For those who have not been following along with the Athletics drama in regard to a new ballpark. Mortenson|McCarthy got hired as the construction company to build one in Las Vegas, Nevada once Fisher gets approval to relocate the team. Problem is the renderings of the new ballpark that were used to get approval from the Nevada senate in June were not even usable. Brad Schrock who is the A’s Director of Design said “you saw renderings in the newspaper, but wad those up for now.”

Those are still wadded up and even worse is that the site is too small for a ballpark.

Looking at the mission statement from Mortenson it says “it’s our never-ending quest. Our purpose. To create great experiences and the best outcomes for everyone. And our core values guide the way.”

Interesting that Mortenson uses “outcomes for everyone.” One has to wonder if the company is paying attention to what is going on with Fisher and the A’s. Currently, there is a lawsuit against Schools Over Stadiums which was started by Nevada educators who are opposed to using taxpayer funds to finance a new ballpark.

Schools Over Stadiums on September 6 put out this statement that says the group has been “committed to pursuing every possible path to stop the use of public funds to subsidize a billionaire’s stadium and that has always included putting the question to Nevada voters who were effectively shut out of the process. Nevada’s priorities are misguided and when we launched Schools Over Stadiums in June, our goal was to ensure that public funds go to the services Nevadans depend on like our public schools, not to a California billionaire for a stadium.”

Mortenson cannot even abide by its mission statement by working with Fisher and the Athletics. Hardly a good look for any company to get associated with a group that is willing to file lawsuits against educators. The same can be said for McCarthy.

Beyond that the Athletics know that Las Vegas residents and stakeholders were against the ballpark. A poll done prior to a special session showed 80 percent of Las Vegas residents and stakeholders against it.

One also has to wonder does that everyone also include A’s fans? Cause simply put, having their favorite team stolen away to another city hardly qualifies as a “great experience” or “outcome.”

So now if Mortenson|McCarthy actually wanted to build a ballpark in Las Vegas the easiest solution is to skip working with the Athletics all together. Instead, all that is needed is to work with Major League Baseball and come to an agreement to build one in Vegas for an expansion team.

For Mortenson|McCarthy it is still not too late to do the right thing. End their partnership with the Athletics immediately.

The post It Is Not Too Late For Mortenson|McCarthy To Do The Right Thing appeared first on INSCMagazine.

Still it does not seem that long ago that he was managing the Oakland Athletics. Yet the 2024 MLB season will mark year three since he was allowed to leave the organization without any compensation from the San Diego Padres.

Melvin spent 11 seasons managing the A’s where he became a fan favorite. So it was disappointing for many that he left, yet it marked the first move of many during the past two seasons to reduce payroll and trade their best players, which gave owner John Fisher what he wanted, the lowest payroll in MLB for 2023.

All these moves were made, so Fisher can move the team to Las Vegas. When it comes Melvin, he simply is a traitor. He now joins a franchise that has done nothing to help the A’s remain in Oakland.

Interestingly enough when the situation was reversed in the early 90s, Walter Haas, the A’s owner at the time handed over territorial rights for free to help keep the Giants in San Francisco.

Also, the jokes on the Giants as well. Melvin is a mediocre to good manager. He has never found any success in the playoffs and his A’s teams mostly battled for a Wild Card spot only to lose in disappointing fashion.

Even worse for Giants fans now, Melvin and the Padres had arguably the best roster in MLB for 2023 and only managed to win 82 games. He really is not much of an improvement over the departed Gabe Kapler.

Then again Melvin the traitor is the perfect fit for the Giants, as his tenure will likely be marred by either disappointing win totals or postseason disappointments.

The post Former A’s Manager Bob Melvin Is A Traitor appeared first on INSCMagazine.

The young shortstop was caught mocking Harper and saying “atta boy Harper” while celebrating the win with his team. Going into game three that’s all the former MVP needed to rally the troops.

 Philadelphia sent right-handed hurler Aaron Nola to the mound to oppose Braves righty Bryce Elder. Elder, who had a phenomenal season racking up twelve wins and a sub-four ERA was in for a rude awakening in Philadelphia.

After Ozzie Albies got Atlanta on the board in the third with a single allowing MVP front-runner Ronald Acuna Jr to score the Phils got to work.

Nick Castellanos led the bottom of the third off with a solo home run then, the floodgates opened. Brandon Marsh reached on a single before advancing to second on a ground out from Kyle Scwarber, and later advanced to third on an infield single by Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, that’s when the former MVP stepped up and left his mark on the game. 

