Elephant Rumblings: Ramon Laureano donates meals to healthcare and emergency workers

A’s Coverage:

• Lockard: He played for the A’s? Nomar Garciaparra and other stars with forgettable stints ($$$)
• Brazil: Stephen Piscotty Q&A: What A’s outfielder thinks of realignment rumors
• Hickey: A’s Laureano Steps up for Oakland Heathcare Workers and Firefighters
• Hickey: Athletics, Giants Agree to Participate in COVID-19 Coronavirus Testing Study

Best of AN:

• FanPost: The Autograph Hunter, Part 3

MLB News:

• Portzline: Data, not dates: What doctors need to know before sports should return to normal ($$$)
• Todd: Dr. Anthony Fauci On Possibility Of 2020 MLB Season
• AP: Baseball Hall of Famer Roy Halladay on drugs, doing stunts before fatal plane crash, report finds

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Brown: How MLB Could Offset Lost Revenues From The Coronavirus Outbreak Through Expansion
• Leitch: Who was each club’s best player of the 1990s?
• Clemens: Wild World Series Tactics: 1990-1993
• Martinez: How They Got There: The 1990-1999 AL MVPs
• Dierkes and Byrne: Largest Contract In Franchise History For Each MLB Team
• Landers: Meet the homer-happiest team in baseball history
• Adler: Read original accounts of Live Ball Era’s first HRs
• Adams: Do The Twins Need To Trade An Outfielder?
• Byrne: Seattle’s Struggling Center Fielder

Today in Baseball History:

• 1929 - The New York Yankees are the first team in major league baseball to permanently feature numbers on the backs of their uniforms. The numbers correspond to each player’s position in the batting order. The numbers also allow fans and broadcasters to identify the players more easily.
• 1940 - Working in 47-degree weather, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians hurls the first and only Opening Day no-hitter in major league history. Feller outduels Eddie Smith of the Chicago White Sox in winning a 1 - 0 decision at Comiskey Park. During one at-bat, White Sox star Luke Appling fouls off 15 straight pitches, but fails to get a hit.
• 1945 - The Boston Red Sox give tryouts to three Negro League players: Sam Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams. The three players work out at Fenway Park, but none are signed to contracts. Later this year, Robinson will sign a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers and, ironically, the Red Sox will be the last major league team to integrate.
• 1961 - Beginning his historic chase of Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season for the Yankees. The 5th-inning solo shot is off Detroit Tigers pitcher Paul Foytack.
• 1977 - Regulations force Oakland Athletics pitcher Vida Blue to discard his old, discolored lucky cap because it is no longer identical in color, trim and style to those of his teammates.
• 1978 - Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies, 5 - 0. Less than a year later, his brother Ken, of the Houston Astros, will pitch a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, making the siblings the only brothers to throw complete game no-hitters in major league baseball.
• 2000 - Chuck Finley of the Cleveland Indians, who was already the only pitcher in major league history to strike out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time as he strikes out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis (who takes first base on a passed ball) and Rafael Palmeiro in the 3rd inning; Finley beats the Texas Rangers, 2 - 1, with the help of back-to-back 9th-inning home runs from Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome.

Webby Watch:

Update on A’s minor league manager Webster Garrison

Best of Twitter:

Ramon comes up with the best kind of outfield assist

*crickets*

Random stat for the day

The Snappers logo is one of my favorites, so I love all of these. But I’m going with 2 (upper right), followed closely by 3 (lower left).