I’ve been waiting all week for this.

You’ve had an awesome debut, and we’re all cheering for you! I hope you do still find time to write on AN occasionally.

Great job. Hope you get to strike out a few Halos this weekend.

Most of the experts on AN think the Angels record is a fluke, not the A’s. This would be a nice weekend for another A’s sweep; putting each team’s actual record closer to its run differential.

And thanks again for taking the time to provide an insider’s look into the game, even when you are a big leaguer. Sometimes fans forget that you are people too and I think your account of your nervousness coming into your first game is a great window into that “humanity.”

When Ken Korach said, “here is the major league debut of Brad Ziegler” I had a giant smile, even as my bar be cuing chicken breasts burned.

WAY TO GO!

You have made your dream come true.

Really cool you took the time to write this with everything going on.

I was in Texas for you MLB debut, so that was pretty awesome. That pickoff was awesome. Hope you have a long run of success with the A’s.

are a lot of autograph seeking fans keeping you from your clubhouse tendings? :>)

Living the Dream! Well done!

Now go strike out some Angles!

-Cindi

Congratulations, and kick some Orange County ass this weekend.

[Obligatory self-promotion of self promoting Ziggy.]

I wanted to give a very excited “Congratulations!” on making it to The Show, but I’ve been waiting for a little of the excitement to pass before contacting you privately to say anything else.

The way you were pitching in Sacramento made it hard to keep you there, but one of the concerns we as fans had was what the A’s would do because you would have to be added to the 40/25-man rosters. Pitching well enough to earn the promotion means the rest ought to take care of itself, and it did.

Over time I’d come to see what a path you’ve been taking to get here, and I’m pretty sure I saw you pitch once or twice in Stockton back in 2005 before I had any idea who you were. I wasn’t around AN a whole lot when you first started blogging here, so as I caught up on things and saw not just what you’ve gone through but also how normal and down to earth you are (truth is, there’s a set of athletes, celebrities, etc. that get big heads), it made it that much easier to root for you not just as a player but as a person as well. Now the change to throwing sidearm has really helped as you’ve grown used to it, and it hasn’t even been all that long since you made the switch.

Coming to the end of last season, I worked my first River Cats game with credentials and sure enough, you got in to pitch. I was hoping that would happen, but I certainly didn’t expect to hear from your mother during the off-season about getting some prints. Then there were two more games in April this year, which you both pitched in, and it was a pleasure to get a moment to say hello.

What I’m getting at is it’s special any time someone makes it to the Majors for the first time, but in your case a lot of us are much more deeply invested in it because of the time you’ve taken to let us get to know you as both a person and a player, not just at the ballpark but especially here. It’s a rarity these days.

Of course, we’re glad as fans that you’ve come in and pitched well to start. Just like in Sacramento, I hope you make it very hard for the A’s to send you down once a few of the injured relievers are healthy again, and the first few games are an excellent sign. I know you can only deal with the things you have control over, but you’re already proving you have the ability to do this at the highest level and I hope your stay with the A’s is a long one.

Again, congratulations!

i was worried you’d get knocked around a bit and geren would forget about you, but way to make a great impression in your first three big league innings.

and let them know our record is not a fluke, as some so-called ‘experts’ are saying

but the “experts” don’t even bother to talk about the a’s! hell they barely even mention other western teams like the angels, dodgers, d-backs….

are the players in the a’s clubhouse as annoyed as we are by yanks-sox taking up 80% of national baseball coverage, and the mets and cubs being 19%?

More AN posting! Priorities, Brad!

Seriously though, that last part was really important because a lot of fans don’t understand exactly what you pointed out. I find that baseball players, especially in the past 10-15 years, go way, way above and beyond when it comes to fan interaction at the ballpark. Obviously when there are 50 players at a game and tens of thousands of fans, not everybody is going to get some sort of personal interaction. That’s just how it is.

More people should see the players signing autographs or tossing balls to little kids and think “hey, that guy gets it” and not “hey, why can’t my selfish ass get something, too?”

Keep up the good work, Brad.

I was the only one in my section cheering for you yesterday (granted, they were mostly 5th graders from my daughter’s elementary school) but I imagined the day when everyone at a packed Coliseum would be clamoring and cheering for you to come in a pressure-packed situation knowing you were the MAN for the job.

I sincerely hope that day comes to pass.

Wishing you boundless success!

Not only for giving us all the insight into the past, but allowing us to share the experience of your call up and your first games in the major leagues

You have a lot of people here and everywhere who really appreciate your posts and are your biggest fans. We’ll be with you whatever happens.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if the big club told you anything about the posting here, if they told you to muzzle it up a little bit, or they encouraged you to keep posting. I hope they let you post from time to time, although we understand you have bigger things to worry about, like your family and your day job.

Keep up that zero ERA too

so I’m assuming they don’t mind as long as it stays appropriate.