Harper, on a 2-1 pitch sent a ball high into the Pennsylvania night sky and put Philadelphia up 4-1 and those are all the runs the Phillies would need. Bryce definitely took notes before the game and stared down Arcia while rounding second.

That effectively ended Elder’s night giving him a final line of 2.2 innings, five hits, six earned runs, a walk, and four strikeouts. Not the kind of outing you were hoping for if you’re Braves manager Brian Snitker.

 Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto added two more runs after he doubled in the third off of relief pitcher Michael Tomkin took over. The Phillies never looked back or let their foot off the gas after that.

Philadelphia’s starter Aaron Nola was on his A-game going 5.2 strong innings, giving up six hits, two earned runs, a walk, and striking out a whopping nine batters. Between the big third inning from the Phillies offense and the start that Nola provided for them, they were in prime position to take a 2-1 series lead. But, Bryce wasn’t done yet. Coming up again in the fifth inning Harper put the nail in the coffin with another moon-shot that he sent out to dead center on a 1-1 pitch. Harper, again remembering those pregame notes once again stared down Arica while rounding the bases. 

Bryce’s second home run of the night put Philadelphia up 7-1. Philly would add three more runs before the end of the game when Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, and Brandon Marsh all hit solo home runs. Atlanta added their second and final run on an Orlando Arcia single in the sixth. 

 Philadelphia now looks to close out the series in game four where Braves Ace Spencer Strider heads to the mound against against the Phillies Ranger Suarez.

Citizens Bank Park will be absolutely rocking again hoping Bryce and the gang can wrap this series up in Philadelphia and that Atlanta doesn’t force a game five.

The post Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Atta Boy, Harper! appeared first on INSCMagazine.

The Philadelphia Phillies stole homefield advantage from the best team in baseball, the Atlanta Braves, as the best of five series heads back to Philadelphia with Red October. The winner of this series most likely will play the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they have a commanding 2-0 lead over the heavily favored 100-win Dodgers.

My opinion, the winner of the Phillies and the Braves Divisional Series matchup will be the National League representative in the World Series. As for the 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles, that are not playing their best football yet, but still stacking wins and remain just one of two teams in the NFL that are still undefeated.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a commanding two-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East Division, but are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the No.1 seed in the NFC. The Eagles schedule will be getting extremely hard, as they soon head down the murderers’ row by facing the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, the aforementioned 49ers and the Cowboys twice.

The scary part about the Eagles is, they haven’t clicked yet as a team, once Philadelphia starts clicking on all cylinders, they have the potential to be a Super Bowl winning team. One weapon that Philadelphia have mastered, that nine other teams tried and failed, is the famous push-push-play, which the Eagles call the “Brotherly Shove.

This play for the Eagles is almost unstoppable with future Hall of Fame offensive linemen Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, and a quarterback that squats over 600 pounds.

The league is in talks to ban this play, due to players from other teams getting hurt. This pending decision will hurt the Eagles in the long run, if the NFL throws the book and bans this play for the Iggles, so they better win all this year, while the play is legal.

The post Sports: City of Brotherly Love? Thanks to Eagles and Phillies, Philly stacking up W’s appeared first on INSCMagazine.

Still one of the bright spots was center fielder Esteury Ruiz who came over as part of a three-team trade that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves and William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers. Ruiz was impressive on the base paths and set an American League record for most steals by a rookie with 67, surpassing the 66 of Kenny Lofton who accomplished the feat in 1992 for the Cleveland Indians.

With Ruiz setting a record, it is time to look at where his season ranks among Oakland rookies.

In Oakland there have been seven Rookie of the Year Award winners for the franchise. Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Walt Weiss, Ben Grieve, Bobby Crosby, Huston Street, and Andrew Bailey. Terrence Long was robbed by Ichiro Suzuki of the award in 2000. Yoenis Cespedes is another name that came in second yet Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was definitely deserving of the award, Mitchell Page also came in second in voting. Tim Hudson impressed from day one and did come in fifth.

So it is time to take a look at the Top 10 rookie seasons the A’s history in Oakland.

