Latest news with #Kotsay
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
A's manager Mark Kotsay has long, embarrassing journey in awkward ejection
For once, someone may have missed the Coliseum. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay had to make a 330-foot-plus walk of shame after being ejected from Sunday's win over the Phillies since the home team clubhouse at Sutter Health Park — a minor-league park in Sacramento serving as the team's temporary home — is located beyond the outfield walls. While almost all his fellow managers can just retreat through their dugout to the clubhouse, Kotsay instead had plenty of time to think about his ejection in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win. Advertisement 4 On the bright side, Kotsay got his steps in for the day. @uprootedoakland/X 'It's long. It's long, definitely,' Kotsay said with a laugh. 'There was a moment where I thought, should I jog? And then I thought, actually no, I think (Phillies starter Jesus) Luzardo could use a little break.' The Athletics are playing in Sacramento while they prepare for their eventual move to Las Vegas and their home games are hosted at the home of the Giants' Triple-A affiliate. Advertisement Minor-league parks are not as lavish as major-league ones, which can create the awkward situation like the one that unfolded Sunday. In a 3-3 game in the seventh, Kotsay earned the booth for disagreeing with a first-pitch strike call against Miguel Andujar with two on and two outs. 4 Kotsay yelling at umpire Roberto Ortiz. Getty Images Advertisement Kotsay noted in the ex-Yankee's previous at-bat, Andujar also disagreed with a call and the manager said to let him know if he felt a wrong call had been made so he could take it up with umpire Roberto Ortiz. Andujar felt the first pitch in the seventh missed but it was ruled a strike. Kotsay argued the call from the bench before being ousted, and he then walked to the plate to let Ortiz hear it. Kotsay's outrage included some finger pointing. 4 Mark Kotsay did some finger pointing. @uprootedoakland/X Advertisement 'I was obviously frustrated with the first call, I expressed that, but I was more frustrated in the reaction that I got back from the umpire,' Kotsay said. 'And that's what we kind of talked about. I made sure that he was aware that I was frustrated with how he treated me. I know he's frustrated with my disagreement in the balls and strikes, which he's perfectly allowed to be, but I think we agree to disagree in that situation.' Kotsay then made the trek down the left field line toward the wall, walking 330-something feet. 4 On the bridge side, the Athletics won. @uprootedoakland/X The game had to be paused while he walked, with some of the fans giving him an ovation. One reporter told Kotsay he clocked him walk at 48 seconds. The A's eventually rallied for two runs in the eighth to end their 11-game losing streak. Kotsay watched the end of the game in the training room. Advertisement 'No one in that room was happy about losing 11 straight games and there's obviously emotion that's pent up,' Kotsay said. 'Sometimes, that volcano erupts. There was nothing preconceived, there was no thought process, it was just reactionary to the moment in the game. It was a big moment in the game. 'I think I've grown up a little bit as a manager over the last three years, calmed down in certain ways and been able to be a better communicator and today I wasn't maybe the best of communicators to the umpire.'
