Inside The As

Brent Rooker sends bettor a signed jersey; "stop wasting your money on me"

Jason Burke

Sep 20, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker (25) scores during the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Sep 20, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker (25) scores during the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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Oakland A's DH Brent Rooker is one of the best hitters in all of baseball, and also ranks pretty highly among the top athletes on social media. A couple of months ago, someone sent Rooker a DM on Instagram, letting the slugger know that his parlay didn't hit because of Rooker.

The A's DH replied, "My brother, I cannot begin to express how much I do not care." You don't see a ton of athletes hit send on replies like this, but that's part of what makes Rooker special. He also followed up with the same bettor recently, sending them a signed "25" jersey.

The inscription reads, "To Mr. Skunkii: Stop wasting your money on me."

Brent Rooker is just a delight in the clubhouse, and once the baseball season ends he will likely resurface more often on social media, like he did last postseason when he explained the difference between sweepers and sliders.

With two games left in the regular season, Rooker is sitting on 38 home runs. He's already set a number of career highs, currently hitting .296 with a .367 OBP, those 38 bombs, 110 RBI, and even 11 stolen bases. What more could you really ask him to be doing for you?

If you're going to bet on sports, it's probably best not to let the players know about it. While Rooker was a good sport, it can certainly be taxing if a guy has a bad game then receives hundreds of DMs calling them a bum. Baseball is a sport of failure, and Hall of Fame players are guys that don't have success 70% of the time. Given those odds, maybe betting on baseball is harder than it looks.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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