1. McGwire, 49 home runs, 118 RBI, 28 doubles, four triples, .289 average, .370 OBP

2. Mitchell Page, 21 home runs, 75 RBI, 42 stolen bases, 28 doubles, eight triples, .307 average, .405 OBP

3. Cespedes, 23 home runs, 82 RBI, 25 doubles, five triples, .292 average, .356 OBP

4. Canseco, 33 home runs, 117 RBI, 29 doubles, one triple, .240 average, .318 OBP

5. Long, 18 home runs, 80 RBI, 34 doubles, four triples, .288 average, .336 OBP

6. Grieve, 18 home runs, 89 RBI, 41 doubles, two triples, .288 average, .386 OBP

7. Jarrod Parker, 13-8, 3.47 ERA, 181.1 innings pitched, 140 strikeouts and 63 walks

8. Hudson, 11-2, 3.23 ERA, 136.1 innings, 132 strikeouts and 62 walks.

9. Bailey, 1.84 ERA, 83.1 innings, 91 strikeouts to 24 walks, and 26 saves

10. Brent Gates, seven home runs, 69 RBI, 29 doubles, two triples, .290 average, .357 OBP

Missing the cut were:

Matt Keough, 8-15, 3.24 ERA, 197.1 innings, 108 strikeouts and 85 walks

Terry Steinbach, 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 16 doubles, three triples, .284 average, .349 OBP

Nick Swisher, 21 home runs, 77 RBI, 32 doubles, one triple .236 average, .322 OBP

Reggie Jackson, 29 home runs, 74 RBI, 13 doubles, six triples, .250 average, .316 OBP

Ruiz, 5 home runs, 47 RBI, .254 average, 24 doubles, one triple, .309 OBP, 67 stolen bases

Dan Johnson, 15 home runs, 58 RBI, 21 doubles,  .275 average, .355 OBP

Wayne Gross, 22 home runs, 63 RBI, 21 doubles, one triple, .233 average, .352 OBP

Joe Blanton, 12-12, 3.53 ERA, 201.1 innings, 116 strikeouts and 67 walks

Ernie Young, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 19 doubles, four triples, .242 average, .326 OBP

Crosby, 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 34 doubles, one triple .239 average, .319 OBP

Weiss, three home runs, 39 RBI, 17 doubles, three triples, .250 average, .312 OBP

Scott Spiezio, 14 home runs, 65 RBI, 28 doubles, four triples, .243 average, .300 OBP

Brad Ziegler, 1.06 ERA, 11 saves, 59.2 innings, 30 strikeouts and 22 walks

Street, 1.72 ERA, 23 saves, 78.1 innings, 72 strikeouts and 26 walks

Mark Canha, 16 home runs, 70 RBI, 22 doubles, three triples .254 average, .315 OBP

Ryan Cook 2.09 ERA, 73.1 innings, 80 strikeouts and 27 walks

What about A’s rookies that did not win the Award or weren’t robbed of it? Ryan Noda also a rookie in 2023 had an impressive OBP this season at .365, and he also hit 16 home runs and drove in 54 and ranked ninth in the American League in walks. Could argue that his rookie year was better than Weiss’.

Zach Gelof another 2023 rookie impressed in 2023 with his limited time in the majors hitting .267 with 14 home runs, 20 doubles, 32 RBI in 69 games played.

Other notable rookies of Oakland include:

Barry Zito, 7-4, 2.72 ERA, 92.2 innings, 78 strikeouts and 45 walks

Tommy Milone, 3.74 ERA, 190 innings pitched, 137 strikeouts to 36 walks

Sean Manaea, 7-9, 3.86 ERA, 144.2 innings pitched, 124 strikeouts and 37 walks

Rick Langford, 8-19, 4.02 ERA, 208.1 innings, 141 strikeouts and 73 walks

Eric Chavez, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, 21 doubles, two triples, .247 average, .333 OBP

Miguel Tejada, 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 20 doubles, one triple .233 average, .298 OBP

Brett Anderson, 11-11, 4.06 ERA, 175.1 innings, 150 strikeouts to 45 walks

Steve McCatty, 11-12, 4.22 ERA, 185.2 innings, 87 strikeouts and 80 walks

Chris Codiroli, 12-12, 4.46 ERA, 205.2 innings, 85 strikeouts and 72 walks

Travis Blackley, 6-4, 3.86 ERA, 102.2 innings, 69 strikeouts and 30 walks

Rollie Fingers, 6-7, 3.71 ERA, 12 saves, 119 innings pitched, 61 strikeouts and 41 walks

Bill Krueger, 7-6, 3.61 ERA, 109.2 innings, 58 strikeouts and 53 walks

Lou Trivino, .292 ERA, 74 innings pitched, 82 strikeouts, and 31 walks

Dave Revering, 16 home runs, 46 RBI, 21 doubles, three triples, .271 average, .303 OBP

Jemile Weeks, two home runs, 36 RBI, 26 doubles, eight triples, 22 stolen bases, .303 average, .340 OBP

Todd Burns 8-2, 3.16 ERA, 102.2 innings pitched, 57 strikeouts and 34 walks

A.J. Griffin, 7-1, 3.06 ERA, 82.1 innings pitched, 64 strikeouts and 19 walks

Looking at the numbers for For Ruiz, he is on the outside looking in at the top 10. When it comes to position players only he is close at no.11 though.

