The Coliseum

Good work.

The first game I ever saw at the Coliseum was Rickey's first game in Oakland as a Yankee.  I watched the game through the slats in the fence beyond the old bleachers in left.

My favorite memory is simply that wonderful pregame feeling walking in to the ballpark to my old season ticket in section 317.  Individual game memories abound, but the high point would have to be the walk off bunt by Ramon vs. the RedSox in the playoffs a couple of years back.

I love the way you say "winter is almost over folks" - and you live in Vermont!?!  That's some heavy denial you've got going on (and you've gotta get through "Mud Season", too)!

the third deck as a kid; wasn't the game where he broke the record, but it was right during the lead-up to that, and the place was just electric. He was my favorite player in my youth, and is still my sentimental favorite as far as A's players, past or present, go.
Oh, and almost getting shoved over the rail scrambling for a foul ball that came straight back into the third deck there, too, during that game... (certainly a vivid memory, at least)
I don't think anything can match the excitement you feel at the ballpark as a kid- you might not have as great a grasp of the nuances of the game, but you're more awed by the experience. That's why I hope we all chip in and do the Sports 4 Kids tickets again this year- it felt great last year to contribute to some kids getting to have that experience possibly for the first time. It's one I don't think they'll forget, and one that every kid should have.

What a great game that was. I still go back and watch it on MLB.com sometimes

was when the A's were playing the Royals, I think it was either 89 or 90, I was about 9 years old. And during the game Bo Jackson went 0-4, and in his last at bat in the top of the 8th he struck out, and broke his bat over his leg. I was fuckin awestruck, it was the most amazing thing to see when your 9 years old. I could hardly swing a major league type bat, and here was this dude breaking it in half over his leg. Snaped it like a matchstick. Unreal....

My birthday, skipping school, MARCO..SCUTARO.

Pure Ecstasy.

My memories are really personal more than anything people would understand.

Primarily they deal with my Uncle Kevin, who everyone called Pigden, and my brother Kevin, who everyone calls Weevil, laughing at stupid things going on around us.

One that really sticks in my brain is the time my uncle said... "If Dave Henderson doesn't hit a home run here he is a fairy pumice." Pay no attention to the fact that the put down he had bestowed upon Dave Henderson is something only my uncle recognized as a put down. Dang if Hendu, 2 pitches later, didn't send a rocket the heck into those old left field bleachers.

He pulled the same thing with Canseco later, and Jose hit one out. By the end of the game, he had evoked the dreaded fairy pumice curse 4 times and only McGwire was stuck with the name. When he failed my uncle blurted one of his famous lines, "Trade 'em!" They got around to it eventually Pigden.

At the final game of this years LDS, I must have been channeling him, because I turned to my brother and said, "Chavez is going to hit the front of the second deck this at bat" or something like that. Dang if he didn't crush one that didn't quite make the second deck, but went directly below where I pointed!

I am all smiles thinking about my uncle right now.

Water fights at the water fountains above the old bleachers. I was about five years old and my parents would always take us out to the park. on hot summer days all the kids would run around dumping water on eachother. Those were the best times. Sometimes the whole family would be out there. We stopped going for a while, but toward the end of high school baseball peaked my interest again and I beagn going often with friends. That led to another favorite memory. Games 16-20 of the streak. I was at all of them. I remember the parking toll taker who always had some sort of riddle or rhyme for each game. Game 16 he said something like "Sweet sixteen and Hudson's looking for a date to the dance." I could go on and on I love that place.

Scutaro's bases-clearer in ALDS Game 3. Hooray!

the 20th win of the streak.  By chance we got some tickets to go.  We got there and teh A's started piling on run after run and all my friends were relaxing and saying we had won it already.  I just kept saying, "you never know" and "it's not over yet".  Sure enough the Royals came back to tie it and then Hatteberg (my favorite player at the time) hot the walk off homer and sends the crowd into a crazed mob.  I have never had so much fun at a game.

The A's ran wild that day, they pulled a rare triple steal that day. And a couple of double steals. Detroit catcher Lance Parrish was so pissed after the triple steal he beat up the water fountain in the dugout with a bat. Water was spraying all over...Ha Ha

The Athletics had acquired Joaquin Andujar, and the game I went to in 1987, he got wild, kept walking guys and arguing with the ump.  LaRussa pulled  him, and put in Dennis Eckerseley.  I got the feeling that Eckerseley thought that -he- should be starting games, not Joaquin.  The fans booed JA that day, I think.

That was early D E, and I never thought it would turn out so good for Eck, considering that game.

I also got a call from a buddy at work once, saying he had found playoff tickets.  One hr to gametime!

They were way out in right field, but it was a memorable game...Roger Clemens got thrown out for arguing balls and strikes.  My buddy wasn't much of a baseball fan, and he couldn't understand what inthewidewideworldofsports is going on here!

Another memorable walk-off home run, home game, was when Randy Velarde homered off Billy Koch, to beat Toronto.  Who'da thought Koch would play for us, later on???!!!

Another game, Mulder was pitching versus Cleveland, and gave up back-to-back-to-back (isn't that "front to back"??!!) doubles.  The A's were behind 4-0, but you felt they would gut it out. Sure enough, Dye and Chavez hit back to back homers in the bottom of that inning.  July 31st, 2002  ... they really needed to win!  Omar Vizquel committed a rare error on an easy chance, and that was the diff in the ballgame.  Koch saved it.

2003 Zito win versus Boston in the ALDS.  Great performance!  Tons of Boston fans, all silent all day. GRRRRRRRRREAT!

Day games are 2x better than night games