DLD 2/16/10 - From the Vault

One of my favorite things to do recently is go through the Sports Illustrated vault, reading about random things. Here's a few A's-related links to keep you entertained:

8.8.94 - The Big Heart (former A's DH, future Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas)

He asked Mama on the phone, How come you're never around anymore? And when is Pamela coming home? But nobody had quite explained how quickly this stupid leukemia thing happens. She came home from Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta one weekend, without her hair but with a smile that looked like she had been saving it up her whole life. Three months later she was gone. Pamela died on Thanksgiving Day in Atlanta, just like that. And he wasn't even there.

He's a man now, and he knows it happens to families. He can go to her grave in the section they call Babyland at Riverdale Cemetery and almost keep from crying. But when you're nine and they just took your favorite person that's a hurt you don't think will ever go away.

8.6.07 - The Legend of Jack Cust

For 10 years everyone had been waiting for the arrival of Jack Cust--the folks from this area of central Jersey, the major league scouts who have seen the preposterous home run potential, the statheads who have followed him through the minors, extolling his discipline at the plate. But for 10 years Cust bounced among five organizations, making only cameos in the majors. The lefthanded slugger was becoming a real-life Crash Davis, a minor league lifer who batted .285 with 1,058 hits and 191 home runs in 1,089 games entering 2007. "Every year I'd come home," Cust says, "I'd get the same questions: 'Why haven't you stuck in the majors yet? Next year's the year, right?' "

7.17.00 - Bay Area Bombers (the last time an A was on the cover of Sports Illustrated)

"That's us," Jason Giambi says. "Sit around and wait for the three-run Jimmy Jack." Pafiltes is what shortstop Miguel (Miggy) Tejada calls home runs, a word that he loosely translates as "Pow!" Oakland, which held the wild-card lead last year as late as Aug. 29 before fading, is making itself heard.

9.17.90 - From Bench to Bleachers (Billy Beane)

"I had been thinking about getting into some front-office work after I retired," Beane says. "But when this opportunity came up, I figured, why wait?" His advance scout's salary won't approach the $150,000 he made last year as a big leaguer, and the travel can be grueling, but Cathy and their baby girl, Casey, now have a permanent home in Rancho Bernardo, Calif.

For four or more days each week Beane scrutinizes the next team on Oakland's schedule, marking the idiosyncrasies of each player on his intricately detailed charts. He is especially mindful of any weaknesses that the A's might be able to exploit in an upcoming series. On the day Oakland is to meet the scouted opponent, Beaneusually takes an hour and a half to deliver his report to La Russa and the A's coaching staff, either in person or via a telephone conference call.

"He has a very analytical mind," says La Russa of Beane. "He knows what to look for, and he's not afraid to have an opinion."

4.1.68 - A City of Complexes

"We're proud of Oakland and want people to know where we're from," said Charles O. Finley—who is from La Porte, Ind.—shortly after disembarking in town and announcing that the A's would wear OAKLAND on the front of their uniforms, home and away.

This was a very important thing to Oakland, for two of the other teams—the Clippers and the Seals—first had been named just California. Pressure, subtle and from the Oakland Tribune , was applied to the miscreants, who, seeing their sin, quickly changed their names to OAKLAND. This makes people happy in Oakland. Everybody knows whereOakland is now, the people say. And indeed everybody does. Oakland is located in all the standings.