Tag: That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Bucs Hayes says it’s time for the auto umpire forthwith; Brewers lose no hitter and game in 13 innings; plus more news

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Pittsburgh Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes follows through on a solo home run off Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta during the first inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Wed Sep 6, 2023. Hayes said the need for the auto umpire needs to be in place ASAP saying there are too many umpire mistakes that are costing hitters (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates is calling for the auto umpire as soon as possible. During Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Braves pitcher AJ Minter threw a 3-1 pitch that was outside and was ruled strike two by plate umpire Bill Miller. Hayes thought he was taking ball four and headed up to first base but had to come back. The Bucs were down 5-2 in the top of the eighth. Hayes is calling for the auto saying some umpires don’t care. He questioned Miller after the game about the call and Miller told him you had your chance to hit a homer.

#2 The Brewers on Monday night took a no hitter going into the 11th inning. Brewers pitchers Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, Abner Uribe, and Joel Payamps almost made baseball history as they were two outs away from the game’s first 11 inning no hitter. The New York Yankees not only ended the no hitter but came back and won the game as the Yankees Kyle Higashioka doubled in the ghost runner in the bottom of the 13th inning.

#3 The Milwaukee Brewers called up third baseman Josh Donaldson from triple A Nashville and optioned Owen Miller to help the Brewers in their playoff drive. Donaldson started at third base on Monday night against the Miami Marlins. Donaldson was released by the New York Yankees hit .142, .434 slugging percentage, with 15 hits and 10 home runs and 15 RBIs.

#4 The Los Angeles Angels are open to trading superstar outfielder Mike Trout. Trout has seven years and $248 million left on his 12 year deal with the Halos on a contract worth $430 million. Trout had been plagued with back injuries. Trout has been out since July 3 with a broken hamate bone. Trout was hitting .263, 81 hits, 18 home run, 44 RBIs.

#5 The USA Today reports that the Oakland A’s would be one of two cities who would get a expansion team once the A’s move to Las Vegas at Tropicana Park in 2028. The other city under consideration is Nashville. High ranking baseball officials say that the city of Oakland needs to get a ballpark site in place (most likely the Howard Terminal), an ownership group who will secure the site. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said that in order for the city to extend the A’s extension before they move out of Oakland MLB needs to assure the city will get an expansion team and the A’s name brand stays with the City.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for all the action of Oakland A’s baseball on the 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 named as one of two expansion sites once A’s leave for Vegas in 2028

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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao addresses the media during a Wed Feb 15, 2023 press conference at Oakland City Hall. Mayor Thao has said the City of Oakland would consider extending the A’s lease through the 2027 season if the city would retain the A’s name and the city gets an expansion team. (AP photo file)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez and Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–You might recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said that if Oakland A’s are looking for extending they’re lease between 2025-27 before moving to Las Vegas the city of Oakland wants assurance of an MLB expansion team. According to USA Today reports two high officials in MLB said that Oakland and Nashville have been named as the top two cities for expansion.

The A’s ballpark is expected to be completed at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip by 2028. The A’s are committed to play at the Oakland Coliseum through the 2024 season. Then after 2024 where do the A’s play? Several sites have been suggested Salt Lake City, Las Vegas Aviators park, Reno, and San Francisco.

Mayor Thao said as long as Oakland is assured an expansion team when the A’s leave in 2028 the city would grant the A’s an extension to play at the Coliseum for an additional three more years until they pack up and leave for Sin City.

With the two high ranking officials saying Oakland is on the list for expansion Thao will most likely extend the A’s lease through the 2027 season. The officials who were not named said the city of Oakland needs to secure an owner who will build a new ballpark most likely at the Howard Terminal location. Mayor Thao would most likely need to identify an owner who will build the new ballpark and take charge of the expansion team to make it happen.

Thao had said that the city in part of extending the Oakland Coliseum lease for the A’s would retain the Oakland A’s name and brand. A’s owner John Fisher had said that the A’s will not relinquish the name when they move to Vegas and intends to keep the A’s brand.

