Oakland Athletics
The life of defending champions, in any sport, is never easy. This is especially true at the beginning of the next season. Either one begins said campaign hotter than the surface of the sun or colder than the Arctic Ocean. There are very few middling or even mediocre starts to seasons right after winning major […]
Mets Side of the Deal The New York Mets have traded for veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt. In the deal, prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller are headed to the Oakland A’s. Bassitt made his debut in Chicago with the White Sox in 2014. He was then traded to the A’s, where he’s excelled over the […]
Oakland Athletics 9, Toronto Blue Jays 1 (This game was the result of a simulation done through What If Sports. It matched the Oakland Athletics All-Time Team against the Toronto Blue Jays All-Time Team. This game did not actually happen.) Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Eddie Plank pitched a complete game while Jimmie Foxx went […]
The Oakland Athletics are an interesting case. They’ve been around for 121 years and have been involved in 18,702 contests. In that time, they’ve made 29 trips to the postseason and won 15 pennants. They have nine World Championships and 45 players who’ve worn their uniform are enshrined in Cooperstown. However, in spite of all […]
We live in a world filled with oddities. Rube Waddell was one of those oddities. If you’re not familiar with Rube, then now is a good time to make his acquaintance. Should we start with the alligator he wrestled? Or perhaps we should dive into one of the many bottles of alcohol that caused him […]
Why the 2021 MVP Finalists Truly Were the Most Valuable MLB Network announced the awards finalists — the top three vote-getters in each league’s award category — Monday night. Each announcement provoked passionate discussion. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) finalists, heavily discussed every year, provoked unusually intense discussion. Most surprising (to some) is that none […]
Comebacks are fun to talk about and to read about. Now that we’ve gotten one under our belts, this writer can officially say that they are fun to write about. Comebacks are ageless. They intrigue our minds and bolster our sports fan constitutions. Depending upon where one lies as a fan, they can also make […]
Stephen Piscotty sprained his left wrist and was on the IL on Saturday by the Oakland Athletics. Piscotty had a similar injury that landed him on the IL on June 19th of this year. The injury kept him out of the lineup until July 4th during that stint. In a corresponding move, the Athletics recalled […]
Ejection Inspection, Week Eight: Mike Shildt Dumped after Pitcher Is Asked to Change His Hat Welcome to Week Eight of Ejection Inspection! The premise and ground rules are detailed here. The condensed version: each ejection from the previous week (Thursday through Wednesday) is listed in a table. The author – a former player/coach/umpire – analyzes […]
About one quarter into the MLB season, the top of the 2021 AL West race looks similar to what experts predicted. The two teams battling it out at the top are the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros. With the talent on these two teams, they will probably be fighting for the AL West crown […]
Two Diamondbacks Ejected in Relatively Quiet Week Welcome to Week Six of Ejection Inspection! The premise and ground rules are detailed here. The condensed version: each ejection from the previous week (Thursday through Wednesday) is listed in a table. The author – a former player/coach/umpire – analyzes each ejection and assigns it an entertainment rating […]
Joe Girardi Goes Nuts after Two Phillies Get Plunked but Both Teams Get Warned Welcome to Week Four of Ejection Inspection! The premise and ground rules are detailed here. The condensed version: each ejection from the previous week (Thursday through Wednesday) is listed in a table. The author – a former player/coach/umpire – analyzes each […]
Athletics 7, Diamondbacks 5 Zac Gallen, less than a month after first missing time with a broken arm, pitched four innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. He added a bunt single and left with a 5-1 lead. However, his four relievers each gave up a run or more, allowing the Oakland Athletics to rally and defeat […]
Athletics 9, Diamondbacks 5 Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored and Jed Lowrie went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored as the Oakland Athletics defeated the host Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-5, Monday evening. The top of the Athletics batting order went a collective 8-for-20 with seven RBI, eight runs […]
After the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, the umpires kept several suspicious baseballs pitched by Trevor Bauer for MLB inspecting that were “brought to the umpire’s attention.” The baseballs allegedly had some sort of visual sign of a foreign substance as well as stickiness on them. MLB has recently announced […]
It can be really hard to get it going out of the gates for teams at the beginning of the season. Sometimes it takes time to get into a rhythm as a team. However, the Houston Astros were heavily motivated coming into 2021. After Houston’s struggles in the regular season of 2020, particularly against the […]
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Scott Kingery was drafted out of the University of Arizona in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft, 48th overall, by the Philadelphia Phillies. In almost eight years since that day, Kingery has seen the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. Much like the Phillies, who were in the early stages of […]
Stop what you’re doing, Nick Senzel is hurt to start the 2023 season. The Cincinnati Reds are in the middle of a rebuild this year. The difference in this one from the previous, there are young players at every level awaiting their turn. With depth at some positions, the Reds coaching staff has been able […]
In 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates made outfielder Travis Swaggerty their first-round pick. Swaggerty was drafted 10th overall and played his college ball at the University of South Alabama. Upon being drafted, Swaggerty was lauded as the best college bat in his class. Heading into the draft, he was described as having raw power that hadn’t […]
Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Oswald Peraza. Those are three names that New York Yankees fans have been hearing a lot about lately. They are the top three prospects for the Yankees, and rank number 5, 47, and 52, respectively, in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects. Add in the exciting and versatile Oswaldo Cabrera, and the […]
The aroma is indistinguishable. One can sniff it out, even before one arrives. The unmistakable smell of fresh cut grass, a precisely placed infield, and the absolutism of a new season. Spring Training carries its own unique placement in the baseball psyche. True, it’s not the regular season and it’s definitely not the playoffs. However, […]
The Colorado Rockies Spring Training is already being tested with their debit. For a team who is looking to get out of the basement, a trio of Rockies are making quite the noise while fighting for consistent play during the regular season. Two of these players could very well make the Rockies’ lineup in 2023 […]
Some of the Cincinnati Reds’ future star players were part of the latest roster cuts in camp. Included in the cuts were Reds future stars Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and one of the hottest names in all of Spring Training, Christian Encarnacion-Strand. All three names were a long shot to make the Opening […]
The Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 campaign is nothing but taking a step toward contention. They’ve been downright embarrassing for far too long and it’s time for that to change. Just like any season, there will be guys who surprise people with their play and others who disappoint. Someone who may have been seen as a clear […]
About Author
Caleb Begley
Caleb Begley is a 26 year old lover of all things sports, but especially our nation's great national pastime. He holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, and hopes to use it to create a career within the sportscasting realm. While in school, he was able to write and edit for the school paper's sports section, while also helping to anchor and produce the student newscast. As far as baseball itself is concerned, he is always willing to talk about the history of the game, and the statistics and stories that go along with it. He is thrilled to be able to be a part of the Last Word on Baseball team, and he hopes that he is able to contribute something that is both factual and interesting.