A Press Democrat Blog

Old School

Robert Rubino connects current sports news with the past

A’s should go beyond Wall of Fame

Friday, at 1:45 by

Sure, the Oakland Athletics honor their Hall of Famers by displaying their names and retired numbers — Hunter, Fingers, Jackson, Eckersley and Rickey Henderson. But there are A’s players who may not be Hall of Famers but who contributed greatly to the team’s illustrious history. An Oakland A’s Wall of Fame would certainly include Bert Campaneris, the base-stealing shortstop and leadoff sparkplug of the A’s three consecutive World Series championship teams, 1972-74; and Vida Blue, the American League’s MVP and… Read More »

No. 1 All-time A’s home opener

Friday, at 9:23 by

In a countdown to the 2010 baseball season, Old School blog is running brief descriptions of the most significant home openers in the history of the Oakland A’s and SF Giants — one a day, a total of five for each team. We already started with the A’s, picking the 1981 opener at No. 5, the 2002 opener at No. 4, this year’s opener at No. 3 and the 1973 opener at No. 2. And now, the No. 1 all-time… Read More »

All-time A’s home openers: No. 2

Thursday, at 9:15 by

In a countdown to the 2010 baseball season, Old School blog is running brief descriptions of the most significant home openers in the history of the Oakland A’s and SF Giants — one a day, a total of five for each team. We already started with the A’s, picking the 1981 opener at No. 5, the 2002 opener at No. 4 and this year’s opener at No. 3. Next up: No. 2. April 6, 1973. Twins at Oakland. Attendance 38,207.… Read More »

Top 5 A’s home openers

Monday, at 6:46 by

In a countdown to the 2010 baseball season, Old School  blog will run brief descriptions of the most significant home openers in the history of the Oakland A’s and SF Giants — one a day, a total of five for each team. Let’s start with the A’s: No. 5. April 17, 1981. Seattle Mariners at Oakland A’s. Paid attendance 50,255. This was the first A’s home game in which the team wasn’t owned by Charlie Finley. It marked the beginning… Read More »

Best all-time A’s pitching staff

Tuesday, at 12:03 by

Spring-training stories are already calling this year’s Oakland A’s pitching staff perhaps the best in the AL. Which staff would you call the Athletics’ best ever since moving to Oakland 42 years ago? Here are my picks: 1971-73. These staffs were anchored by Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter. Ken Holtzman was a major contributor in 1972-73. Rollie Fingers was the closer but several other relievers got plenty of save opportunities. A remarkable run of pitching excellence. 1988-90: Another sensational three-year… Read More »