It was also mentioned in the report that the city and the A’s were close to a deal in before the A’s announced they were leaving for Vegas. Thao had said the city and A’s were ten percent of the way to finalizing a deal but the A’s broke off negotiations and said they had a binding deal with the Rio in Las Vegas. The deal at the Rio was later broke off and now the A’s are trying to build at the Tropicana location which the A’s are waiting for MLB owners approval a vote that is expected to take place in December.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network and Jerry Feitelberg is an Oakland A’s reporter at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Memories of Oakland  No.11 in Series-Nobody is more Oakland than Dave Stewart

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Former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart who is a member of the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame and has his #34 jersey retired with the A’s (File photo by the Tennessean)

Memories of Oakland  No.11 in Series

Nobody is more Oakland than Dave Stewart

By Amaury Pi-González

No other player in Oakland A’s history represents Oakland more than Dave Stewart. Born in the City of Oakland and the only Oakland A’s pitcher to have won 20  or more games in four seasons in a row, his grit and determination are legendary. While Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder are also 20-game-winners while pitching in Oakland, Stewart is in a class by himself.

He always had a smile and was gracious when we spoke, especially with one of his most memorable anecdotes; when he was a young man and lived not very far from the Oakland Coliseum he would sneak into A’s games and Reggie Jackson would catch him in the process and bring  him to the park.

Soon after, Stewart started washing Reggie’s car in exchange for tickets. If anybody is really Rooted in Oakland, that would be Dave Stewart. That is the best definition of “Rooted” the other stuff is only marketing, but Stewart is the real thing.

Those of us who covered the 1989 World Series remember well, the Cypress Freeway in Oakland, on October 17 when the strong Loma Prieta Earthquake struck the bay area. Stewart was there working shoulder-to-shoulder with first responders, rescuing people that were trapped.

There, 42 people were killed when the double-decked Cypress Freeway (which I had driven hours before on the way from the east bay to Candlestick Park), totally collapsed. Dave Stewart is a World Series Champion and World Series Most Valuable Player, but he is also a role model for the youth in Oakland.

Dave Stewart is involved as an owner of an expansion team in Nashville, Tennessee. His vision could become reality as Nashville is one of the top cities considered for MLB expansion along with Charlotte, Montreal, Portland and Salt Lake City.

“Mental attitude and concentration are the keys to pitching”  – Ferguson Jenkins.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Teachers Union Disagree with Schools Over Stadiums

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Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita is not part of Schools over Stadium and has been at odds with the NSEA since 2018 (file photo Nevada Independent)

Teachers Union Disagree with Schools Over Stadiums

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

There are more curves to this story, than the world’s famous Lombard Street in San Francisco. After a teacher’s union formed Schools Over Stadiums, in opposition to the Athletics building a park in Nevada, there is another teacher’s union in Las Vegas, Nevada who doesn’t support the Schools Over Stadium petition. I believe “not all teachers are created equal”.

This June, the Nevada State Education Association formed a political action committee called Schools Over Stadiums.Today they officially announced they have filed a referendum petition to repeal the funding of $380 million approved for the new A’s ballpark in Las Vegas. They claim that during that 82nd Legislative Session, Nevada legislators “failed to hear a single bill to reduce Nevada’s overcrowded classrooms.”

That same month in June, Nevada’s Governor Lombardo signed State Bill 1. Under this bill, $380 million in public funds for the ballpark were set aside. Steve Hill (an important player in Las Vegas) is the CEO and President of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. According to Hill, room taxes from hotels in Las Vegas generated in the new Sports and Innovation District would help cover some of those costs.

It’s the same structure they put together to pay for Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The MLB owners must approve the team moving to Las Vegas; a vote is expected in December. The demolition of the Tropicana, where the A’s have planned to build their new ballpark, is scheduled right after the owners vote.

The Nevada Secretary of State website, on the Schools Over Stadiums, specifies they would need hundreds of thousands of valid signatures from registered Nevada voters before it goes onto the ballot. For example, during the 2022 General Election, petitioners required at least 10% of the voters who voted during the previous General Election. In 2022, 10% meant 140,777 valid signatures. They will need to be collected and submitted by July 8, 2024. As of today, they haven’t started the collection of signatures yet, according to Schools Over Stadiums officials.