The post Oakland Athletics Rookie History: Where Does The Season Of Esteury Ruiz Rank? appeared first on INSCMagazine.

It was a very entertaining pitching battle, until the Braves did what the Braves do in the 4th inning. 7 runs including a 3 run homer by Sean Murphy, then on the very next pitch, Marcell Ozuna blasted one out of the park to the amazement of the over 36,000 fans at Wrigley Field.

Yes, even the Cubs fans themselves were surprised, yet frustrated at the same time for obvious reasons. In the 7th inning, Austin Riley smacked a solo shot of his own for the 8th and final run of the ballgame.

All of the attention though was on Max Fried, who through all 6 innings of his first game back from his strained forearm, never allowed a run. The Braves fans in attendance were very pleased to see him return. What a show he gave them, including 8 strikeouts. Recently acquired Brad Hand from the Rockies, and Joe Jimenez followed suit with no runs allowed in the 7th and 8th innings respectively. As Collin McHugh closed out the game for the shutout in the Windy City on a beautiful afternoon. That Braves bullpen sure is terrifying. Their offense isn’t half bad either.

The post Braves’ Max Fried Amazes in Shutout, Offense Dominates in 8-0 Victory Over the Cubs appeared first on INSCMagazine.

Yet it is now time to mock the first five rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft for the Athletics.

No.6 Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon

He set program records for career hits with 224 and RBI 155 and set a single season record for batting average in 2023 when he hit .411. Even better though is his eye at the plate in 620 at-bats between 2022 and 2023 he struck out only 31 times.

In 2023, he also won the 2023 WAC Defensive Player of the Year.

No.39 Jake Gelof, 3B, Virginia

A familiar name for the Athletics. His older brother was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2022 MLB Draft by Oakland. Gelof in 2023 hit 23 home runs, drove in 90, walked 48 times, had a batting average of .321 and an OBP of .427.

No.41 Hunter Owen, SP, Vanderbilt

Strong is one word to describe Owen, who is 6’6″ and 261 pounds. His fastball sits between 92-94 miles-per-hour yet has reached 97 miles-per-hour. He throws a curveball and a slider and moved from a relief pitcher to a starter.

He made 12 starts in 2023, went 4-0, with 76 strikeouts to 17 walks, and his ERA was 3.52.

No.72 Tanner Witt, SP, Texas

Though he struggled with injuries in 2023. In 2020 he was highly touted out of high school. Witt has added 20 pounds to his 6’5″ frame and his fastball sits between 92-95 miles-per-hour. During the 2021 season he spent his season in the bullpen for the Texas Longhorns. He went 5-0 with an ERA of 3.16 in 57 innnings of works, he also saved five games, and struck out 73 while walking 25.

No.103 Steven Milam, SS/2B, Centenniel (NM)

Currently, undersized at 5’8″ 165 pounds, Milam has drawn comparisons to another Louisiana State University commit, Alex Bregman.

Though he is not likely going to develop power, he does have the ability to become a prototype no.2 hitter who sprays the ball to all fields. Depending on the team he will likely get moved from shortstop to second base.

No.139 Jake Cunningham, OF, Charlotte

According to his scouting report, Cunningham possesses some of the best all-around tools in the college class. Between 2022 and 2023 he did hit 27 home runs and drove in 93. He also, can steal bases and has a strong arm in center field.

The post 2023 MLB Mock Draft: The Oakland Athletics First Five Rounds appeared first on INSCMagazine.

Was it surprising for A’s fans? No. Maybe the perfection part, yet being no-hit? No. In fact there are likely more to come with their current lineup. Only good thing was that at least it was a blow out, Yankees scored 11 runs. German finished with nine strike outs and lowered his ERA to 4.54 on the season. It was also fitting that Estuery Ruiz grounded out to third basemen Josh Donaldson a former Athletic for the final out of the game.

