Brent Rooker Went From Barely Making the A’s Roster to Starring in the Club’s Promotional Material in 1 Month
In the fourth inning of the Oakland A’s 5-4 walk-off win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon, Brent Rooker stood at the plate, bat held aloft, leaning on his back foot, as if willing the ball — which he had just crushed into the afternoon sky — to stay fair.
It did, landing 411 feet from the plate in the plaza-level seats at the Coliseum. It was home run No. 9 of the season for Rooker, good for second in the American League one month into the season. And one hell of a month it’s been.
After the game, manager Mark Kotsay briefly shook his head when asked to describe Rooker’s start, as if in disbelief.
“Eye-opening, Kotsay began. “I guess, is the right way.”
Rooker’s .779 SLG and 1.244 OPS would both be tops in baseball, if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders. His .353 batting average would be second. On Sunday, innings after his second-deck blast, the NBC California broadcast showed an image of Rooker that was being used to promote ticket sales for the upcoming series with the Seattle Mariners. In one month Rooker’s gone from barely sneaking onto the roster to starring in the team’s promotional material. What a month.