OAKLAND — This whole baseball thing wasn’t exactly Marco Estrada’s cup of tea.
Estrada immigrated to the United States from Mexico at the age of five along with his mother, Mariza. Not too long after arriving in Southern California, she immediately encouraged him to try out the sport.
It was ultimately the right decision as Estrada has carved out a nice career over 12 big league seasons that includes an All-Star selection in 2016. But Estrada hated baseball so much at first that he almost quit.
The new A’s starting pitcher took time to talk about keeping the baseball dream alive, his funny draft day experience, being one of just over a handful of Mexicans in the majors and his decision to join Oakland as a free agent this past offseason.