OAKLAND – The 2019 Oakland A’s were unquestionably one of the best teams in baseball — an eminently entertaining and unquestionably charismatic squad that garnered deserved admiration from long-time fans and sharp outside observers, winning a staggering 97 out of 162 regular-season games.
But their well-earned trip to the postseason is over after just nine innings.
Is one game fair compensation for six months of exemplary work?
Probably not.
But such is the cruel nature of former commissioner of baseball Bud Selig’s most diabolical creation — the winner-take-all Wild Card Game — and a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum.