Kotsay and players focused on positives
Pride, gratitude and relief permeated the Oakland Athletics’ clubhouse Sunday morning ahead of the A’s matchup against Detroit, the final game at the Coliseum for 2023.
“It’s always kind of a bittersweet moment when the season’s over,” A’s rookie outfielder Lawrence Butler said. “It’s been a long season.”
A long season in terms of the record is undeniable. The A’s dropped 50 of their first 62 games and entered Sunday at 48-107, one loss shy of the Oakland season record set in 1979.
“We set ourselves back so bad the first 60 games of the year,” pitcher Paul Blackburn said, “it was hard for us to feel like we were playing meaningful baseball.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said he has broken down the season into thirds.
“The first two months were a grind and we had to figure out all aspects of the game and what we needed to do, how we needed to teach it better,” Kotsay said, “The middle of the season, we saw progress, and then we started to become more competitive on a consistent basis at the end of the season.”
One rookie who has become more competitive in the season’s latter stages is reliever Lucas Erceg. The Cal alum struck out the side in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Tigers. Entering Sunday, he had allowed one run over his past 13 appearances spanning 151⁄3 innings.
“The reality exceeded the expectations in every facet,” Erceg said, referring to his big-league experience. “I’ve been telling all my teammates, all my coaches, all my friends and family that I haven’t taken a single thing for granted.”
That sentiment seemed to capture many players’ attitudes Sunday. Though the A’s have remained firmly ensconced in the AL West cellar since April 7, players found things for which to be thankful.
Take Butler, who made his big-league debut Aug. 11. He entered Sunday hitting .216 with four homers. He expressed his gratitude for teammates Tony Kemp and Seth Brown.
“They’re always helping me trying to get through things, showing me the ropes,” Butler said. “For those guys to help me out with everything is huge.”