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Springs' strong debut sparks Athletics' first win of 2025 season
Springs' strong debut sparks Athletics' first win of 2025 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area Jeffrey Springs pitched a scoreless six-inning gem in his Athletics debut on Friday night and sparked the Green and Gold's first win of the 2025 MLB season, a 7-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Advertisement The right-handed starter, who was acquired this offseason via trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, needed 83 pitches to collect nine strikeouts and allowed just four baserunners on three hits and one walk. 'Overall, definitely I'll take it for the first one,' Springs told reporters after Friday's win. 'Being able to go six, be efficient, that was kind of the goal. Just be efficient, get the pitch count down — that was a big issue in spring training — and just try to go right at hitters and fill it up as much as possible. 'Pretty pleased with how the first one went.' Springs used 41 four-seam fastballs, peaking at 91.8 miles per hour on the night, and generated six whiffs with the heater. He also went to his changeup 22 times – finishing six of nine strikeouts with the breaking ball – and sprinkled in 13 sliders, six cutters and one sweeper. It was the 32-year-old's first start since Sep. 3, as he was shut down by the Rays after making seven starts in 2024 due to elbow fatigue directly related to the Tommy John Surgery he underwent in 2023. Advertisement Springs' only trouble against Seattle was a two-on, one-out jam in the fifth, but a clutch throw-turned-out at home from JJ Bleday followed by the centerfielder's inning-ending sliding catch kept the Athletics unscathed. This offseason, fourth-year manager Mark Kotsay discussed Spring's experience as a seven-year MLB veteran as an attractive aspect of his arrival, considering the franchise's heavy reliance on youth over the past few seasons. Kotsay, who already enjoyed prized free-agent signing Luis Severino's six scoreless frames on Opening Day, can get used to Friday's version of Springer. 'Jeffrey really controlled the game. [He] changed speeds really well tonight, had a great game plan against them, and used it effectively,' Kotsay told reporters postgame. 'Nine punch-outs in six innings says a lot about his performance and his stuff.' Advertisement Athletics relievers – in order: righty Justin Sterner, lefty T.J. McFarland and righty Mitch Spence – collectively finished the job with a scoreless three endings to set the table for the penultimate series game on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. PT. The Green and Gold's first offensive burst of the season made the Pacific Northwest evening that much more leisurely, a complete flip from its three-hit season-opener. The scoring started in the fifth, as right-fielder Lawrence Butler registered his first hit of the year with a double off Mariners starter Luis Castillo and was brought home by Brent Rooker's two-run home run, which was the designated hitter's first knock of 2025. A pair of singles from Bleday and catcher Shea Langeliers with a ground-rule double from first baseman Tyler Soderstrom – all with two outs against left-handed Seattle reliever Tayler Saucedo – gave the Green and Gold three more runs in the seventh. Advertisement 'Tonight was a great night for [Rooker], tonight was a great night for a lot of guys in the lineup,' Kotsay said. 'The top four guys (Butler, Rooker, Bleday and Langeliers), who I talked to last night, only reached base once (on Thursday). They were a driving force tonight. … That's production [and] that's where it needs to come.' Athletics rookie second baseman Max Muncy put the icing on the cake in the eighth when recording his first career hit with a 430-foot home run to center off right-handed Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas. 'It was definitely exciting,' Muncy said on NBC Sports California's 'A's Postgame Live' with Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden. 'He got me down 0-2 early, and I just kind of stuck with my plan, and he ended up leaving his changeup over the plate, and I was able to get it out of here.' Advertisement And to really send the Seattle faithful home bitter, Luis Urías hit a 396-foot homer to left-center against Vargas and his former club, in a pinch-hit bid for third baseman Gio Urshela. It was a top-to-bottom victory for the Athletics and one the franchise aims to build on. Last year, they started 0-3 and later 1-7. The Green and Gold are on a better trajectory in 2025. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido is expected to take the mound for the Athletics on Saturday against righty Bryce Miller. The Athletics haven't started 2-1 since the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, also the last campaign the Green and Gold reached the postseason.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kotsay kept A's players unified and focused amid uncertainty, adversity
