game, he owned and operated the Kansas City and Oakland A’s for 20 years. I met Mr.Finley prior to a game at the Oakland Coliseum a few years after his famous Swinging A’s won three consecutive World Series 1972-74.

Charlie O Finley was a very passionate owner,who brought the colorful uniforms,shoes and other innovations to the game of baseball. Charlie was a winner, and winning three consecutive World Series is a feat only accomplished by another team in the history of major league baseball,the New York Yankees,who on three different occasions won consecutive World Championships (1936-1939) followed by (1949-1953) and from 1998 to 2000 for three more. The Yanks are the undisputed champions with 27 World Series titles.

But there was another very important Finley, not as well known as Charlie.Carl Finley and Carl was always busy not only handling the media but also in charge of promotions,in a small front office,which was mostly members of the family, Carl and others wore many hats.His daughter Nancy,was born into the baseball world with his dad and Charlie.

Nancy share some of her memories. She told me about Joe Dimaggio in 1970 “Joe DiMaggio cooked dinner when he visited dad at 1200 Lakeshore vAenue in Oakland, both were bachelors and had much in common,this was the top floor apartment leased by the team,this was my first home. Later that year we learned we were neighbors with Huey Newton(Black Panthers), he was on the FBI’S 10 Most Wanted at that time. Dad moved me with a girlfriend before the news broke”

Nancy remembers 1971,the first year in the playoffs. “This was Vida Blue’s year, Vida became an overnight sensation with fans. I remember Vida Blue day.I also remember ‘Hot Pants Day’. Our promo item was a bottle of ‘Hot Pants’ perfume to the first 5,000 fans wearing hot pants.We had a ‘Hot Pants’contest on the field.We were still waiting for the front office to be finished by Alameda Co. Alameda Co. kept promising it would be soon”

Mr.Finley was known for his promotions and probably none was more famous than Charlie-O the Mule, the mascot that Mr.Finley used from Kansas City Athletics to the Oakland Athletics from 1965 to 1976.

The mule was named after Charles O Finley. Nancy: “On December 1976,our mascot,Charlie O passed. Dad handled the internment.Dad decided to have Charlie O.interned at the Oakland SPCA and fans could pay respect since this was next door.I remember when dad took me to the SPCA and showed me the wall with Charlie O’s plaque. Dad said Charle O.’s cap,blanket and reigns were with him. During games for 1977 to 1980, we were without our mascot. This took something away in my mind. In 1977, Charlie O mailed dad a “Mule” magazine, and wrote Charlie O. on the front cover. Dad could tell Charlie missed Charlie O.I still have that magazine”

Nancy remembers the A’s bank manager in downtown Oakland had a crush on her dad. According to Nancy, “Dad was well known at this bank and chose this bank for the team:” About the off-season “Dad had his California Junior College Credential for the off season,he taught Business Law at Laney College in the winter”

Carl’s cousin was Charlie O Finley and Nancy learned under those years when the Oakland Athletics were a national story,once in the front cover of Sports Illustrated,very happy moments,winning playoffs and World Series. She also lived under stressful times as she recalls:”On October 1973, I had to be taken out of school because of kidnap threats. When Oakland School Superintendent, Marcus Foster, was assassinated by the SLA, the FBI informed dad Finley was their #1 target.The SLA said they could not locate Finley”

These are just a few of the many stories and memoirs of Nancy Finley. She lived during a very interesting time in baseball and American history and of course about the Swinging A’s from somebody who grew-up inside the game of baseball with the Finley family.Thanks Nancy.

Nancy Finley wrote the book, Finley Ball: How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s into a Dynasty and Changed the game forever.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 2020 Major League Baseball season scenarios

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March 28, 2012 photo shows both the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s standing for the US and Japanese national anthems at the Tokyo Dome on opening day 2012 (AP photo)

2020 Major League Baseball season: Scenarios

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Some of the most affected States (except Washington,one team Mariners where the first Covid-19 case was reported) are large States with multiple teams. The first coronavirus case was in a convalescent home in Kirkland, a suburb east of Seattle. But nobody is close to California. We lead the way with five teams: Angels, Athletics, Dodgers,Giants and Padres. We could be a country by itself with a population higher than France. Florida with two: Marlins and Rays. Texas with two: Astros and Rangers; Illinois with the Cubs and White Sox. Since this virus is afflicting the whole nation, we can also throw-in Pennsylvania where the Phillies and Pirates play and Ohio with the Indians and Reds. This developing story makes it hard to predict if the major league season could begin during these following dates. Here are my four most logical scenarios. From best to worst

Here are some scenarios that have been shared by others regarding this season. I generally agree with these options. 1-Late May,which would mean the All Star Game in Los Angeles Dodger Stadium in mid-July could take place. The best scenario (pending the situation of a virus who has a mind of its own) would mean 100 to 105 games season. 2-Begins in middle of June, no All Star Game and about 70-75 games. 3-Nothing more American than the National Pastime beginning with Fireworks the 4th of July. With some necessary schedule adjustments like 80-81 games, basically half a season. 4-Cancel the Season, anything after that day. It would be unreasonable to believe MLB will play a season of just August and September.

