Friday, April 04

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the A’s beat newsletter.

SEATTLE – One day into the new season, and Luis Severino might have an early contender for nastiest pitch of 2025.

Taking the mound for his new team on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park for Opening Day, Severino set the tone for the A’s by firing six scoreless innings against the Mariners. Throughout the outing, Severino dazzled with high-velocity fastballs and backbreaking offspeed pitches. One in particular, however, went viral.

It came in the sixth inning. Facing Seattle first baseman Rowdy Tellez with two outs and two runners on, Severino was approaching 100 pitches and likely down to his final batter of the evening. Battling to a 2-2 count, Severino unleashed a wicked 84.6 mph backdoor sweeper that dotted the outside corner and froze Tellez for a called strike three.

"I knew I had enough in my back pocket to reach back and throw some nasty pitches,” Severino said. “In my head, that was my last hitter. So, I was like, ‘I’m going to throw everything I’ve got.’ I just wanted to throw the nastiest stuff that I had.”

The pitch generated a buzz that quickly circulated over social media, and with good reason. It truly had the appearance of something out of a video game. After the sweeper initially left Severino’s right hand, it looked as if it was heading for the right-handed batter’s box for a clear ball. Suddenly, just before crossing the plate, the pitch sharply shifted back into the zone.

According to Statcast, Severino’s sweeper to Tellez carried a horizontal break of 25 inches – over two feet of movement.

“Going back and watching it, it got back to the zone, but it felt like it would have hit a right-handed hitter,” said A’s catcher Shea Langeliers, who had the best angle of Severino’s sweeper behind home plate. “That’s how far out to my left it was, and then it came all the way back. It was crazy.

“It’s one of those pitches where, if you’re trying to hit it, you probably just tip your cap. It was unbelievable.”

Entering his 10th Major League season, Severino’s filthy sweeper on Thursday carried the third-most horizontal break of any breaking ball in his career. He’s thrown two pitches with 26 inches of horizontal break in his career: a slider with the Yankees in 2017 and a sweeper last season with the Mets.

Unlike those two, though, Thursday's resulted in a strikeout. So it’s understandable that Severino let out a huge roar and multiple fist pumps as he walked off the mound.

“I would say that’s up there for the nastiest pitch I’ve ever caught,” Langeliers said. “When he throws it, it feels like it gets to a point, stops, and just goes straight to the left.”

The magnitude of the moment was also what had Severino so amped up. It was his 99th and final pitch of the game, and that huge strikeout preserved what was a one-run lead at the time.

Even though the A’s lost late, that outing by Severino was evidence of why the A’s coveted him this offseason and handed him the largest free-agent contract in franchise history. He went toe-to-toe with Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and ultimately outdueled the right-hander, who last season placed sixth in American League Cy Young voting.

This young A’s squad has serious playoff aspirations for 2025, and a large part of reaching that goal hinges on Severino providing more outings like Thursday’s debut.

“We haven’t had a lot of those moments where a player shows that type of passion and excitement for a result,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He was going against one of the best pitchers in the American League, and he stepped up and competed inning for inning with him. The energy you felt when he walked off the field, teammates can feed from that and utilize that energy and that type of passion going forward.”

To honor A’s legend and Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, every A’s player and coach will wear No. 24 for the team’s home opener against the Cubs on March 31. To commemorate the first home game of their inaugural season at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, the A’s will host a celebration featuring a concert, artist and DJ performances, a national anthem flyover, two stadium giveaways and special ceremonial first pitches. Gates will open to all fans at 5:05 p.m. PT.

Rickey Henderson Tribute

In addition to every A’s player and coach wearing No. 24, Rickey’s daughters, Angela, Alexis and Adrianna will throw out simultaneous ceremonial first pitches.

Dual Giveaways

Every fan will receive two special giveaway items: A green-and-white trucker hat bearing the Sacramento jersey patch that the team will wear this season and a special Rickey Henderson rally towel.

Musical Performances

The Freshmakers are set to perform on the ticket plaza and DJ Christie will play outside the right field gate as fans enter the stadium. Shane Q, a Sacramento native and top-10 finisher on The Voice, will sing the national anthem before DJ Christie moves inside the ballpark to perform throughout the night.

David Garibaldi Mural

Performance painter David Garibaldi will bring his Rhythm and Hue act from the stage to the concourse as he creates a mural of Rickey Henderson.

Opening Day Tradition

Keeping with Major League Baseball Opening Day tradition, both teams will take the lines for introductions and the national anthem, which will feature a 100-foot-by-50-foot American flag in center field held by season ticket members and a flyover out of Beale Air Force Base.

The A’s will also make 250 lawn seats available for a fixed price of $25 for all 81 regular season home games, including Opening Day, on the day of each game.

To subscribe to Athletics Beat, visit this page and mark "Athletics Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Athletics or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.