After A’s Collapse and Lose 32 of Last 39 Games, MLB Athletics Say David Forst Is No Longer General Manager Friday
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS Nevada — On June 19 less than two months ago, the MLB Athletics had won 38 games and lost 38 games after playing the season’s first 76 games.
The team was competing for first place in the American League West and for a wild card playoff spot in the AL.
Then the team collapsed.
In the next 39 games, the A’s lost an astounding 32 times. The pitching has been atrocious during this 39-game stretch while the team was hindered by a slew of injuries.
The team won only seven games since that 38-38 mark.
The A’s entered Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox with a sorry record of 45 wins and 70 losses, an astounding 25 games below the break-even .500 level.
The team took action today.
The A’s issued a three-paragraph press release saying General Manager David Forst was no longer the GM.
The wording was odd in that the A’s release said “the Club and General Manager David Forst have mutually agreed to part ways.”
But most media headlines said Forst was fired.
Forst spent his last 27 years with the A’s, including the last 11 as the general manager.
In December, Forst was in Las Vegas at the contract extension presser of Tyler Soderstrom.
Forst said the planned opening of a $2 billion domed stadium on the Strip in Las Vegas in 2028 gave him the financial footing to extend the contracts of young A’s players like Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. The 33,000-fan stadium construction is moving along on schedule and set to be ready for the 2028 MLB season.
The 50-year-old Forst started with the A’s in 2000 as a scout before the Santa Monica, California native became the A’s GM in 2015. Forst was a college baseball player with Harvard where he played shortstop and graduated in 1998.
Forst played for a team in the Independent Frontier League in 1998 and 1999 and even attended spring training with the Boston Red Sox in 1999.
Five years later, Forst became an A’s assistant GM before he was promoted to general manager in 2015.
A’s assistant general manager Dan Feinstein is serving as the interim GM for the remainder of the season.
“The A’s will begin a comprehensive search for the next General Manager,” the A’s release said.
In the press release, A’s owner John Fisher was quoted as saying, “David has been an integral part of the A’s and our success for nearly three decades. His leadership, dedication, and commitment to this team have helped shape our baseball operations department and position us for the future. We are grateful for everything David has done for our organization.”
The brief media release ended with Forst being quoted, “It was truly an honor to spend the last 27 years with the A’s, especially the last 11 as the GM. This organization is full of incredibly talented, devoted, and good people, and I am lucky to have worked alongside them for so long.”
The A’s play the Red Sox at Fenway Park later today at 4:10 PM Las Vegas/Pacific time.
PSA