Not all Nevada Teachers Unions are reading from the same playbook. The Clark County Education Association (CCEA), which is not affiliated with NSEA and is the official bargaining unit for 18,000 licensed educators, including teachers in the Clark County School District (Las Vegas, the most populous city in the State), is not backing the “Schools Over Stadiums” petition.

CCEA and the statewide union have been at odds since 2018, when the former broke with NSEA.  “We’re not involved, and we wouldn’t follow the lead of an irrelevant organization,” Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita said in June, adding that Democrats passed the bill, a Republican governor signed it, and the stadium seems settled.

The Oakland A’s also signed a labor agreement with the Nevada Building Trades covering the stadium and has an agreement with the ballpark’s employees. This is the largest labor union in Nevada, the hospitality labor force associated with the AFL-CIO.

The Oakland A’s announced their schedule for the 2024 season, all home games will be played at the Oakland Coliseum.

 Note: In 2005 MLB moved the Montreal Expos to the American capital and renamed them the Washington Nationals. Montreal is the only city that has lost a significant league franchise since 1901 without eventually getting another team.

If the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas, will Oakland get an expansion team? Nobody could answer that today, but other cities are “in line” to get an MLB expansion team. This June five of San José’s Mayors sent Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred a letter, asking MLB to permanently suspend territorial rights and create and avenue for the city to get an expansion team. San Jose, the Bay Area’s largest city wants a Major League team and if would merit great consideration, if the A’s leave for Las Vegas.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for the Oakland A’s action on the A’s Spanish radio network 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburgh and News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Wild week for Braves Aucna Jr as he joins the 30-60 club; Angels mailing it in; plus more news

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Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr., right, hits a grand slam as Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith watches during the second inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thu Aug 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What a week it’s been for Ronald Acuna Jr he was attacked and thrown down by two Colorado Rockies fans at Coors Field (he came out of it unscathed), he got married, and now he’s a member of the 30-60 club, Acuna also hit a grand slam home run at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.

#2 The Los Angeles Angels are mailing it in, they waived five players and still couldn’t get under the luxury tax threshold. The Angels took a gamble by waving the five players assuming they all get picked up but left fielder Randal Grichuk was not picked up and the Angels payroll is separating them from the other big spending clubs to the tune of $233 million.

#3 Evidence further showing the Angels are mailing it in they completely fell apart against the Oakland A’s on Friday night with a lack of hitting production and the A’s capitalized on Angels pitching with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.

#4 The Angels aren’t selling themselves on keeping superstar Shohei Ohtani whose been relegated to designated hitter after suffering his UCL injury and could end up getting a second Tommy John surgery. The A’s silenced his bat pretty much on Friday night.

#5 Amaury, the heat is getting turned up on Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco whose being accused of having a social media relationship with a 14 year. A second minor aged girl had said that she had a relationship with Franco since the Jul 17th accusation from the 14 year old which was filed weeks before the story became public. A third girl has come forward and also said she was in a relationship with Franco. The legal age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 18 years of age. Franco has not played with the Rays since Aug 12th right here in Oakland. A special prosecutor for the Dominican Republic is investigating.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice of 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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Harrison becomes second Giant to get 10 k’s in second career appearance; Former manager Corrales passes at 82; plus more news

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison becomes the second pitcher in Giants history to strike out ten in a second career appearance (@SFGiants photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary:

#1 Some fans at Oracle Park in San Francisco kept saying from the stands to Giants rookie starter Kyle Harrison “who are you?” and he showed them who he was by setting 11 hitters from the first place Cincinnati Reds down. Harrison was all the rage when he made his rookie debut on Aug 22. On Monday night Harrison became the second Giants pitcher to strike ten hitters in his second appearance since Jeff Tesreau since 1912.

#2 Harrison in that MLB debut showed his effectiveness throwing 3.1 innings. and allowed two runs, five hits and five strikeouts. It was the strikeouts that has got a lot of people’s attention.

#3 Amaury, former Cleveland Guardians manager Pat Corrales who managed Texas, Cleveland and Philadelphia passed away at age 82 over the weekend. Corrales worked as a special assistant to the general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers until 2012 in his final job in baseball. Is Pat Corrales in the Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Musuem?

