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Washington Returns To Oakland, A’s Win

Published

10 years ago

May 25, 2015

Oakland, CA – It’s no coincidence the A’s ended their four-game skid upon his arrival. Back in a uniform after retiring in 2014, he’s ready to help get Oakland back on track. Ron Washington was recently hired as the A’s infield coach, a position that’s very familiar to him. Washington was the manager for the Texas Rangers for seven years but before that he was a coach with Oakland for ten.

“I’m here and I’m enjoying myself, trying to instill the game of baseball to as many people as I possibly can,” said Washington. “My main goal is to help these infielders as best as I can as well as Mike Gallego [third base coach].”

It was with the A’s that Washington served as both the third base and infield coach. His expertise changed the cultural of the infield, developing much of Oakland’s talent in the last decade. He worked with six-time Gold Glove winner Eric Chavez and shortstop Miguel Tejada. Chavez was so impressed by Washington that he gave him one of his Gold Glove trophies, signed “Wash, not without you.”

There was something about the success of Washington that led to General Manager Billy Beane giving him a call asking him to rejoin the team. The A’s currently hold the worst record in the American League at 17-30 despite winning their last two games. They begin a nine-game homestand today and look to turn things around.

“Got a call from Billy Beane, the conversation was quick and my arrival was quick,” he explained.

“With some of the defensive issues we’ve had, to add another resource like that is terrific,” said Oakland’s manager Bob Melvin. “He is a very high energy guy, loves to work, so its to nice have him back. To have two guys like he and Mike Gallego, being able to help out with infield drills, we think we’ll benefit by it.”

Washington returned to O.co for the first time as a coach today and immediately got back to work. He took the field early working with players especially Marcus Semien, who alone holds the record for most errors in the Majors. Never one to back down from challenge, Washington didn’t hesitate accepting the offer from Beane and feels good about the future of this team.

“There’s no formula to being consistent, it’s a grind and I think these guys are grinding. But it’s May, they have to continue to feed off what they’ve done to win those last two games, I think they will. The process of playing a Major League season is grinding, caring about each other and going out there getting the job done. It does’t matter who gets the job the done as long as its done and I see that in this clubhouse.”

During his time in Texas he was the first manager in franchise history to win a playoff series back in 2010. The Rangers advanced to the Worlds Series that same year before losing to the San Francisco Giants in five games. Washington was also the first African American to manage a team into the World Series along side Cito Gaston who managed the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and Dusty Baker who managed the Giants in 2002.

His prediction proved to be true before the game, the A’s extended their winning streak to three games after shutting out the Detroit Tigers 4-0 today. Jesse Hahn delivered his first shutout of his career, striking out five allowing just four hits. Oakland scored four runs in the sixth off Tigers starter Shane Greene who exited the game after 5 2/3 innings scattering eight hits, striking out four and walking none.

Hahn breezed through nine frames, fanning five and walked none. The A’s provided excellent defense backing their ace and turned over three double plays. Hahn earned his second win in nine attempts this season. He pitched around three Oakland errors, including his own wild pitch that allowed a runner to reach on a strikeout. Hahn finished with a career-high 112 pitches.

“It’s just like Bob always tells us, ‘It’s going to turn. It has to at some point,’“ catcher Stephen Vogt said. “Hopefully this is it. Hopefully we keep playing the way we have the last three days because that’s the team we know we have.”

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

30 minutes ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”