We all know what the lowlights of the season were, from the two road trips through Boston and Cleveland, several games in New York, the sweep in Texas a couple of weeks ago to the Mecir/Rincon implosion on Saturday.
The A's also had quite a few highlights this year, including Byrnes, McMillon and Crosby's walk offs, but I wanted to reflect back on what I thought was the best highlight of 2004. This is subjective, but to me the best game was May 6, 2004 against the New York Yankees.
Up until that moment, the A's had lost all five games against Steinbrenner's crew. The A's had lost some heartbreakers and were looking to show that they could compete with the big boys.
Harden became a man that day. In my opinion, it was THE game when Rich Harden became a major league pitcher.
Harden struggled mightily to start off the game, giving up four runs in the second inning. He was getting hit hard by the veteran Yankee squad.
Yet, he worked through that problem to last 7.2 innings, striking out nine and giving up five walks. He won that game 7-4 and in the process announced his arrival as one of the A's next great pitchers.
It was the day that he made the leap from considerable potential to potent reality.
It was my favorite moment of 2004, despite all the other great moments because that moment will have lasting ramifications well beyond 2004.
What are some of your favorite moments from the 2004 season? Once you let me know some more, I'll put up a poll to see what AN thinks.
