Anonymous Athletics are rolling
HOUSTON – They are new-school, they are old-school, they are heralded prospects, they are grizzled veterans, they are All-Stars, they are castoffs. They are the 2019 Oakland A’s. And they are scaring the living daylights out of the American League, with scouts from contending teams watching them and coming away with the same conclusion.
No one wants to play them in October. The A’s (90-60) are absolutely rolling, a season-high 30 games over .500, with the best winning percentage in baseball since June 17, going 53-24.
This is a team that opened this past week getting pummeled, 15-0, by the Houston Astros, turned around and won the next game 21-7, and never lost again in the state of Texas, winning six in a row, outscoring the Astros and the Rangers, 57-28.
It no longer seems like a question if the A’s will make the playoffs – their remaining 12 games are against the Kansas City Royals, Rangers, Mike Troutless Angels and Seattle Mariners (combined .437 winning percentage) – but whether they’ll win that wild-card game and earn a right to play the Astros or the Yankees in the ALDS.
You think they’re scared? Or intimidated? The A’s just beat up both powerhouses the past month, winning 10 of 14 games.
“We got a junkyard dog mentality,” said All-Star closer Liam Hendriks, who has been designated for assignment five times in his career. “We’re a bunch of misfits in here. You see a bunch of guys who were DFA’d, claimed, came from different teams, to guys who have come up together here.”
Go ahead and walk through the doors of the A’s clubhouse, and it’s feels as if you just entered your local VFW, with card games at each table, and an assortment of music that was on the Billboard charts before most were even born.
“It’s crazy around here,” said veteran starter Tanner Roark, acquired at the trade deadline. “The energy around here, I’ve never felt before. It’s always here.”
‘That’s just who we are’
The A’s, with only the 25th-highest payroll in baseball ($95.3 million), not only are one of the most likable teams in the game, but also happen to be supremely talented. They have hit a franchise-record 244 homers, with seven players already having 20 or more, including three with at least 30 homers. They have perhaps the best corner infield tandem in baseball with third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson.
They have one of the finest all-around shortstops in the game in Marcus Semien, who tied Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson’s franchise record Sunday with his 28th homer from the leadoff spot to go along with his 115 runs and 85 RBI.
They have slugger Khris Davis, who has the third-most homers in baseball since 2016. They have center fielder Ramon Laureano, who has the most lethal arm in the game. They have a great mixture of veteran pitchers, youngsters and stud prospects all contributing valuable innings right now. And they can play defense, allowing just 33 unearned runs this season, fewest in the major leagues.
Yet, go ahead, you try to identify them in a crowded hotel lobby.
“Nobody knows who we are,” said Chapman, whose 34 homers are the most by an A’s third baseman in franchise history. “Nobody cares. And that won’t change.
“I could say I worked for FedEx, and people would believe me.
“That’s just who we are, but we know we can win baseball games.”
It’s this Oakland vs. the World mentality that has built a close-knit core, with manager Bob Melvin calling it perhaps the best clubhouse he has been around in his 38 years of professional baseball.
“We have guys in here who really take pride in being the Oakland A’s,” Melvin said. “We have had a hard time sometimes with that with free agency, but these guys are different. They aren’t looking for their next deal. They want to be here. There’s value in that.”
Then again, says Semien, who was born and raised in the Bay Area, and attended the University of CaliforniaBerkeley, maybe they have no choice.
“Our clubhouse is so small, there’s really no place for us to go,” Semien says, “so we have to be close. We just have a bunch of low-key guys that understand each other and what we’re all about.”
They may not yet be rich. Or famous. But they’ve got one another until that time comes again when the organization can no longer afford to keep them all together.
“In an era where numbers are so scrutinized and emphasized,” outfielder Stephen Piscotty said, “I think team chemistry is left behind. It’s hard to quantify, but we got that going here.”
Built for the future
There’s finally is optimism that by the time rookies Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk and catcher Sean Murphy are in their prime, they may actually be playing their home games in an actual modern ballpark instead of their current dump. The Athletics are progressing towards a waterfront stadium that could be ready by 2023.
“People talk about windows in baseball, well, we’ve got a huge window here,” Semien says. “We’ve got controllable guys. We’ve got youth. We’ve got veterans to blend in the youth. And we have talent through-the-roof pitching coming up.”
The A’s can’t help but dream about the future with a trio of Luzardo, Puk and Manaea pitching to Murphy.
The A’s will almost certainly be back on the national stage on Oct. 2, the date of the American League wild card game.
They realize no one will give them a shot to go far, even if they get past the Rays or Indians. History is against them. They haven’t won a wild-card game or even a playoff series since 2006. Their last World Series appearance was 1990.
Then again, this team somehow feels different. Not with an arrogance, but a confidence that they’re going to be sticking around for a while in October.
“I’m sure nobody outside of Oakland is really paying attention to us,” said Olson.