And thanks for remembering the little people here at AN.

I feel bad that more people aren’t coming to the A’s games to cheer you and your teammates on. I live out of state, and it kills me that I can’t come to the Coliseum. I guess some people feel they want to punish A’s ownership for various reasons, but as I see it they’re really punishing players like you, who deserve better.

I can’t wait to hear about your further adventures.

I was so excited when I heard you got called up! Friday was overwhelming when I got to the Rangers ballpark on Friday and there were so many unexpected faces—but I was most excited to hear about you. Many, many congratulations and I hope you stay up for good. Hope you get in the game on Friday so I can see you pitch in person for the first time!

I’m mostly a lurker on this site now, but always enjoy reading your posts…Congrats on making it to the bigs, that’s so cool!

Very interesting last note – I find it fascinating how so many people get so worked up when you guys can’t give them autographs/pictures, whatever. I think it’s perfectly understandable, and I do have to admit, standing there while some determined kid repeatedly screams out the name of the nearest player while said player is just trying to warm up, it kind of makes me cringe. Nice to hear it from the mouth of a player, though – my theory was correct, after all! :)

Congrats again and best of luck!!!

and we hope to never see you here again! :)

You’ve shown some serious chops already. The movement on your fastball is absolutely ridiculous. I look forward to seeing you back out there, keep it rollin’.

Congrats, Ziggy! It’s been so much fun seeing you up with the A’s!

We are so proud of you!!!! Looking forward to many, many, many more major league outings!!!!

I prefer Zero ERAs, timely hits, and W’s to ballplayer/fan interaction. Call me crazy.

No apologies required. Seriously. Do your thing. Zig-it!

Thank you so much for posting! Thank you EVEN MORE for kick-ass pitching. Looking forward to more of both.

And thanks for posting on here and giving some insight. We all know how busy and exciting it is, so your time on here is ever more so appreciated.

Can’t wait to see you pitch again, hopefully in the upcoming series. We know you can lock it down for the A’s.

Congratulations, Brad. There were quite a few ANers almost as excited as you to hear
about your call-up. You looked good again yesterday and we all look forward to seeing you on the mound often.
Thanks, too for taking the time to post and share your experience and insight with us all.
GO ZIGGY!

I had to.

Congrats on making it the bigs Brad, and thanks as always for giving us the inside look. Kick some haloed arse this weekend!

Keep it up.

I was so stoked to hear that you got called up and even more excited to watch you pitch on TV. I look forward to seeing you pitch in person in the park. Keep up the excellent work! I really appreciate that you continued to post on AN. I’m looking forward to a Ziggy bobblehead giveaway some day!

Congrats BZ! Hmm….interesting initials???

I had the priviledge of seeing you pitch against Salt Lake a couple weeks back, and now I get to see you with the big club, A’s-mazing!!!

As a long-time member of AN I would like to personally thank you for your contribution to this site. Your efforts have strengthened such an already incredible fanbase for an organization that most out-of-the-loop people have a hard time comprehending. I’m sure, that most fans here, like me, are extremely proud of you and your accomplishment, and are overjoyed at the opportunity to see you pitch on a regular basis.

You are now a member of one the best pitching staff’s in Major League Baseball.

So don’t you worry about us wannabe’s, we’re extremely faithful. You focus, and focus hard on doing what you do. Doing exactly what you do best…..gettin’ Ziggy with opposing hitters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe all of us had the collective thrill when you first took the rubber, and to hear your account of your new life in the big leagues is really something!

Thanks for making us proud, bro!! Don’t forget to keep posting now that your uniform is forest green and gold!

and thanks for signing balls for us on June 2. You are the only player that I have ever asked to do it( except at Fanfest) and I have been an A’s fan for many a year. We were so excited when you got into the game the next night and so happy for you when you did well.
My husband and I will be watching and cheering you on Fri and Sat night. God Bless you and I’ll pray for you to stay safe on the field and pitch well against the hated Halos.
I hope the Veterans don’t haze you too much…I don’t think you will look your best in a dress heehee.

Are you nervous or concerned about being optioned down? Specifically when Andrew Brown comes back? I hate to see anyone go down but I wonder if it will be Dallas Braden that goes down this time

You can’t be setting literal fires in big league bullpens. Not that any of those shenanigans happened in OKC when you were playing for the Rivercats.

I’ll be sure to pass it along… ;)

Brad Ziegler, major league ballplayer.

biggest win of the season so far, and you get your name next to the W. Nice work dude.

Or are you #47? I’ve read conflicting info but haven’t been watching any games on TV.

Count me as another one of your fans who would rather see you perform well by being focused on the field and taking the time to prepare and maintain your body and mind than to get an autograph from you. Next time a fan mutters something after not getting what he or she wants, remember me and your countless other fans who are glad you are keeping your focus for on-field production.

Keep up the great work and thanks for posting!