June 18- Eugene Emeralds

Three days and a year prior is when things really started to kick ass for me. After getting kicked to the curb by Major League Baseball, more specifically the MLB Fan Cave, I was feeling pretty low and did my best for a few days to step away from baseball. That process was not exactly an easy one to accomplish, especially when considering that for two-and-a-half months I did nothing but watch baseball every day. As much as I love baseball, I never want to take it to the extreme of what I had to do in New York City every again. More specifically I mean that I would much rather be out in the elements, watching a baseball in person, rather than having my corneas fried by watching every game on 15 TVs.

I flew back to Oregon on June 8^th, and my timing couldn’t have been any worse. The one thing I can pride myself on is that I watched every no-hitter and perfect game from the 2012 season from first to last pitch… except one. I suppose it’s my fault really. I had postponed my flight back to the West Coast for a few days so I could actually spend time doing things in New York as opposed to be voluntarily locked in a glass zoo for the world to watch us watch TV. Kind of sick (literal meaning) when you really think about it. MLB was at least kind enough to send me back first class, something I guess I should have paid more attention to on the ticket as I still waiting in line at JFK to check my bags. It was after the hour-and-a-half wait that this fact was finally brought to my attention by the woman working at the counter. From that point on, I streamlined… or tried to at least. Once I checked my bags and walked to the next terminal to go through security the woman in charge of the lines stopped me as I was going into the express line and asked, “Are you supposed to be going that way?” Keep in mind; this is when I still looked like an understudy for ZZ-Top tribute band. I handed her my ticket, she looked it over and he eyes immediately darted back at mine, realizing she had made a mistake. As she was about to open her mouth to say something I said, “I know, right!” gave her a cheesy smile and grabbed my ticket out of her hand. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people judging others based on appearance; it’s a constant theme in my life. I got through security, boarded the plane, had a few beers (on MLB's dime), had a decent meal, watched "We Bought a Zoo," and touched down in Portland late in the evening.

As I was walking through PDX to retrieve my bags I noticed the tail end of the Seattle Mariners game was on in one of the bars. What I didn’t realize until I got home was that Tom Wilhemsen was closing out the final three batters in route to a team no-hitter. In the end, based on what I had been through over the previous week, it made sense that something as awesome as that would happen at a time when I couldn’t watch it.

Trying to get things back on a positive, I drove down to Eugene the next day to catch the first game of my Oregon Ducks’ Super Regional matchup against the Kent State Golden Flashes. I was only able to stay for a few innings in the Ducks 6-7 loss in Game 1 due to a TV interview I had to give later that night. I highly recommend watching it if you want to see me at my most-candid. I made it back the next day for Game 2, but once again had to get back to Portland in the evening for something, but the Ducks took that match up 3-2. Finally, I went back for the final, deciding game without any interruptions, but alas, the Ducks fell in the final out 2-3 and were eliminated just one win away from going to Omaha.

Two things happened to improve moral a bit though:

1. The Eugene Emeralds had hit me up on Facebook offering up to four free tickets for Opening Day on June 15^th.

2. The Oakland Athletics hit me up asking if I wanted to participate in a project they had in mind. The project turned out to be them wanting me to throw out first pitch, which I gladly accepted.

With my Ducks out of the College World Series and four Emeralds tickets in tow, I called up my friends Chris (@MooseandBear69), Scott (@ScottCLandis) and Leif (he doesn’t have Twitter). Another good friend of my, Taylor (@TaylorGelbrich) was in attendance, but he was busy working. Since the Emeralds are a short season-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, I had to roll deep in Padres gear.

