Batter up!
Well I finally did it! I finally started another blog. Shocker! It's been over a year since my last one, which coincided with the beginning of baseball season. Now that the anxiety of ticket buying is over for me (the California 4-fer!), I can concentrate on another baseball related blog. While my team, the Oakland Athletics, have been having an up and down season so far, there have been a few stories that have made it a good one, regardless. The first is the return of Roy Steele, the A's long time public address announcer. He has been the team's announcer since they moved to Oakland in 1968. He has a wonderful, rich, deep voice that is hard to forget. ESPN baseball announcer Jon Miller, who was an A's TV announcer back in the 70's, has dubbed Roy's voice "The Voice of God." Unfortunately, Roy, who had only missed 5 games in 38 years of Oakland baseball, missed all of last season due to a medical condition and complications of the surgery performed to help him. He is now back, though, and received a huge welcome during the home opener, including the honor of throwing the first pitch. Fans, players, and even players from other teams are excited to have him back. Team equipment manager Steve Vucinich (also a longtime member of the organization) told the San Jose Mercury News that "I think a credit to Roy is that guys from other teams recognize his voice, know his voice and talked about how much they missed him last year. We heard that a lot." (San Jose Mercury News. 4/13/2007). Welcome back, Roy!
Another heartwarming story this season involves Eric Chavez, the team's 3rd baseman and six time Gold Glove Award winner. When Eric won his Gold Glove in 2004, he presented it to the A's then third base coach, Ron Washington. Eric had come up to the majors with the expectation that he would be a strong hitter, but was not known for his defense. With Ron's guidance, Eric is now one of the best third basemen in the game. Eric wanted 'Wash,' as he's called by teammates, to have the award, because he couldn't have done it without him. Unfortunately, this Gold Glove trophy was lost when Ron Washington's home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. After the 2006 season, Washington left the A's to accept his first job as a team manager for the Texas Rangers. Unbeknownst to him, Rangers officials arranged for a new Golden Glove to be made, and waited until the A's visited Arlington to present Ron with the replica. He was called onto the field before the game, and presented with the new Gold Glove by Eric Chavez. Washington was taken completely by surprise and almost moved to tears. He remarked "As they say, there is no crying in baseball, but sometimes you get close." A wonderful surprise for a deserving man. According to the A's TV announcers during the game, Ron drove, took trains, or flew to the homes of nearly every Texas Ranger player during the off-season to introduce himself and get to know his new team.
The third and last team member I wanted to talk about is Nick Swisher. He is a young, very enthusiastic player who came up to the big leagues a few seasons ago. He has quickly become a fan favorite because of his exuberent personality and love of the game. This season, Nick arrived at Spring Training with noticeably longer hair. It is now at least shoulder length. My son has told me that he has been getting harassed and heckled at some of the opposing parks because of the length of his hair, and had people shout at him to get a haircut. What these people don't know is that he is growing it out for the Pantene Beautiful Lengths and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which works with athletes and celebrities to donate their hair. He is doing this in tribute to his grandmother, who died of cancer in 2005. Says Swisher, "A man can get away with shaving his head, but when a woman loses her hair it's a little tougher. I've got good hair. Hopefully I can make somebody smile, maybe give somebody the confidence to leave the house more. To beat a terrible illness like this, you have to have the fight to do it." (San Jose Mercury News, 3/21/2007).
So whether or not my A's do well this season in terms of the postseason, they have given me a few things to be happy about and proud of!
To all of you who are baseball fans, I hope you're enjoying the season so far!
P.S. Hopefully I'll find more to write about so that it's not over a year between blogs again, LOL.
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