A's Luzardo's Love-Hate Relationship With Las Vegas

Rookie lefty Jesus Luzardo returns Las Vegas Ballpark Sunday to pitch in a place that only hitters (and fans) have learned to love.

The A’s will be in Las Vegas this weekend, which will be a return home of sorts for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo.

The left-hander spent much of 2019 at with the Aviators. It was both a good and a bad experience, or at least that’s what he suggests when talking about returning to southern Nevada to pitch in Las Vegas Ballpark, which debuted with A's Triple-A arrival in Nevada last year.

Asked about his feelings on a return to Las Vegas, where Luzardo is scheduled to face the Cleveland Indians on Sunday – Sean Manaea pitches Saturday, also against Cleveland – the first words out of Luzardo’s mouth were “I’m not too excited about going back to Vegas.”

Why, you ask? Well, the park has been a hit with fans. The average attendance last year was 9,241, the best in the minor leagues. But light air, occasional high winds and some wide-open areas in the outfield make it a dream for hitters. And that makes it a nightmare for pitchers.

While averaging a whopping 6.8 runs per game last season, the Aviators hit 250 home runs and their OPS of .903 was the best in the Pacific Coast League. The homer total was 66 more than the previous Vegas team record, which was set down the road in Cashman Field.

“Pitching in Las Vegas is a lot of fun in terms of the atmosphere and the fans,” Luzardo said, “but in terms of the way the ball flies, it’s not too much fun.”

Before 2019, the A’s had a Triple-A home in Nashville, and Tennessee was much more conducive for a pitcher’s mental health. Luzardo made his Triple-A debut with Nashville, so the move to Las Vegas was something of a shock.

For one thing, the Las Vegas park is located about 3,000 above sea level, and it’s located in a desert, making for dry air that tends not to impede baseballs him in the air.

Baseball America’s exploration of minor league ballpark factors said that Las Vegas ranked in the 100 percentile for home runs and in the 98 percentile for runs scored across all levels of the minor leagues.

So, all in all, it’s not a place that creates the fondest of memories for a pitchers.

Even so, Luzardo says, “it will be fun.”