Oakland Athletics news stories on Newser

Moneyball Hits It Out of the Park

Matt Cantor — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:38:05 CDT

Moneyball is a big hit with critics, even if its premise—a film about baseball statistics—might sound boring at first. Here’s what they say about the film, which stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill: Built on a "sharp, sleek script," Moneyball "takes all this seemingly dry, dusty, inside-baseball stuff...

Dallas Braden Pitches Perfect Game for A's

Sun, 09 May 2010 17:25:00 CDT

Dallas Braden pitched the Athletics' first perfect game in 42 years and just the 19th in major league history today, dazzling the majors' hottest team in recording a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland. Braden threw his arms in the air after Gabe Kapler grounded out to...

Yankees Pull Off Triple Play

Kevin Spak — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:00:00 CDT

The Yankees lost last night, but not before pulling off one of the rarer feats in baseball: the triple play. With two men on and nobody out in the sixth, Kurt Suzuki hit a grounder to Alex Rodriguez, who coolly stepped on the bag and fired it to second, where...

Top Prospect Quits Baseball for Priesthood

Will McCahill — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:50:40 CST

One of the top outfield prospects in the Oakland Athletics organization is giving up his shot at fame and fortune to enter the Catholic priesthood—a decision that got this reaction from one longtime scout: “Oh my God! Holy smokes!” “Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of...

Tejada Charged With Lying in Steroid Probe

Harry Kimball — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:41:01 CST

Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congressional staffers involved in the inquiry into steroids use in baseball, the Washington Post reports. Federal prosecutors say Tejada’s accounts of conversations with teammate Adam Piatt in 2003, while both played for the Oakland Athletics, are contradicted by Piatt,...

Mariners Hire Baseball's First Asian-American Manager

Harry Kimball — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:41:21 CST

Don Wakamatsu is the first Asian-American manager of a major league baseball team, AP reports, hired today by the Seattle Mariners. Wakamatsu, 45, played catcher, mainly in the minors, before coaching stints with Texas and Oakland. The Oregon native—who says he knows just a little Japanese—inherits a Mariners...

Health Care Should Be More Like Baseball

Kevin Spak — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:05:00 CDT

If the US health care industry were a baseball team, it’d be “a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers,” write Billy Beane, John Kerry, and Newt Gingrich in the New York Times. The US spends egregiously on health care but gets little in return, like the high-payroll...

MLB's Midterm Report Cards

Kevin Spak — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:20:03 CDT

Report card time! Here’s how the rambunctious kids of MLB are doing so far, in Yahoo Sports’ Steven Henson’s estimation. A students —Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, White Sox Particular kudos go to the Rays, the poor kid who went to the head of the class. B students —Cardinals, Brewers,...

Kotsay's Double Gives Braves Win Over A's

Mike Buss — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:05:32 CDT

Mark Kotsay knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI double, and the Atlanta Braves edged the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Friday night for their eighth straight home victory. The loss was a season-high fourth in a row for the A's, who have dropped six of...