OAKLAND, Calif. — One could feel the growing tension and buzzing excitement from all the way out in the parking lot.
That is, the parking lot the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum shares with Oracle Arena, home to the NBA Warriors. While the White Sox and Athletics were playing before a crowd some were speculating might be among the smallest on record here, Kevin Durant, Steve Kerr and company were in the building next door defending their title in a first-round playoff series against the Spurs.
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“It’s pretty cool being next door with Golden State playing,” designated hitter Matt Davidson said. “I know we’ve got a ton of basketball fans in [the Sox clubhouse].”
But guess what? The ballpark here will be the place to be on Tuesday. In throwback celebration of the A’s 50th season of baseball in Oakland, the home team will be in sleeveless jerseys and the Sox will be in sweet-looking baby blues.
So what if the 1968 Sox finished 67-95 — a mere 36 games behind the first-place Tigers in the American League — and lost a major-league record 44 one-run games?
Not only will the Sox look good, but they’ll be playing in what should be a fun, nutty environment at the Coliseum. Why? The A’s are offering a really good deal on tickets. At least we think it’s a good deal. Are free tickets a good deal?
Yes, it’s true: free admission. Come one, come all. There won’t be a team anywhere near as good as the Warriors on the field, but there’ll be a lot of happy fans — many clad in wild ’60s attire — with extra beer money in their pockets.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Davidson said. “We’ll all be excited. We’ve got our baby-blue uniforms and stuff. It’s always fun wearing different uniforms — and it’s always fun playing in front of a packed house.”
Sox-Twins update
The three Sox-Twins games that were postponed over the weekend due to snow in Minneapolis have been rescheduled.
Last Friday’s game, which was to be part of Jackie Robinson Day commemorations around the league, will be made up on June 5 as the opener of a doubleheader beginning at 3:10 p.m. Both teams will wear No. 42 jerseys in honor of Robinson.
The teams will play a day-night doubleheader September 28 (1:10 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. starts) and will add a 6:10 p.m. game on Aug. 20, which previously was a mutual day off.
Catch-all news
Catcher Welington Castillo, who hadn’t played since tweaking his right knee last Tuesday in Chicago, was back in the starting lineup Monday.
In an unrelated move, fellow catcher Kevan Smith was sent to Class AAA Charlotte to begin an injury rehab assignment. Smith was put on the 10-day DL on March 28, retroactive to March 26, with a sprained ankle.
