Low-cost A’s pound high-cost Angels; raise a glass

TEMPE, Ariz. — The advertising on the outfield fences at Cactus League games seems divided between gambling and alcohol.

At Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the A’s played the Angels on Saturday, the boards offered Bulleit Bourbon, Bud Light and Corona Premier. In the other category was Casino Arizona and Pechanga Resort.

Did someone say, take a chance and then take a drink?

The contrast between the franchises on display this beautiful afternoon, the first two American League clubs west of the Mississippi, was fascinating. And maybe instructional.

One spends huge amounts of money. The other spends huge amounts of time explaining why it doesn’t have money to spend — and still has been competitive.

The Angels started in 1961, from scratch, baseball’s original post-World War II expansion club. The A’s moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, succeeding on the field but never at the gate — or, so far, in attempts to flee the Oakland Coliseum and build a new stadium.

It is an undeniable fact, not to mention a sad one, that many of the spring training locales down here, including the A’s facility, Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, are better than the Coliseum. Still is. The Angels have the highest paid player in the game, Mike Trout with a $426 million contract.

He was 0-for-2 on Saturday in the A’s 11-2 win, not that his plate appearances or the final score mean much. Still, if a game is going to be one-sided, even in exhibition play, a team and its manager would be much more satisfied with a victory. A’s manager Bob Melvin was.

The contrast between the teams is remarkable and maybe instructional. The Angels, in their bright red jerseys, have gone to the bank, not only for Trout, arguably baseball’s best player, but for others such as Albert Pujols.

It’s 230 miles or so from Tempe to Anaheim, where the Angels, trying to con the geographers, play under the label “Los Angeles.” In the spring of 2012, right after the acquisition of Pujols, there were billboards announcing as much along I-10, the main route through the desert.

The A’s either wouldn’t or couldn’t keep their great shortstop, Marcus Semien, who joined Toronto for deserved money. So the A’s traded for Elvis Andrus, who Melvin said not only can hit and field but is a presence in the clubhouse with his personality and experience.

No billboards along the freeway in his honor, however. If anyone on the A’s deserves one after Saturday, it is Matt Olson. Yes, his ball soars in Arizona, and yes, the pitching isn’t what it will be.

But Olson hit a ball that almost took out a palm tree, his fifth home run and ninth extra base hit of the Cactus League. The only way out could have been more impressive is if it took apart a saguaro, the cactus that’s protected by Arizona law.

“I’ve gotten to a couple of pitches early that I wasn’t handling well last year,” Olson said. “It’s good to get out here and see those results in live action and get the barrel on some pitches.”

Teammates are encouraged, particularly those who benefit, the pitching staff.

“A healthy Matt Olson is frightening for the league,” said Chris Bassitt, who started and pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Home runs are awesome, and the A’s did hit a great many in 2020, but it all comes down to pitching.

If you can hold a team scoreless in the Cactus League, especially with people named Trout and Pujols in the other lineup, you’d be owed the products that are on the billboards.