Athletics slugger Brent Rooker is adding his name to the list of Home Run Derby participants.

Rooker announced Thursday that he’s participating in the event, which will take place Monday in Atlanta. He will become the first A’s player in the Home Run Derby since Matt Olson in 2021.

“Competing in the Home Run Derby has always been a dream of mine,” Rooker said in an Instagram post. “Can’t wait to make it happen next week in Atlanta! See ya there!”

Rooker, 30, entered Thursday with a .270 batting average, 19 homers and 50 RBIs, putting him on pace for a third straight season of at least 30 homers. He went deep 30 times in 2023 and had 39 homers in 2024.

The only A’s to win the Derby were Mark McGwire in 1992 and Yoenis Céspedes in 2013 and 2014.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees was named Thursday to round out the eight-man field. Other participants will be Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Washington’s James Wood.

EX-MANAGER ELIA, KNOWN FOR RANT, DIES AT 87

Lee Elia, a former major league player and longtime coach who was managing the Chicago Cubs in 1983 when he famously criticized the team’s fans in a memorable postgame rant, has died. He was 87.

The Philadelphia Phillies said Elia died on Wednesday. No further details were provided.

Elia, a Philadelphia native, had a 238-300 record in four seasons as a big league manager, two with the Cubs and two with the Phillies. He was a shortstop during his playing career, batting .203 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 95 games with the White Sox and Cubs.

On April 29, 1983, Elia was the skipper for the Cubs when they dropped to 5-14 with a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Wrigley Field crowd of 9,391 threw garbage at Keith Moreland and Larry Bowa as the Cubs made their way to the clubhouse.

Elia responded with an expletive-filled rant that lives on in censored versions still being played on various programs years later. As part of his remarks, he declared that 85% of the world is working and that “the other 15 come out here.”

Back then, there were no lights at Wrigley Field and the Cubs played only day games at home.

“At the moment, it was very, very difficult,” Elia said 25 years later while revisiting that day as part of a charity drive. “But you sit here and you’re 70 years old and you look at it and you say to yourself, ‘You know, yeah, it was unfortunate.’ But for crying out loud, we’re human beings and you make mistakes sometimes.”

Elia managed the Phillies in 1987 and 1988. He was the third base coach when the Phillies won the 1980 World Series.

Elia also worked for the Seattle Mariners from 1993-97, 2001-02 and in 2008 as a hitting coach, bench coach and special assistant.

GIANTS’ ray REPLACED ON ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER

New York Mets pitcher David Peterson was added to the National League roster for Tuesday’s All-Star Game, replacing Giants left-hander Robbie Ray.

It’s the first All-Star selection for Peterson, who is 6-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 18 starts.

Ray is going to be inactive for Tuesday night’s Midsummer Classic at Atlanta because he is slated to pitch for the Giants on Sunday against the Dodgers.

The 33-year-old Ray is 9-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 19 starts this season.