Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, who began broadcasting games in Spanish for the team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics in 1977, will not broadcast games for the Sacramento Athletics in 2025. And as that news became known, Pi-Gonzalez voiced his displeasure in how the situation was handled.
John Shea of The San Francisco Standard reported the news on Thursday. Both Pi-Gonzalez and his longtime broadcast partner, Manolo Hernandez-Douen, were not retained.
“Technically, Pi-Gonzalez and Hernandez-Douen weren’t considered team employees as they were employed by radio station KIQI (1010 AM), which the A’s paid to broadcast 69 games last season,” Shea wrote. “However, Pi-Gonzalez said he was notified about the change from the A’s in a call from D’Aulaire Louwerse, the team’s coordinating producer of broadcasting.”
The news was in stark contrast to the former crossbay rivals of the Sacramento franchise, the San Francisco Giants. San Francisco will have a Spanish broadcast on radio for all 162 games in each of the next three seasons.
Shea additionally outlined that while Hernandez-Douen will likely continue working with the A’s in a different capacity, Pi-Gonzalez’s future in baseball is less certain.
“Pi-Gonzalez said the Atlanta Braves reached out in December about a possible broadcasting gig, but he held out because he preferred to stick with the A’s and live in the Bay Area. Hernandez-Douen, who doubles as a sportswriter, plans to continue covering the A’s through Béisbol Por Gotas.”
Pi-Gonzalez criticized the way the decision was made.
“I just wanted to be treated fairly. This is kind of unfair,” said Pi-Gonzalez, per Shea. “They kept telling me, ‘We’ll let you know, we’ll let you know.’ They finally called the day pitchers and catchers reported [to spring training] and said they’re going in a different direction. I’m from the old school. You treat people the way you want to be treated. I don’t think I’ve been treated fairly.
“I’d like to keep working,” he added. “They say they’re going in a different direction, and that direction doesn’t include me. But baseball in Spanish is a big thing. They could make money if they work at it.”
This is not the first time Pi-Gonzalez has publicly made his frustrations known with the franchise. In 2023, he was outspoken in his criticism of the team and its pending move to Las Vegas, via Sacramento.