“It shows within Baseball it’s like a brotherhood” - Oakland Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn got an All-Star upgrade while traveling to LA courtesy of the Houston Astros

Oakland Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn recieved an amazing gesture by the Houston Astros organization yesterday. Blackburn was given the honor of representing the Athletics this year at the All-Star Game, just to be left almost without a way to get there.

"Punched his ticket to LA! Congratulations to our 2022 MLB All-Star, Paul Blackburn!" - Oakland A's

The Athletics played the Houston Astros on the road in a three-game set this weekend. The All-Star Game is set for tonight at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. However, Oakland failed to provide Blackburn with transportation from Houston to the All-Star Game. Paul Blackburn was prepared to fly commercially from Houston to Los Angeles.

Out of everyone, it was the Houston Astros who stepped up and provided Paul Blackburn a free ride to the All-Star Game on their charter.

When asked his thoughts on this, Blackburn was very grateful, saying, "It shows within Baseball it’s like a brotherhood. Everyone respects each other..I’m greatly appreciative of their organization."

This was an amazing gesture by the Houston Astros.

"@Athletics All-Star pitcher Paul Blackburn was set to fly commercial from Houston to LA. The Astros found out & offered him a ride on their charter: “It shows within Baseball it’s like a brotherhood. Everyone respects each other..I’m greatly appreciative of their organization" - Mark Berman

Although this was a class act by Houston, it raises the question of why the A's did not provide Blackburn transportation. Blackburn is one of their few bright spots this season, and yet they neglected him when he received this huge honor. This is absolutely unacceptable and it makes the Athletics look like they do not care about their players.

Paul Blackburn is a silver lining on yet another terrible Oakland A's squad

Oakland A's attendance dwindles to historic lows.

The Oakland Athletics have been mediocre for a while now, but this season has been absolutely abysmal. They have seen a huge fall from grace and now the team has zero direction.

With a team that loses perennially like the Athletics, it would make sense for them to enter a rebuild. They should draft some prospects and develop them into homegrown talent. However, the A's have done the opposite.

Although they do draft prospects, as soon as they become somewhat decent, they trade them away in the infamous Oakland Fire Sale. They do this so they do not have to pay them big money.

To be successful and win championships, franchisises must dish out money to star talent. It is impossible for Oakland to keep doing this and expect to win games.

Paul Blackburn has been one of the only solid players in Oakland this season. Through 18 starts, Blackburn is 6-5 with a 3.62 ERA. His six wins become much more impressive considering that the A's as a whole have just 32 wins this season. This means that Blackburn is responsible for almost one-fifth of Oakland's wins this year.

"Paul Blackburn is thrilled after earning his first career All-Star nod" - A's on NBCS

However, since Blackburn is good now, the Athletics will likely trade him away for nothing at this trade deadline. What the Athletics' organization does is absolutely unfair for the fans of the team, and something needs to change.