This Date in Baseball - Ichiro Suzuki breaks the franchise hit record for the Seattle Mariners
Babe Ruth waved wildly at the first two pitches and took a third strike. Lou Gehrig timed his swing to miss three straight pitches. Tony Lazzeri, after trying to bunt, walked and Mitchell left the game.
This Date in Baseball - The Dodgers celebrate the 50th anniversary of their move to Los Angeles
1973 — The “Alert Orange Baseball” is used for the first time in major league history. The unique baseball, an invention of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley, is used in an exhibition game between Oakland and the Cleveland Indians. Finley contends the ball, painted the color of a construction worker’s hat, will be easier for both players and fans to see.
Backup grass will be at the ready for ballpark shared by Athletics, Giants' Triple-A club
Replacement grass will be nearby and at the ready when the Sutter Health Park sod begins to deteriorate this spring with regular play from both the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team and the newcomer Athletics. Given the unique circumstances of a major league club sharing its ballpark with a minor league affiliate from another franchise — the Sacramento River Cats — contingency plans are in place to maintain the grass quality. Murray Cook, Major League Baseball's field consultant and President of BrightView Sports Turf, said both longtime head groundskeepers from the Giants and A's have been part of efforts to keep the playing surface in top form.
Zack Gelof To Undergo Hand Surgery
This past week, A's second baseman Zack Gelof was hit by a pitch on his right hand in a game against the Cleveland Guardians. The club was originally uncertain whether or not he'd be ready for Opening Day. Earlier today, it was announced by the team that Gelof will undergo surgery to repair a hamate fracture. With the loss of Gelof to the A's Opening Day roster, the A's are now going to have No. 7 prospect and former first rounder Max Muncy make his MLB debut.
'It's a beautiful thing': Oakland's top baseball schools show out at inaugural Bip Roberts Classic
For nearly eight hours, the 12-year MLB second baseman and Skyline alumni shook hands, greeted old friends and took pictures with young fans at Raimondi Park – home of the Oakland Ballers – where Oakland's top teams competed in the inaugural Bip Roberts Classic. Oakland's best baseball schools such as Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland Tech and Oakland High competed in the showcase along with Berkeley High, St. Mary's-Berkeley, Mt. Diablo, Moreau Catholic and El Cerrito.
Athletics Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Stud, and Value Players
The Billy Beane days are over for the A's, and major league baseball wants them to be more competitive in player salaries. Their offense has multiple deeper sleepers and two risk/reward players who must prove that last year wasn't a fluke. Deep Sleeper: Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics Oakland Athletics First Baseman Tyler Soderstrom / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Soderstrom is getting a lot of respect in the early draft season. I don't know if it's due to him possibly earning catcher eligibility or Roster Resource listing him as the Athletics starting first baseman with a middle-of-the-order opportunity. He has plenty of power while falling short in major league experience. I liked his bat in 2024
Arkansas drops SEC Opener at Ole Miss, 10-6
The No. 3 Arkansas baseball team (16-2, 0-1 SEC) dropped their Southeastern Conference opener Friday with a 10-6 loss to the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels (15-2, 1-0 SEC) at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi. Ole Miss right fielder Mitchell Sanford drove in four runs on three hits for the Rebels, who plated 10 runs on 14 hits as a team.
Our reporter tried out for the Oakland Ballers. Here's how it went.
“Five words,” Aaron Miles, second-year manager of the Pioneer League Oakland Ballers, told us. Whether it was us, the 10 media members, social media influencers and local politicians invited to take part in the independent team's second annual open tryout over the weekend at Raimondi Park, or the guys with metal spikes and baseball pants, we were all varying degrees of long shots for a roster much closer to full form that it was a year ago. Two months out from the start of their second season, the Ballers are on their most stable footing yet, co-founder Paul Freedman tells me behind the batting cage. Freedman left his job running an education startup to follow his passion as an Oakland baseball fan for days like today.