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Athletics' season could have gone any number of ways last season, most not good, but manager Mark Kotsay kept his players unified and focused. Fans regularly protested the club's impending move to Las Vegas via Sacramento — at least those who showed up to what often was a nearly empty Oakland Coliseum. There also seemed little to play for as the A's appeared headed toward their third consecutive 100-loss season. They avoided that, finishing 69-93 after going 32-32 after the All-Star break, providing some hope the A's could be beginning to put together a contender. '(Kotsay) always taught us to keep the main goal the main goal,' outfielder Lawrence Butler said Saturday morning before the A's played the Arizona Diamondbacks in a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark. 'Just play baseball and win games regardless of the stuff going on outside of the field and in the stands.' A's management showed its confidence in Kotsay by rewarding him with a contract extension Feb. 17 that takes him through the 2028 season — the club's first scheduled season in Las Vegas — with an option for 2029. 'He's an incredible manager,' owner John Fisher said. 'He stands for the leadership of our organization and everything that we want to stand for both in terms of what we're going to be able to accomplish on the field going forward and just the kind of person he is. We want Mark to be our manager coming into Vegas and for a long period after that.' Fisher has long been criticized for not investing more in his team, and the A's had the lowest payroll in the major leagues for three consecutive years. But Fisher has made a much greater commitment as the A's prepare to play the first of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California. They signed designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker to a $60 million, five-year contract and right-hander Luis Severino to a team-record $67 million, three-year deal during the offseason. And then on Thursday agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with Butler pending a successful physical. 'I think that ownership has transitioned in their approach to this team,' Kotsay said. 'The last long-term contract prior to doing Brent Rooker was Eric Chavez (in 2004) and now we've got one (Butler) on the cusp of doing a longer-term deal, maybe the longest in A's history. So it's an exciting time to invest in this young group.' Butler's deal means he could be the main player the organization promotes when it moves to Las Vegas. 'I'm excited to be here for a very long time,' Butler said. 'Signing the players before me let everybody in the organization know we want to continue to build our core and win and do this for most years, not just one year.' There also are the players to come, such as shortstop Max Muncy, the No. 25 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Muncy is getting the chance to learn directly from Kotsay and could receive his first playing time in the majors this season. 'He voices his opinion in the way it should be voiced and lets you know where you stand and where he thinks you can improve," Muncy said. 'I think that's important to have an open line of communication with your manager.' There is optimism the A's can actually compete for a playoff spot. That was hardly the talk last year, especially early in the season. Then came the A's performance after the All-Star break. 'I've been in the game a long time,' Kotsay said. 'I try to lean on experiences that I've gone through, that I know they're going to go through, and keep them focused on what's the most important thing, which is the game itself and going out and competing every day with the mindset that you have to just go out and win one game. I think these guys have bought into that. "We've done a lot of work of building a foundation of routines and a mindset that you can get 1% better every day here and you're going to do great things.' ___ AP MLB:
Fox Sports
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Kotsay kept A's players unified and focused amid uncertainty, adversity
Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Athletics' season could have gone any number of ways last season, most not good, but manager Mark Kotsay kept his players unified and focused. Fans regularly protested the club's impending move to Las Vegas via Sacramento — at least those who showed up to what often was a nearly empty Oakland Coliseum. There also seemed little to play for as the A's appeared headed toward their third consecutive 100-loss season. They avoided that, finishing 69-93 after going 32-32 after the All-Star break, providing some hope the A's could be beginning to put together a contender. '(Kotsay) always taught us to keep the main goal the main goal,' outfielder Lawrence Butler said Saturday morning before the A's played the Arizona Diamondbacks in a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark. 'Just play baseball and win games regardless of the stuff going on outside of the field and in the stands.' A's management showed its confidence in Kotsay by rewarding him with a contract extension Feb. 17 that takes him through the 2028 season — the club's first scheduled season in Las Vegas — with an option for 2029. 'He's an incredible manager,' owner John Fisher said. 'He stands for the leadership of our organization and everything that we want to stand for both in terms of what we're going to be able to accomplish on the field going forward and just the kind of person he is. We want Mark to be our manager coming into Vegas and for a long period after that.' Fisher has long been criticized for not investing more in his team, and the A's had the lowest payroll in the major leagues for three consecutive years. But Fisher has made a much greater commitment as the A's prepare to play the first of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California. They signed designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker to a $60 million, five-year contract and right-hander Luis Severino to a team-record $67 million, three-year deal during the offseason. And then on Thursday agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with Butler pending a successful physical. 'I think that ownership has transitioned in their approach to this team,' Kotsay said. 'The last long-term contract prior to doing Brent Rooker was Eric Chavez (in 2004) and now we've got one (Butler) on the cusp of doing a longer-term deal, maybe the longest in A's history. So it's an exciting time to invest in this young group.' Butler's deal means he could be the main player the organization promotes when it moves to Las Vegas. 