Thought history Major League Baseball seasons have been disrupted by wars,strikes/work stoppage by owners and players, national events like September 11,2001 from a terrorist attack in New York City. In 2003 Athletics vs Mariners in Japan,was postponed until later in the season,because of the threat of a military action in Iraq. That year the opener did not take place the Tokyo Dome in Japan. First game of the season was on March 30 between Seattle and Texas. We all remember the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake when then intern Commissioner Fay Vincent Jr.postponed the World Series between the A’s and Giants for 11 days. And if you research all the history of incidents that have stopped or delayed games,or seasons, I do not think a Virus is what comes to our mind. But that is the case during this 2020 season. One of the casualties is the Olympics in Japan,where that country has been preparing for years to showcase the best athletes in the world in. Yes,we can go back to 1918 and the deadly Spanish Flu, but that was a different world of much less populations as well as sports leagues. As a matter of fact KDKA Pittsburgh was the world’s first commercial radio station began broadcasting in 1920. And also the first radio station to broadcast a major league game, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Adios. Stay well.

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: SF Mayor considering closing down parks; Pirates donate 400 pizzas to hospital staff; plus more

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photo from sfgate.com: From March 16th press conference announcing shelter in place San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) with police chief William Scott (left) and Dept of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax (right).

On That’s Amaury’s pod:

#1 San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that in some of San Francisco’s parks no one is paying attention to the shelter in place policy and people are picnicking and going about business as usual and the Mayor said she would close parks down if people continue to gather instead of practicing social distancing. The parks are kept open for those who want to exercise and then leave.

#2 Amaury it was reported that after a lot of people lost their jobs they have no turned to can collecting so they can as much buy a sandwich and survive the rest of the day. Also it should be noted after the NBA season was suspended on March 12th some 15,000 employees who worked at Chase Center are supposed to receive help benefits from the Warriors to cover the costs of lost wages.

#3 Amaury it’s a slow news day in sports so ESPN is going to show Made in America the OJ Simpson case which shows the Southland chase and the trial in two parts. The last time they showed it it was well reviewed.

#4 The Pittsburgh Pirates have donated some 400 pizzas to staff at Allegheny General Hospital to staff who are working up to their limits dealing with Coronavirus victims. Some medical staff have worked some 16-20 hours straight in dire conditions.

#5 Toronto Blue Jays team president Mark Shapiro said that it will take at least one month for everybody to get ready for the regular season once MLB is given the go sign to return. Baseball could return as early as June when the flu season is over and the regular season could start in July and the season could run for three months and post season abbreviated in October.

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s 1981 season short and bittersweet

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Tony Armas as an Oakland A sitting on the dugout steps for a Mother’s Cookies baseball card photo (Mothers Cookies baseball card photo)

A’s 1981 Short and Bittersweet

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

In 1981 there was no baseball in the major leagues from June 12 to August 10. A total of 713 games were lost. The strike was about free agent player compensation.The owners were in favor of a system in which they got a player of similar value for each player they lost in free agency.

The Oakland Athletics ended the 1981 season with a 64-45 the best record in the American League and second best in all of baseball, and also they qualified by posting the AL West’s best record in the first half (37-23) of the shortened season.

In 1981 the Athletics had one of the best outfields in the game, with Rickey Henderson in left-field, Dwayne Murphy in center and Tony Armas in right-field. Henderson led the club in batting average with .319 as well as in stolen bases with 56, Armas led the club in home runs with 22 home runs and with 76 RBIs, while Murphy was second with 60 RBIs. That was a top notch outfield offensively as well as on defense.

Tony Armas was a humble but very focus player on the field,with excellent power at the place and also a powerful arm from right field, he always told me that he was lucky, but he was really an underrated player who played hard all the time.

A couple of years after he left the A’s in 1984 with the Boston Red Sox,Tony led the Major Leagues with 43 home runs and drove 123. He was the only player in both leagues to hit over 40 home runs.A proud man from Venezuela,he was a gentleman and conducted himself professional all the time on and off the field.He retired with back problems,his son Tony Armas Jr, was a pitcher in the major leagues.

