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Happy Sunday, Athletics Nation!
Esteury Ruiz will be doing all he can in today’s season closing game against the Angels to set a new mark for stolen bases by an AL rookie. The chase has come down to the wire, and after failing to grab a bag in four consecutive games, I began to wonder if Ruiz might have to settle for owning the A’s franchise record.
But Esteury caught up with former Cleveland Indian Kenny Lofton and his 31-year-old mark in the eighth inning last night on his way to scoring the game-tying run.
& Ruiz runs his way into the record books! Esty ties the AL Rookie record set by Kenny Lofton with his 66th stolen base this season. Reminder: he broke the A’s rookie record before the 1st half was even over. pic.twitter.com/i5zvIFrcKv
— Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) October 1, 2023
Lofton stole 66 bases through 148 games in 1992. Ruiz has done the same in just 131 games; unfortunately, he’s spent some time on the injured list this season. It’s also unfortunate that Esteury has only walked 19 times for a BB% of just 3.9%. Take away those constraints and Ruiz could be chasing triple digits!
Regardless, it seems a safe bet that the fleet-footed center fielder will be going pretty much the second he gets on base today. I’m gonna go out on a limb and call it: Esteury Ruiz will become the new AL rookie stolen base champion today!
Today will also be Brent Rooker’s last chance to join the 30 home run club this year. That number has always been the mark of a true slugger in my mind. The Rook is in a seven game home run drought after hitting one out three games in a row from September 20-22.
Good luck reaching those milestones today, Estey and Rook!
A’s Coverage:
- Athletics top Angels 7-3
- Oakland Athletics 2023 mid-season community prospect list: No. 25
- ‘Loved every moment’: Erceg on first big league season
MLB News & Interest:
- Yankees Activate Frankie Montas
- San Francisco Giants fire Gabe Kapler, but are they fixed?
- NL West Notes: Melvin, Haniger, Musgrove, Rojas
- Giants past, present pay tribute to franchise icon Brandon Crawford ($)
- Felix Bautista To Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Signs Through 2025 Season
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Definitely look forward to this duo in 2024.
Nice job by Kotsay to let Boyle finish the seventh and go into the off-season on an up note. Full seasons from Boyle and Gelof next season will be lots of fun.
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) October 1, 2023
The Wizard of A’s.
Nick Allen was all over the place tonight
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) October 1, 2023
A's Postgame Live is airing now on NBC Sports California and streaming here: https://t.co/8gnJh1dP25 pic.twitter.com/UMMJDlx35z
Sam has delivered for the Reds.
Sam Moll has a 0.73 ERA with the Reds and the A’s may still win that deal. https://t.co/bsiPtzQhca
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) October 1, 2023
The Women in Baseball Conference continues.
We have a terrific lineup of speakers today for @SabrWomen-@IWBC4Me Women in Baseball Conference! We’ll hear from @DevorahLeah, @TheLensOfDonnaM, @KleinschmidtJD, @pulhitzherprize, @Lheaphy, @perrybarber, @MelissaLudtke, and more. Join us! https://t.co/y41L1SNgDc #SABR pic.twitter.com/eruub5ymNr
— SABR (@sabr) September 30, 2023
Could Luzardo and Puk go all the way this year?
The Marlins have won the World Series in every full season they’ve made the playoffs. You’ve been warned.
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) October 1, 2023
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