'I'm excited to be here for a very long time,' Butler said. 'Signing the players before me let everybody in the organization know we want to continue to build our core and win and do this for most years, not just one year.' There also are the players to come, such as shortstop Max Muncy, the No. 25 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Muncy is getting the chance to learn directly from Kotsay and could receive his first playing time in the majors this season. 'He voices his opinion in the way it should be voiced and lets you know where you stand and where he thinks you can improve," Muncy said. 'I think that's important to have an open line of communication with your manager.' There is optimism the A's can actually compete for a playoff spot. That was hardly the talk last year, especially early in the season. Then came the A's performance after the All-Star break. 'I've been in the game a long time,' Kotsay said. 'I try to lean on experiences that I've gone through, that I know they're going to go through, and keep them focused on what's the most important thing, which is the game itself and going out and competing every day with the mindset that you have to just go out and win one game. I think these guys have bought into that. "We've done a lot of work of building a foundation of routines and a mindset that you can get 1% better every day here and you're going to do great things.' ___ AP MLB: recommended
New York Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
With Mark Kotsay extension, Athletics seize a rare chance at stability
MESA, Ariz. — The Athletics on Monday worked out as a full team for the first time this spring, and for the first time in their Sacramento era. They marked the occasion by projecting a sentiment that's been rare around the club in recent years: stability. Just before taking the field, Athletics players and staffers packed into a news conference to watch manager Mark Kotsay receive a three-year extension, with a team option for 2029. Kotsay, who took over for the 2022 season, is now in line to manage the team not only through its expected three-year stopover in Sacramento, but through at least the first planned season in Las Vegas in 2028 as well. Advertisement The upcoming season will be the franchise's first since a bitter departure from Oakland. When spring training ends, they'll move into a minor-league stadium in West Sacramento, Sutter Health Park, which they will share with the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team for at least three seasons, and potentially a fourth if the team's new stadium in Las Vegas is delayed. Owner John Fisher said Monday groundbreaking there remains expected in June. 'Mark and I have talked a lot over the last few years about how very few, if any, have kind of gone through what we experience,' Athletics general manager David Forst said. 'Starting with player transition, to stadium transition, to city transition. All these things are unique. … There's a stability that Mark brings to the clubhouse every day, a passion and just an honesty and integrity that everybody who's around him knows he believes in what he's saying.' Mark Kotsay Press Conference — A's Cast (@athleticscast24) February 17, 2025 Guiding players through not one but two relocations amounts to a manager's job that could be compared to only one other in baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays will also play in a minor-league stadium this season, their displacement owed to the damage Hurricane Milton caused to St. Petersburg, Fla., and surrounding areas in October. However, the Rays, unlike the A's, could still remain in their home city long term, while many A's fans remain badly hurt because the team has left. 'It was clear that even in the toughest of seasons, which we've had, being able to see how Mark handled it,' Athletics owner John Fisher said after the press conference, 'you could sort of say, 'Wow, if he can handle these things when we're only winning 50 games, imagine what he can do when we have some more resources on the team to show what we are capable of.' Advertisement With a young team that won just 69 games last year, Kotsay is one of the most recognizable faces around the Athletics. The 49-year-old has a long history with the team, including four seasons as a player from 2004-07, and six seasons as a coach, starting in 2016. Kotsay was named Bob Melvin's replacement as Athletics manager in December 2021, at a time when the team's interest in Las Vegas was still fresh to the public. Since then, little else has been as important in the role as patience. 'When you start out, you really think you know everything and you go full tilt in a direction, and it might not be right,' Kotsay said. 'And over the last three seasons, I think going into this year, I understand the word patience, which has always been a part of the vocabulary, but now I understand also … being more demanding. There's a balance to that. 'As players get older, they lose the skill set sometimes. As managers get older, I think we only gain more skill set to be better at what we do.' In his opening remarks, Forst said the new contract 'guarantees' that Kotsay 'will be the manager of this team through our time in Sacramento and into the future of this franchise in Las Vegas.' To laughter, Kotsay later noted the job famously lacks much certainty. But for a franchise that is still seeking its footing after so much tumult, an announcement that in other settings would be routine — simply that the manager has been re-upped — struck a different tone. 'I've always wanted to lead this group to a World Series championship, and that's the goal,' Kotsay said. 'I am fully of the mindset that we can make this happen and really disrupt an environment of playoff baseball in Sacramento.' (Photo of Kotsay in September: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