#4 It was tribute night for former New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer who returned to the Big Apple with the Texas Rangers. The Mets had a video scoreboard tribute for Scherzer but he was booed roundly when they showed him in the Rangers dugout for a live shot.

#5 The Oakland A’s got to Seattle and were routed by the Seattle Mariners. For the M’s the big hits, in the bottom of the first JP Crawford belted a 394 foot home run and in the bottom of the fourth inning Julio Rodriguez slugged a 420 foot home run putting the M’s in front 6-0 and out of reach in a 7-0 loss on Monday night. This was the seventh loss out of 11 games for Oakland.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB The Three biggest Failures are the three biggest Payrolls

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Baltimore Orioles third baseman Gunnar Henderson is unable to stop an RBI double by Colorado Rockies’ Elias Diaz that scored Charlie Blackmon from first base during the third inning at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Fri Aug 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

With approximately 30 to 35 games left for most teams this season, here are the three teams with the biggest payrolls this year and their records today.

1-New York Mets 60-71 in the cellar, 2-New York Yankees, 62-69 in the cellar, 3-San Diego Padres, 61-70 in penultimate place. The chances of any of these teams for the postseason is at best slim and none for real, as they would have to play at an .800 winning percentage clip the rest of the way. Can we say that money is not the key for a winning team?

Yes and No, because at the end is a combination, a balancing-act for front offices to draft, trade and buy players at the same time. A team most draft and develop well, make trades to improve their roster and in some cases open the bank and pay the huge salaries. But money alone is not the solution in the most difficult sport.

The Baltimore Orioles are leading the American League East, with the #29 payroll, only the Oakland A’s have a smaller payroll, the A’s do not really count because their owner has “De-funded the Team” . But, how have the Orioles done it?

They have the best minor league system today. As a matter of fact, this 2023 season the Orioles have the best minor league system for the fourth consecutive year. The best example is Gunnar Henderson, which was one of the eight total guys in the Top 100 prospects, Henderson is a regular in the young and exciting Baltimore Orioles lineup this season.

They have players waiting in the minors, like the highly rated Jackson Holliday, the son of ex major league All Star Matt Holliday. Jackson Holliday is the #1 prospect in Major League Baseball, currently playing shortstop and second base at AA level affiliate, Bowie Baysox in Maryland.

The Birds from Baltimore success was not instant. Here are the last three years record:

2021: 52-100, 2022: 83-79, today the Orioles have a 81-49 record. which is the second best record among all 30 MLB teams, only the Atlanta Braves with 84-45 leading the NL East by miles have a better record in baseball.

The Yankees, Mets and Padres will have a very interesting off-season, the Padres might just tweak their roster, my hope is they keep their manager Bob Melvin, but the two New York teams, only God knows what their management is going to do.

Mets owner Steve Cohen is the richest owner in baseball, but he could not buy the title this year, he is insatiable for high prize talent, and will make a run at Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees? Well there is always next season for their 28 World Series title.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A Friend and my Favorite Baseball Official Scorer

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A Friend and my Favorite Baseball Official Scorer

This photo was taken by The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame (2012 Pioneer Award) which former MLB official scorer Arturo Santo Domingo was a winner of that year

A Friend and my Favorite Baseball Official Scorer Arturo Santo Domingo

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Our deepest condolences to the Santo Domingo family for the passing of Mr. Arturo Santo Domingo. All of us who knew Arturo share great lifetime memories that enriched our lives. He was the ultimate professional, a friend in the Press Box in San Francisco and Oakland.

Arturo shared his knowledge, love, and passion for the game of baseball like few people I have ever met in this business. We met in the 1970’s at the Candlestick Park Press Box during a San Francisco Giants game.

I remember when he introduced me to Mr. Chub Feeney who was the Vice President of the Giants and often was in the press box standing in a corner smoking a cigar watching the game (it was allowed back then to smoke in the Press Box) Feeney was a real character.

Arturo was the first Latin American-born Traveling Secretary in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants in the early 1960’s Born in Colombia but educated in the United States, a graduate in Business at Duke University, this humble reporter and Arturo mostly spoke in Spanish.