The 1981 A’s was the team of Mike Heath, Shooty Babbitt (now back with the A’s as a scout) Rob Picciolo, Cliff Johnson, Wayne Gross, Jim Spencer, and one of the all time favorites in Oakland Mitchell “The Rage” Page and many other players that contributed to that success.

Their pitching was one of the best, a very strong rotation that became even more famous the previews season (1980) with Steve McCatty, Matt Keough, Mike Norris, Rick Langford and Brian Kingman, five young starts that graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in April.

During the shortened 1981 season,Julio González (RIP) and yours truly were doing the Spanish broadcast. We traveled to Kansas City during the AL Divisional playoffs for the first two games,as the A’s swept the Royals in three games.

That was a good Royals team with George Brett, Frank White Willie Wilson,Dan Quisinberry and others,then we moved on to New York where the Yankees eliminated the A’s in a 3-game sweep.

A’s lost the first two in New York then back to Oakland where they lost 4-0 as Dave Righetti beat Matt Keough,to send the Yankees to the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Reported that World Series,with interviews,pre and post game stuff, for the three games that took place in Los Angeles for local bay area radio. It took six games for Tommy LaSorda’s Dodgers to beat Bob Lemon’s New York Yankees.

And that is how the crazy 1981 shortened season ended in baseball.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Construction halted for Raiders new Vegas stadium due to C 19 virus; A’s Piscotty with public reminder; plus more

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cbssanfrancisco.com photo: The Oakland Raiders might play the 2020 season at the Oakland Coliseum because construction has stopped on their new Las Vegas stadium due to the shelter in place law

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

#1 The thing about the new nationwide ordinance for Shelter in Place it will stop construction on the Raiders new stadium in Vegas forcing the project to miss the better part of the beginning of the 2020 season and that might force the Raiders to play another season at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 The Oakland A’s Stephen Piscotty has gone on board with some new hash tags he tweeted out regarding the recent shelter in place policy saying, “it’s time to stop #the spread by practice social distancing.”

#3 Piscotty also added “There’s so man wonderful things you can do like washing your hands and remaining six feet away from each other.”

#4 The San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt said regarding the team’s plans after the team was told to go home after the season was suspended. Some of the players have decided to stay in Arizona and work out on their own.

#5 How does a quarantine and the suspension of the season really impact minor league baseball one of the minor league players came up positive for Coronavirus.

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

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: NBA season suspended; Quakes cancel home game Mar 21st; Giants and A’s could cancel games soon enough

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desertnews.com file photo: The Utah Jazz Rudy Gobert was tested positive for the Coronavirus on Wednesday leading to the cancellation of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and suspension of the NBA season.

NBA season suspended due to Coronavirus/A’s Opener in Doubt

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–The NBA who announced they have suspended their season until further notice. The Utah Jazz’ Rudy Gobert was making some fun about Coronavirus during a press conference before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder started touching the surfaces and microphones that were there. Later that night he was diagnosed with the Covid 19 virus and the game was canceled leading later to the suspension of the NBA season.

The San Jose Earthquakes have canceled their home game on Saturday March 21st and it’s possible the MLS season could be suspended as well. The San Jose Sharks and the NHL have not suspended their season yet but the cost of having games and teams traveling to play in front of empty arenas will cost too much for the gate driven sport and they may end up canceling as well.

The Pac 12 Tournament is being played at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas as both the Cal Bears and the Stanford Cardinal faced each other on Wednesday night. The game was played in front of an empty arena as the rest of March will be unless the NCAA suspends March Madness as well.

The Coronavirus pandemic is starting to reach havoc in Bay Area sports. After Alameda County joined San Francisco in recommending events with 1,000 or more people be cancelled or postponed,it looks like the Oakland Athletics home opener on Thursday the 26th of March against the Minnesota Twins is very much in jeopardy. The Giants earlier today announced that the pre-season game against the A’s at Oracle Park Mon Mar 24th had been canceled after the city announced a two-week ban on all events (sports included) of 1,000 or more people.

Today the Oakland Athletics issued the following statement: Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our community. We will adhere to any government directives, and work with Major League Baseball on all alternative arrangements to ensure the health of our fans and our community remains a top priority.

While the A’s Opening Day is this 26th, the San Francisco Giants will be opening the season on the road for the 11th consecutive year, also the 26th at Dodger Stadium vs Dodgers. As of today that game is “on” as far as the Dodgers are concerned, but the situation about Coronavirus is very fluid, so things can change at any given time.

Meanwhile,the new Giants neighbors, the Golden State Warriors who announced today that the team will play its next home game without fans this Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. Later after that announcement came the NBA has suspended the season.

