Elephant Rumblings: A’s Wendelken Poised for Breakout?

A’s Coverage:

• Poindexter: The Oakland A’s Might Have Another Relief Ace Ready To Breakout
• Bobino: Oakland A’s Moving Closer to Ballpark Approval
• Brazil: Liam Hendriks Q&A: A’s closer talks Australian food, theme park rides

MLB News:

• Axisa: Jessica Mendoza resigns as Mets adviser after calling out whistleblower Mike Fiers
• Diamond: ‘Dark Arts’ and ‘Codebreaker’: The Origins of the Houston Astros Cheating Scheme ($$$)
• Harrigan: Slugger Morales retires after 13 seasons
• Snyder: MLB moves Joe Torre to advisory role, hands disciplinarian duties to former pitcher Chris Young
• Crowley: San Francisco Giants agree to deal with speedy, defense-first outfielder [Billy Hamilton] ($)
• Anderson: Mets ownership still intends to sell team to new buyer after Steve Cohen deal falls apart

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Jackson: The American League in Utero
• Piastowski: The distance dilemma isn’t unique to golf. Here’s how college baseball dialed back the long ball
• Clemens: The Biggest Holes on Contending Teams, Part Three: The Outfield
• Koenig: The best baseball scenes in non-baseball movies
• Colyar: Talking to the Most Beautiful Baseball Player in the World
• Doolittle: How long will Mike Trout be the best player in baseball? (SSS)
• Bowden: Handing out offseason grades for all 30 teams (SSS)
• Posnanski: The Baseball 100 - No. 49, Warren Sphan ($$$)

Today in Baseball History:

• 1956 - The legendary Connie Mack dies at age 93. After managing Pittsburgh’s National League club from 1894 to 1896, the former catcher became a prominent figure in Ban Johnson’s Western League. A founder of the American League in 1901, Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, leading the team to five World Series titles and nine American League pennants. He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
• 1982 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade veteran second baseman Davey Lopes to the Oakland Athletics for minor leaguer Lance Hudson. The move, which opens a spot for rookie Steve Sax, breaks up the Dodgers’ infield, which had been intact since 1974. The other starting infielders, Steve Garvey (1B), Bill Russell (SS) and Ron Cey (3B) remain with the team.
• 1983 - One day after taking a job as director of sports promotions for the Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Mickey Mantle is ordered to sever his ties with Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Mantle joins fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays as players banned from baseball by Kuhn for involvement with legalized gambling.

Best of Twitter:

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