Oakland A’s Fans Can’t Have Nice Things
Sep 14, 2020, 9:49 AM | Updated: Jul 15, 2022, 3:18 pm
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 26: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics fields a ground ball against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the ninth inning at Globe Life Field on August 26, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
To be an Oakland A’s fan in 2020 is to not be able to go to the Coliseum and enjoy a legitimate World Series contender after multiple wild card exits and 31 years without a championship.
To be an Oakland A’s fan is to avoid the impulse of buying the jersey of your favorite player, out of fear that he will be traded the next year for another batch of prospects for you to pretend to be excited about.
To be an Oakland A’s fan is to expect things to go south when they appear to be going well; like trading away Yoenis Cespedes in 2014 for Jon Lester, who went on to blow a 7-3 lead in the 8th inning of the AL Wild Card game in Kansas City.
No, I’m still not over that. Nor am I completely over the Josh Donaldson trade later that same year. However, one man made the Donaldson loss a little easier to deal with; Matt Chapman, the Platinum Glove third baseman who had us all believing the 2020 World Series Champion Oakland Athletics were possible.
Technically, they still are. But, thanks to season ending hip surgery, the green & gold will be without Chaptin America for the remainder of their 2020 run.
Just days after posing behind home plate next to fellow infielder and Gold Glover Matt Olson, Chapman’s 2020 has come to an abrupt end. It’s almost like the ominous orange sky above the Coliseum was an omen of the bad news to come.
In his 37 games with the A’s this season, Chapman was batting .232/.276/.535 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs. His fielding percentage was also slightly down from its high 90s average; at .944 with 5 errors. Chapman only committed 9 total errors in 156 games in 2019.
The good news is that Chappy hasn’t been his best this season and the Oakland A’s are currently 29-17 with a 6.5 game lead on the Houston Astros in the AL West. The bad news is, the sensational third baseman is easily the best player on this very talented Oakland squad. Typically, in order to achieve a World Series Title, you need that one star to carry you through.
Oakland’s World Series odds haven’t plummeted astronomically. Just a couple weeks away from the start of playoffs, the A’s currently sit in the American League 3rd seed of the adjusted playoff format, 4th in the overall power rankings, with the 5th best Vegas odds to win it all.
While it might not be as doom and gloom as I made it out to be in this article, the loss of Chapman is significant. Don’t be surprised if it’s the difference between a deep playoff run and another quick exit. Of course, most A’s fans are expecting the latter to begin with. It’s just our nature.
