A's-Related Holiday

got me a hat from every minor league A's affiliate.

Pretty cool.

I found the hardcore fans when I'm walking around with a Kane County hat on and someguy yells "Go Cougars!"

The best A's-related Christmas gift I ever received was a four-game sweep of the hated Giants for the world championship in October ... the first (and last, unfortunately) I was able to "enjoy" as an adult.
Yup, nothing will ever top that!

Unless your wife had the tickets parachuted from the sky, or had them wrapped up in a blue envelope, the gift did not literally come out of the blue.

If Nico can rant about your and you're, I can rant about this. We all have our pet peeves, and this one is mine.

Literally means literally. It means the phrase should be interpreted with the actual meanings of the words. It's not just a generic magnifier that you tag on to any phrase you wish to emphasize, regardless of whether it's literal or figurative.

Using a word to mean its exact opposite invites ambiguity and unclarity. What if you had said "my brother is literally a huge Red Sox fan"? What would we make of that?  That you want to emphasize how much he loves the Red Sox, or that he really is a very big guy?

Not to pick on you specifically, Blez. I wouldn't be ranting about this if I didn't see the same mistake in diaries all the time. (Figuratively all the time, that is.)

A while back my wife surprised me with a Carney Lansford jersey. She knew he was one of my all-time favorite A's and so she had a jersey custom made for me.

Every game I wear that to, I always get someone yelling out "Carney." i thought that would die down a bit once I moved to SoCal, but even at A's-Angels games I still get love -- except from Angels fans who ask me who the hell Lansford is. They usually feel pretty dumb when I let them know he played for the Angels for three years prior to his stint in Oakland :)

Once I went to a game with my family and somehow my sister bought me one of those giant foam A's cowboy hats and hid it in her sweater without me noticing.  I must have distracted by the game or my girlfriend, one of the two.

I haven't had the guts to wear it to a game because I'm afraid it will block the vision of fans behind me.

For my birthday in 04 my folks surprised me with a mini plan to the Rivercats.  They've been kind enough to get it for me the last 5 seasons and as a result I now get to about 20-25 games a year.

As a thank you I was able to take them to the playoffs at Raley Field last season for one of the best series I've ever seen (first round win down 0-2).

please santa!!!!

Are you saying you never got the t-shirts?

... was Blez giving me my bump up to the front-page crew last year (a little early, but I considered it in the spirit of the holidays).

Thanks again, Blez!

(And, yes, I know, for all the rest of you, that was the worst A's-related gift you ever got.)

me with tickets to see the A's in Seattle.  It was the last Saturday of the season and Harden pitched in relief after being on the DL (deja vu all over again?) The A's won the game, which was nice because they had lost the last game we went to in Oakland.  My sister also came with us.  This trip was the first of our now yearly road trips (San Diego in '06 and Houston in '07)  We plan to go to New York in '08 (to see both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium before they are imploded).

Last year, my family helped me pay for my spring training trip. This year, they're helping me a little bit with my trip to New York to watch the A's play.

Also, any other ANers going to that series, the first weekend following the All-Star break?

were diamond level tickets agaisnt the yankees.  we won... i ate up till the 7th inning to my hearts desire... and when i came home.. my friends and i got a call during the game telling us that we were on tv.. so we made a sign with a pizza box and a sharpie...  my family tivo'd the whole game with me in the background for 3 hours.. kinda crazy seeing my face next to the players.. i still have that game saved :)

Reggie Jackson's double-MVP performance in 1973 strengthened his status as my favorite "A" and when I received an autograph book for my seventh birthday, I knew I wouldn’t be happy until he had signed it.  

To top it off, the champs were in town that April afternoon in 1974 and Dad had one more surprise in store for his youngest son: first deck tickets at the Coliseum.  Afterwards, we’d see about getting some signatures for my book.  As I waited anxiously for Reggie to make his grand entrance into the parking lot following the game, my cousin Paul and I tracked down some of the other players on the A’s and the visiting California Angels.  (Back in those days, you could just walk right up to the players- almost as if they were real people!)  But little did I know how tough this autograph business was.  

We approached a young Bobby Valentine, who was signing amid a modest crowd of kids.  Seeing me decked out in my brand new green and gold A’s cap, Bobby V. decided to have a little fun.  "Oh, I don’t sign for A’s fans", he said to me.  Demoralized, I began to walk away when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Valentine.  "Hey", he said, beaming, "I was just horsing around!" And he signed.  But if you’ve ever wondered why there are no World Series rings on his fingers, well, now you know.  Karma, baby.  There are just some things you don’t do to a kid on his seventh birthday.

I don’t remember what other ball players left their signatures in my book that day, because truth is, I didn’t keep any of the autographs I collected.  Except one.  A crowd of youngsters waited by Reggie’s black Grand Prix, hoping to get a glimpse of the reigning MVP.  I wasn’t taking any chances.  Book in hand, I camped out in front of the driver side door of Reggie’s car.  (Actually my body was planted so tight against the vehicle, you’d have sworn I was a car ornament).  Which Mr. Jackson took great exception to.  "Away from the car", his voice boomed, even louder than the sound of my heart pounding through my A’s shirt.  I remained steady, not budging from my spot.  Or maybe I was so petrified that I couldn’t move, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell Reggie that.  That is, if my mouth were able to actually form words.  

My hero of heroes asked me, in a not so gentle tone, if I had heard him correctly, and I replied with my best deer-caught-in-the-headlights pose.  Surely Reg was in no mood for this, having seen his teammates blow an eighth-inning lead.  He looked around for some possible help, maybe a family member that this seemingly deaf and dumb kid belonged to.  Bad enough that I had completely sucked the last ounce of patience from Reggie Jackson, but I could feel the weight of one hundred eyes staring at me.  

It was then that Dad saved the day.  "Tell him what you want."  Reggie turned back to me.  Nothing.  Then to my father, again.  "Does he talk?"  Now the old man was laughing.  "Yeah, he talks.  Today’s his birthday and he wants your autograph."  Once again I was face-to-face with this mammoth of a man.  He wasn’t satisfied with my Dad’s request, he wanted to hear me say it.  I mumbled, in what surely sounded to him like a different language, that it was indeed my birthday and I wanted him to sign my book.  Reggie took it from my trembling hands and wrote, "Happy B’Day Don.  Reggie Jackson"  And then he proceeded to tell me, a little more politely this time, to get away from his vehicle.  

Able to move finally, I managed to peel myself away from his car.  Reggie signed a few more autographs (for those that actually stuck around), then he climbed into that black Grand Prix with the "MVP ‘73" plates and was gone.  

a new  A's shirt for Mother's day one year. The cool part was that they also took me to the game and all 3 daughter's wore "I love Mom" t-shirts. I was hoping that we would get on TV but they didn't pick us. That was a good day and a happy memory.

I received the gift that turned me into an A's fan: Moneyball.

I didn't grow up a fan of the A's, but the book made me realize what a well-run organization it is and I've been a fan ever since.