Still if Major League Baseball had a competent commissioner, a perfect game tonight does not likely happen. The current roster for the Athletics is the worst in baseball and it is not surprising the team is 40 games under .500. It is made up of one talented prospect Ruiz, Shea Langeliers who was acquired in the trade that sent Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves has struggled and has failed to impress offensively, and the remainder are either utility infielders or Triple-A talented outfielders.

With the exception of Carlos Perez who has done surprising well in his limited action as backup catcher. Similar to the season Christian Bethancourt had in 2022.

Pitching the Athletics have three starting pitchers with eras that are well above six, opening day starter also acquired in the Olson deal struggled mightily and continues to in Triple-A, Paul Blackburn has pitched well since returning from the injured list, Sears before tonight had a decent 4.10 era, and Hogan Harris has been up and down as the team’s long reliever. Luis Medina has not been good as a starter or as a reliever and his era is 6.84.

Japanese pitcher Shintaro Fujinami is one of the highet paid players on the Athletics roster. He failed as a starter and is now in the bullpen yet he continues to struggle though his era is actually at its lowest of the season at 10.04.

Sam Moll and Sam Long have done well as the lefty relievers in the bullpen, Richard Lovelady was as well before ending up on the injured list. Austin Pruitt has done reasonably well, Trevor May has been solid since returning with a 2.70 era and four saves since May 23. Their most impressive pitcher has been Lucas Erceg who has a 2.25 ERA and has struck out 25 in 20 innings of work in 16 appearances since being purchased from the Milwaukee Brewers.

So with the pitching struggles and less than stellar talent offensively, expect a few more no hitters to get thrown against the Athletics.

The post It Was Only A Matter Of Time For The Oakland Athletics appeared first on INSCMagazine.

I remember watching afternoon games on TV listening to Greg Papa and Ray Fosse when I lived in the Bay Area. Even though during those years especially in the mid 1990s, not being good. Got to see Geronimo Berroa and Matt Stairs beging to make a name for themselves. Both hitting over 30 home runs and driving in 100 runs. Obviously, there were some anger inducing trades as well with Jose Canseco getting sent to the Texas Rangers and Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals.

A’s fans all know about the home run chase involving McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The two were the reason fans came back to baseball after the strike in 1994.

During this time the A’s drafted well with Jason Giambi winning an MVP though he also deserved one in 2001. Miguel Tejada was one of the best offensive short stops in MLB right up there with Alex Rodriguez and ahead of Derek Jeter. Eric Chavez in recent memory is the only A’s player to get a long contract extension, did he deserve it? Yes. He was one of the best offensive third basemen in MLB and defensively right up there with Scott Rolen at the time. Unfortunately injuries derailed his career.

When it came to pitching the Athletics had the big three of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder. All three had seasons with 20 or more wins, one won a Cy Young and the other two came in second in voting.

By 2004 Mulder and Hudson got traded and Zito after the 2006 season wound up signing with the San Francisco Giants.

Oakland did not find much success until 2012 and the signing of Yoenis Cespedes happened. He was fun to watch, fans showed up. Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick, and Josh Donaldson became a household name for A’s fans along with Brandon Inge who seemingly came up with big hit after big hit with runners in scoring position. The question of who was going to start at first base was finally over as well.

Still the winning didn’t last long and by 2015 the roster turned over once again.

When it came to the draft, the A’s did not perform as well as previously. Sonny Gray was really the only pitcher of late that performed well, and he got traded to the New York Yankees. Position players there have been a few more such as Matt Chapman who was tremendous defensively won a platinum glove, Matt Olson was good for the most part, Marcus Semien was kept too long and was not that great defensively at short stop, and Sean Murphy not a good hitter and arguably has the worst at-bat in A’s franchise history.

Starting Pitcher Chris Bassitt being traded in 2022 to the New York Mets also hurt.

Then there is this season where it was clear Fisher and team president Dave Kaval hardly put an effort to put out a competitive team this year. As of the game tonight the A’s sit at 19-50 for the season and that is with a seven game winning streak.

Quite possibly one of the most important dates in the team’s history in Oakland was the reverse boycott. Which drew 27,759 fans, with many shouting sell the team. There was a moment in the top of the fifth inning when the crowd went silent and then in unison the crowd go loud. At one point A’s pitcher Hogan Harris was not able to hear his pitch com device, and you can see the grin on the face of catcher Shea Langeliers.

