OAKLAND, Calif. — Amid the cacophony of artificial noise generated by drums, vuvuzelas and other horns that make the game experience at the Oakland Coliseum unique and the din of a crowd of rare crowd of more than 30,000, there arose a small and unusually loud cheer at an unexpected time.
When Austin Nola’s hard groundball got past a diving Jurickson Profar at second base and frittered into right field, a group of nine family and friends erupted and roared in approval. With a wide grin, Nola turned and pointed to the group that featured his mother and his father, his wife and her parents and a few other friends.