Great day for scoreboard watching—and Baysball

OAKLAND—There’s something good to be said about the Oakland Coliseum, which leaders of major league baseball wish still wasn’t home to the Athletics.

It has one of those massive, old-fashioned scoreboards, where the numbers are posted by hand and stay there until a change is needed.

Which is just perfect for Logan Webb.

He pitches for the team across the Bay, the San Francisco Giants,  where the home ballpark, Oracle, has everything except a scoreboard easy to see since it’s stuck under the archways in right field.

Webb was the starter Sunday when San Francisco, for the second straight day, would get a miracle win over Oakland, this one, 2-1. He didn’t get the decision, coming out after six, but he did get in his viewpoints.

 “We’re not supposed to look at the scoreboard,” he said of the pennant races, “but it’s human nature to see what’s happening.”

Especially with the Dodgers having moved up on the Giants. And the A’s trying gain on the Astros in the American League.

L.A. finally lost (phew) after nine straight wins and slipped to 2 ½ back of San Francisco. Houston also lost, so their lead over the A’s in the American League is 3 ½ games.

You know what befell the A’s.-- the Giants double whammy. Saturday, a two-out, two-run pinch hit home run in the ninth by Lamonte Wade Jr.  Sunday, a two-out, two-run, pinch hit home run in the eighth by Donovan Solano.

“It’d been a tough two days,” sighed Frankie Montas. He went seven innings for Oakland on Sun, not giving up a run.

A very tough two days, but for the city series that was and the team and baseball in general also a magnificent time;, crowds that  truly  were crowds, 44,000 for the A’s win Friday night, then in order, 36,000 Saturday and 30,000 on Sunday.

“This was fun,” said Jake McGee,  who got credit for a save Sunday. “Great baseball, sellout crowds”

Maybe not as much fun for the Athletics, having two games virtually stolen—as last year the A’s did the thievery—but perhaps they can appreciate the big picture; that baseball and Oakland remain perfect pas.

 A few months ago the commissioner, Robert Manfred, made more than veiled threats  about the game’s future—or lack of same--in the East Bay. Haven’t heard any comments from his office about the attendance for the A’s-Giants series.

The stands were full of the full-throated enjoyment that baseball brings., fans for both teams bellowing out rolling chants; “Let’s go Oakland,” matched by “Let’s go Giants.”

It’s been a while, probably not since the clubs faced off in the 1989 World Series, since there was such good-natured appreciation of what we had for too short a time.

For many the lasting impression of that World Series was the Loma Prieta earthquake, which destroyed freeways along with our dreams. The A‘s swept the Giants; sport, however, was overwhelmed by nature. In a prelude to that Series, the New York Times, referring to but not dwelling on the baseball hats that were half back and half green and gold, said the Series involved a region in love with itself.

That’s still the case. There’s respect between the organizations as well as competition. When Sergio Romo came in to pitch for the A’s Sunday it was quite easy to remember when he used to come in for the Giants. And for those who have forgotten, A’s manager Bob Melvin was a catcher for the Giants.

As someone once wrote, “That’s Baysball.” And it’s special.