Last night, that one grin from Langeliers proved what A’s fans have known all along. Fisher is the problem, if there was an owner that actually cared about the direction of the franchise, we would absolutely show up. Yet there is too much outside noise that places blame on the fans when that is the furthest thing from the truth.

Still what is horrible is that MLB did not say anything about it on social media, MLB Network, or on MLB.com. A clear sign that Athletics fans are not being listened to.

For me, I have not had many chances of late to get to the coliseum. 2015 was the last time I went, the A’s faced the Colorado Rockies. Yet I wish I was able to go to the Reverse Boycott yet could not. Still as a teenager after moving to the pacific northwest I would follow how the A’s were doing by reading the sports section in the morning. Also, I would watch on TV when taking on the Seattle Mariners and on occasion go see them play at Safeco. When I went to college on the east coast, spent a number of late nights watching those late west coast games and even took a trip to New Yankee Stadium to see a game as well.

Now that I’m in Texas, I have gone to games in Arlington and Houston.

Another memory that stands out for me is that of catcher Stephen Vogt. It took him a while to get his first Major League hit his chant will always remain engrained in A’s fans heads which is “I believe in Stephen Vogt, I believe in Stephen Vogt.” Of course his first hit was a home run and how did he finish his career? With a home run.

While the A’s have not had much postseason success of late. Pat Neshek returning to the mound was one of the best moments of late for all of MLB. Unfortunately it was under tragic circumstances, yet I will never forget the raw emotions he let out.

For those who are unaware of the situation or are on the outside looking it. Simply put A’s fans are simply tired of cheering for fan favorites only to have them leave far too soon. Will also leave you with examples of what the Coliseum was like last night. The reactions of Eric Byrnes, Dallas Braden, Stephen Piscotty, and Billie Joe Armstrong were incredible.

One last thing for now. Mark Kotsay’s comment on the @Oakland68s Right Field Drums returning was pretty cool. #Athletics https://t.co/KFHZDfVIiM pic.twitter.com/iRPDCTin9X

— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) June 14, 2023

The Coli is POPPIN’! #HandlingTOWNBiz pic.twitter.com/XyBJdB9apx

— Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) June 14, 2023

#OAKtogether
pic.twitter.com/IWPXr7Dusq

— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) June 14, 2023

As planned A’s fans were standing and silent during the first batter of the fifth inning

They then broke into “sell the team” chants so loud that the pitcher thought his earpiece was broken pic.twitter.com/NI2sRLmPjV

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 14, 2023

The post Opinion: The Oakland Athletics Belong In Oakland appeared first on INSCMagazine.

So when spring training ended and the opening day roster was announced it was shocking that Rooker made the opening day roster over Cristian Pache. On social media many voiced their displeasure with the decision.

Pache seemingly earned a spot. His defense is outstanding, makes spectacular plays defensively, and hit well in the spring with a .302 batting average and eight rbi. Also, he was a key name in the Matt Olson trade to the Atlanta Braves.

The one impressive part to Rooker’s spring was that his on-base percentage was tremendous at .471, other than the great eye at the plate he did not hit for power, no home runs and was not driving in runs with three in 39 at-bats.

What made Pache expendable was the power potential of Rooker thoughand with Esteury Ruiz was locked in on the center field spot, so he became the odd man out.

In 2022 Rooker started the season in Triple-A for the San Diego Padres organization before getting traded to the Royals in August. He hit a combined 28 home runs, drove in 87 in 81 games, along with 27 doubles, a batting average of .289 and a OBP of .395.

While with the Minnesota Twins Triple-A team in 2021 he hit 20 home runs in 62 games. Pache rose through the minor league system of the Braves, yet the most home runs he hit were 11 in 2021, also in the same season he hit 15 doubles which was also a career-high for him.

Surprisingly for once a decision by the A’s has worked out well. Rooker has excelled in 2023 and currently leads the American League in home runs with 11, OBP at .428, slugging percentage .673, OPS 1.100, and he has driven in 29 which ranks seventh. Also, he has hit seven doubles.

Rooker continued his incredible start to the season with a walk-off three-run home run to beat the Texas Rangers 9-7 in 10 innings late Friday night. Major League Baseball even shared the clip on Twitter right after it happened. Not bad for someone that barely made the opening day roster.

The post 2023 Oakland Athletics: Outfielder Brent Rooker Continues As Lone Bright Spot appeared first on INSCMagazine.