Earlier this week, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS. These four major active sports leagues in the U.S. decided to bar nonessential individuals, including reporters, from clubhouses and locker rooms. It will be left to local communities/cities to play with or without fans,depending what part of the country the events take place.

The biggest sporting event in the world this year is the Olympics and If the Olympics can’t go ahead this summer in Tokyo because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the most realistic option would be to delay the event by one or two years, a member of the executive board for the Japanese organizing committee recently said.

All over the US,sporting events have been affected.

Note: Last time we had a flu pandemic of this magnitude(or close) was in 2009 when the virus was commonly referred to as “swine flu”,which began in the spring of 2009, the virus had spread to the US from an outbreak in Veracruz,Mexico. CDC estimated that about 59 million Americans contracted this virus strain, 265,000 where hospitalized as a result and 12,000 died.

California was the most affected State with 10,545 reported and confirmed cases and 657 dead. (World) 150,000 to 575,000 died. One quick note the Spanish flu lasted two years in 1918 killing an estimated 20-80 million people. Coronavirus is expected to dissipate at some point as the epicenter of the virus Wuhan China is now getting back to normal.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s getting some hitting production Barreto, Olson, Krizan and Allen

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photo from sfchronicle.com: Franklin Barreto hit three doubles on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers in pre season action for the Oakland A’s

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 Amaury talk about A’s second baseman Franklin Barreto he doubled in three at bats, scored two runs and got an RBI on Sunday.

#2 A’s first baseman Matt Olson with bases loaded went 0-2 against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader. Olson worked the count to 3-2 and fouled out, “it’s just fun for the fans to watch that” said A’s manager Bob Melvin

#3 The A’s Jason Krizan hit a two run home run in the eight inning Sunday. Krizan came from the Mets minor league rule 5 draft.

#4 Vismel Machin is another rule 5 draftee who tried to make it to the A’s but will be going back to his former club after Melvin said that Machin was “further down the pecking order”

#5 The A’s Austin Allen hit two doubles and got three RBIs on Sunday. Austin was replacing catcher Jonah Helm who was 0-2 for the game.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez can be heard on KIQI 1010 Spanish radio home of the Oakland A’s Friday, Saturday and Sundays for A’s home games and for News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Coronavirus Threatening Tokyo Olympics

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That’s Amaury News and Commentary Amaury Pi-González

Coronavirus Threatening Tokyo Olympics

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The Tokyo Olympics,scheduled to start on July 24 and end August 25 according to the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Japan is one of the countries affected around the world with the Coronavirus and officials of the OIC say there could be a final decisions as late as the end of May.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan is to ask all schools to close this coming Monday to prevent spread of the Coronavirus. The closure will affect 13 million students and will continue until the school year ends in late March.

The Coronavirus now affecting most of the world,has forced cancelling of dozens of sporting events events in Asia and Europe and many international events like car racing. Little or no events, so far, in the sports world have been cancelled here in the United States, but things could change at any time,as this virus keeps spreading.

So far MLB, NBA,NHL and others have not announced any plans for events cancellations.

The biggest company in the world (Bay Area based) Apple stock has dropped as of today,as well as all the financial markets and the world has taken a hit through this week.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish voice for Oakland A’s baseball on KIQI 1010 San Francisco for all home games Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Catch Amaury each week for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Fiers gets through first game unscathed; Dusty says Springer is his lead off hitter in Houston; plus more

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photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez at the Major League Baseball Society for American Baseball Research Sacramento Chapter

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

#1 The Big News out of the A’s camp in Mesa on Sunday A’s pitcher Mike Fiers whose been under physical threat from fans and opposing players threw two innings of shutout ball on Sunday looks like he’s not disturbed at all.

#2 The Houston Astros George Springer will be the lead off hitter for the Astros says manager Dusty Baker. Baker said “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” Springer has been the Astros lead off hitter since 2016

#3 Los Angeles Dodger lead off hitter Mookie Betts loves being in the lead off role and went 0-2 in Sunday’s pre season action, Betts received a nice ovation when he came to the plate from the Camelback Ranch crowd welcoming him to the Dodgers.

#4 The question that has been talked about amongst the media and fans is “are the A’s out of their minds for not having a radio network and going streaming” how does the ball club respond to the criticism of not having a station presence on their English broadcasts and only broadcasting just three home games only a week on their Spanish side for radio?

#5 And in conclusion Amaury please tell us what was discussed at the recent Major League Baseball Society for American Baseball Research Sacramento Chapter

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish play by play announcer at KIQI 1010 San Francisco join Amaury and Manolo for exclusive A’s home games only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com