He would often join me on the air during a Spanish-language baseball broadcast of the A’s or Giants here in the Bay Area, which he really enjoyed and was excellent in his commentary. His knowledge of the game made him my favorite Official Scorer in baseball.

But his stories when we spoke about some of the greatest players he had the privilege of knowing and traveling with, like the great Willie Mays, were priceless. When Arturo spoke in any Press Box people listened.

Through the years I realized how much he loved Cuban food, which we shared in various restaurants with him and some of his friends who are also missing him today. In 2012 Arturo Santo Domingo who was co-founder and benefactor of the 46th Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara,(which I had the pleasure of covering for Telemundo) announced that he would not be part of the tournament in the future.

That same year on August 12, 2012, The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame http://www.hhbmhof.com Awarded him with the Pioneer Award. Official Scorekeepers do not come better than Arturo.

Descansa en Paz Arturo.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The San Francisco Giants are more Sizzle than Steak

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San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores (left) celebrates with Austin Slater (right) after hitting a home run that scored Bryce Johnson in the bottom of the ninth inning Sun Sep 4, 2022. Flores is underrated with the Giants last season say author Amaury Pi Gonzalez (AP News file)

The San Francisco Giants are more Sizzle than Steak

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Last off-season, the SF Giants announced to the world (with great bravado) that they were going heavy after Aaron Judge. I mentioned on the radio and wrote then that Judge would rather stay with the Yankees because that is “the legacy team” in baseball. Notwithstanding the terrible season, they are having this 2023.

But for me, one of the most important players and way underrated with the Giants last season and again this season is Wilmer Flores. In the Bay Area, the Giants are the #1 baseball team; they get more coverage than the Athletics, even when the A’s were winning the World Series.I have been a Bay Area resident since 1969 and I can attest to that.

The Giants “propaganda” after they won three World Series in six years, recruited a lot of fans, had a great run, and they did get lucky; none of those three clubs that won the World Series will ever be considered “great” teams, like for example the Oakland A’s from 1988-89-90.

They only won one World Series against the 1989 Giants, but they had great players. Giants do not have that. After that run of three World Series titles for the Giants, I was asked to attend a “career day” at an East Bay public school.

The teacher was surprised when I told her that the Giants have won three World Series in San Francisco, but the A’s have won four in Oakland. I always enjoy talking to young kids at schools as they get interested in what I have done covering sports.

This teacher was young probably not a real baseball fan; she “bought” all the propaganda from the Giants just because they had won three in six years, and some even started predicting, “We are going to win a World Series every other year. Remember that?

A good friend is putting money on the Giants signing Shohei Ohtani this winter, as he will likely become a Free Agent. I bet $50 with my friend, who would be nameless here. I bet that the Dodgers would get Ohtani and not the Giants.

But do not be surprised if the Giants and their supporters begin right after the season talking about “getting” Ohtani’ because the Giants think they are the Yankees of the West Coast, but they are not; the Dodgers are the Yankees of the West!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: MLB owners not happy with A’s special treatment in relocation move

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Sources have said that New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is not too happy regarding the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas including the A’s receiving revenue sharing and having their relocation waved (New York Post file photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 MLB owners have expressed their frustration over the Oakland A’s getting special treatment not having to pay a relocation fee as the behind the scenes discussions of the A’s move to Las Vegas heats up.

#2 Amaury, although it’s been quiet on the MLB owners front when they’ll hold the relocation vote it’s pretty apparent that it will most likely be held the first week of December.

#3 John Shea reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle says that the owners from high and low revenue teams are complaining that the A’s are receiving preferential treatment in getting increased revenue sharing and while not paying the relocation fee. Do you see that playing into the owners decision on the A’s relocation vote?

#4 The A’s getting that increased revenue sharing is also a frustration for the MLB owners particularly when they A’s don’t put any money into their payroll. Owners might ask why are the A’s getting all this money and also want to be rewarded by relocating to Vegas?

#5 Amaury, the question is will the owners go along with the relocation for the A’s to move to Vegas in spite of the A’s getting special treatment receiving revenue sharing money from MLB and the relocation being waved?

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