There are positives in A's final loss of '23
Ruiz sets record for rookie steals, Rooker clubs 30th home run
After the A's set franchise records for futility this season, there was one record broken and another milestone reached Sunday that may help them head into the winter on a positive note, despite their seasonending 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
Outfielder Esteury Ruiz broke Kenny Lofton's American League single-season record for stolen bases by a rookie with his 67th swipe. Then A's journeyman outfielder Brent Rooker, the team's lone All-Star this season, smashed his career-best 30th home run of the year.
The A's finished their funereal season at 50-112 after going 60-102 last year, posting the franchise's worst record since the 1916 Philadelphia A's went 36-117. With reviled owner John Fisher's Vegas relocation dreams hanging over the Coliseum, the A's have endured their first back-to-back 100-loss seasons in Oakland and the franchise's first since 1964-65 in Kansas City.
But the two feel-good moments Sunday helped take the sting out of another loss. Rooker's blast and Ruiz's record stolen base in the third inning that eclipsed Lofton's 1992 AL record, brought out a lot of emotions in the Oakland dugout.
“It was a goal for (Ruiz),” A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “I know how hard he's worked. He's relentless in his preparation. He studies pitchers, and he's great at picking up tendencies . ... And it's great for Rook. I actually had a pretty big reaction for the kid. I think it's because I know where he's come from. He was the 26th man on the team out of spring training, so I reacted a little bit more emotional probably than I should have but ... I