BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
During the course of the 2025 Season, we’ll be focusing on certain Marlins series with the intent of covering games on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Our objective is to speak to the manager on Saturday then see what we can come up with on Sunday.
Since I’ve seen every team in MLB team and due to health issues, plus a heavy podcast schedule during the week, this is the best approach.
The Marlins and the Athletics have a unique history.
Both are small market teams. They have multiple championships in their history. Going into last weekend’s series, Miami led the all-time series 14-11. The Athletics managed to win this one by topping the Fish twice.
But the games we attended were close.
On Saturday Night, to honor the late ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott, left-handed hitter Kyle Stowers took out the “whooping stick” and slammed two homers in Saturday Night’s 9-6 win over the A’s.
Stower’s bomb in the ninth inning was classic. In his previous at bat, Stowers made great contact on a hit but it went foul leading to a strikeout. The rule is is if a hitter gets one good look, it leads to an out.
When Stowers came to the plate in the ninth inning, I had a feeling that he would do something special. Indeed, he did. He hit a grand slam home run to the opposite field over the left field wall and just like that, the Marlins walked off the field with a 9-6 win.
Stowers came to the Marlins last season in a trade for Trevor Rodgers. This kid looks like he has a brigt future playing for rookie Manager Clayton McCullough.
Int the contest, Marlins rookie pitcher Max Meyer had a no decision and we were able to get some timely comments before the game with McCullough that are in this story that you can click on and listen to them in their entirety.
The A’s are an interesting story. They’ve left Oakland and are playing in Sacramento.
They’ve called up their top prospect Nick Kurtz. Former Marlins prospect J.J. Bleday is also on the squad which is expected to make its official move to Las Vegas in 2028.
They currently play their home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, which is also the AAA home of the San Francisco Giants top farm club, the Sacramento River Cats.
The New York Mets played at Sutter Health Park and it marked the 63rd Stadium the Mets have ever played a regular season game in.
The franchise had four World Series titles, including three in a row from 1972-74, six AL Pennants, seven MVP Awards, seven rookies of the year, five Cy Young Awards, 21 playoff appearances, and multiple generations that supported the Oakland A’s. They played 57 years in Oakland and enjoyed a nice Bay Area rivalry with the San Francisco Giants, including the Earthquake World Series.
The team had 17 American League West Crowns, seven Hall of Famers, seven Rookie of the years, four Managers of the year and over 1,000 players. They played in the Oakland Coliseum from 1968-2024.
When you put the names like Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Rickey Henderson, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Mark McGwire, Tony LaRussa, Billy Martin, this franchise has an amazing history.
In fact, Jackson and a group of investors made an attempt to buy the A’s from Owner John Fisher, but none of that came to fruition.
There is no doubt that the A’s attendance in Sacramento will be scrutinized all season long.
Their attendance dropped below 10,000 during very first homestand of the season. It’s been a struggle for them to lure free agents because they don’t want to play in a minor league ballpark. Depending on how competitive the team is, they’ll have to face this dilemma for two more years.
With the exception of George Steinbrenner Field, which is the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays, the A’s will have to make the most of their current situation as the only major league parks they’ll see is on the road.
I have to say that it was wierd seeing the Athletics across their jersey with a Las Vegas patch.
In the final game of the series, The A’s topped the Marlins 3-2.
Nick Kurtz was 2-4 in the contest with a triple and a run scored.
The A’s left Miami with a 19-16 mark while the Marlins took a 13-20 mark into their next home series versus the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Other videos in this story include Marlins Catching Coach Joe Singley and Daniel Alvarez Montes, who appeared on Fire Up Florida Sunday. He’s been covering the Marlins for several years and this is what we got accomplished on Sunday.
Montes is 28-years old and know the Marlins like the back of his hand. Dan does an outstanding job brining the world of baseball to Latin Baseball. During our interview, he didn’t pull any punches when it came to talking about all the key topics pertaining to the Marlins. He’s been a great friend and help since I’ve been with the club in 2020.
If you’re a real Marlins fan, you’ll truly enjoy his insights. If you’re a casual baseball fan, this guy is a star on the rise and I’ve already seen him appear nationally covering events like the World Series, World Baseball Classic, etc…
Who know down the road if the Baseball Hall of Fame will recognize top Latin Media, but Montes, who is from Venezuela, could be a name to watch out for although, I won’t be alive when it happens.
This is what the weekend coverage plans are all about for selective series throughout the summer.
How time flies. On April 5, 1993, the Marlins win their first game ever in franchise history.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on X @TribuneSouth. Also, there is no cost to subscribe to his broadcasts on South Florida Tribune’s You Tube Channel.
Scott also wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Amazon. It talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. It’s a great read for everyone that wants to know about our industry, especially students getting into it.
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