Third baseman Kevin Smith’s walk-off grand slam accomplished a seven-run rally within the backside of the ninth inning because the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 12-11 in a spring coaching recreation Friday.
Smith, a .164 profession hitter who has hit simply three house runs in 171 massive league at-bats, despatched the green-and-gold fanbase into leaps of pleasure along with his blast off of Jake Latz that soared over the left subject wall.
Kids dove for the ball because the Athletics celebrated at house plate, and the Rangers trudged off the sector to play one other day.
It might be one other lengthy, tough season by the bay for the woebegone Oakland Athletics in 2023, however at the very least they will at all times have March 19. The Texas Rangers are figured by most prognosticators to complete effectively in entrance of their American League West Division rivals this season. However today belonged to Oakland.
Not that Athletics followers are getting carried away or something …
Whereas Oakland followers had been having enjoyable, Texas followers noticed no humor within the second. It is simply spring coaching, however Rangers followers price among the many extra annoyed fanbases in all of MLB. The group does not precisely shy from spending to accumulate expertise, however issues by no means appear to fairly work out within the Dallas-Fort Value space. Friday’s defeat is being seen as a harbinger of eventual Texas Rangers doom by some.
Some MLB followers met the video of the Oakland Athletics spring celebration with outright cruelty. It is easy to kick a company once they’re down, and it does not get a lot additional down than poor Oakland. The crew has by far the bottom payroll within the main leagues, and after spring ends, a visit again to the 57-year-old RingCentral Coliseum awaits – damaged plumbing, crumbling concrete and all.
What the Rangers should perceive is that whereas the Athletics may be lapped a number of instances over within the working for this 12 months’s World Collection, Oakland does have 4 championships in hand since Texas entered the league because the Washington Senators in 1961. The Rangers got here shut, however misplaced consecutive World Collection in 2010-2011.
So, if as we speak was Oakland’s World Collection, which means Texas misplaced this one, too.
Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics on the backside of AL West in 2022
The AL West was led by the World Collection champion Houston Astros final season. On the opposite finish of the division standings had been the Rangers and Athletics. Texas was fourth within the division with a 68-94 document, whereas Oakland was fifth at 60-102. The groups ended the 12 months 38 and 46 video games behind the Astros, respectively.