Around the second inning the team’s mascot, Sluggo, spotted me in the crowd, came over and gave me a huge hug. I thanked him for everything as he was the person who had messaged me about the tickets. Being a mascot, he didn’t have much to say other than a shake of the head, which I totally understood. As I turned around to go back to my seat the gentleman sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder and told me to turn back around. As I did, I saw this…

Sluggo had taken the t-shirt graphic my friend Adam Tamarkin and I had made for my Fan Cave campaign and turned it into a tattoo. I was smiling widely on the outside, but underneath my skin I was in tears. Aside from the Athletics, no one had done so much for me since I was let go from New York. I thanked him again and did my best not tremble as I took the photo on account of being of the verge of losing it emotionally on the exterior. Around the fourth inning the Emeralds had one more surprise for me. I looked over to the right and saw my face on the jumbotron in right-center field as they made an announcement that I was at the game. The public address announcer then went on to explain who I was and what I had done, at which the crowd gave me a round of applause. I was even more floored by the fact that my tattoos artist, Felix the Tat, was sitting three rows behind me. Without Felix doing such and amazing job with my tattoos, I doubt very many of you would know who I am. By the time the game had ended I was emotionally deflated. I don’t mean this in a bad way. It had been such a long time since I had felt so appreciated that all I could do was crash… but not before a walk-off RBI single by Clark Murphy, as seen here… WalkOff!!!

The Emeralds rocked this cap from the start of the 2010 season until the end of 2012 when they switched up their colors and logos for 2013 in the thematic-style of Bigfoot. In 2010 the team went 32-44 under then-manager Greg Riddoch who managed his final year with the team that season despite having been at the helm since 2007. In 2011 and 2012 the Emeralds went 46-30 and 47-29 respectively under manager Pat Murphy, who in 2011 led the Emerald to their first Northwest League division title 2008. The other think of note from this hat lies within the stadium. 2010 was the first season in which the Emeralds called PK Park home as they had occupied Civic Stadium, one of the last remaining wooden ballparks in the country from 1969 through the end of the 2009 season. As for marks…

#3- A three-year time frame isn’t much to work with, especially when we’re talking about short season-A baseball; however, there was one name that quickly jumped out: Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko was a second round draft pick by the Padres out of West Virginia University in the 2010 amateur draft. His first stop as a professional came with Emeralds that year, but he only managed to play in 26 with the club on account that he was just a little bit too much of a badass. In 106 at-bats he had 35 hits, good enough for a .330 average. Five of those hits happened to be home runs and he also made sure to knock in 18 runs as well as score 16 himself. Yup! Talent like his is only destined to move fast through the rankings and proved to be true when he made his Major League on Opening Day this season.

#14- This one was a little bit tougher as I could have gone two ways with this. My first option was to roll with Australian-born pitcher Josh Spence, but he’s now a members of the New York Yankees despite playing in multiple games over two seasons in the Majors with the Padres. Buuuuuuuut I decided to go with my second option, up-and-coming pitcher Justin Hancock.

Hancock was taken in the ninth round by the Padres in the 2011 amateur draft out of Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois. Hancock spent his first year in the Rookie League with the AZL Padres, but found himself moved up to the Emeralds for the start of the 2012 season. In the 15 games he played in he started 14 of them, going 5-2 with a 1.61 ERA and 66 strikeouts before getting promoted to Class-A Fort Wayne on the play with the TinCaps. As far us “under the radar” prospects go, Hancock is looking to be the real deal as he is 7-1 with a 1.15 ERA so thus far in 2013 between the TinCaps and the advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League.

April 1- Oakland Athletics

Only one time in my 27 years of being a baseball fan have I ever been present for an Opening Day; April 4, 2000 when the Bakersfield Blaze had their season opener at Sam Lynn Ballpark. I want to say they were playing the Lake Elsinore Storm, but I can’t confirm that. I only remember a few details as the game took place 13 years ago, but I was the bat boy for that game.  On Monday, April 1 I was lucky enough to catch my first MLB Opening Day with two of my really good friends Tommy Bentley (@RealTomBentley) and Vanessa Demske (@vdemske), both of whom I met through our experience with the MLB Fan Cave. I had been meaning to get down to Oakland for years to catch Opening Day at the Coliseum, but school and other schedule conflicts always got in the way. This year, having graduated from the University of Oregon, I didn’t have an excuse.

I’ve been an Oakland Athletics fan for sure since May of 1987. My father and brother Adam are both San Francisco Giants fans; however, the first game I ever attended live came on May 23^rd when the A’s took on the Baltimore Orioles. I had only been really paying attention to baseball since October of the previous year, so I was still a bit hazy on the rules and what exactly was going on throughout the game. None of my questions seemed to bother my father. Like a lot of dads, as long as the kid has a vested interest in what’s going on, the questions won’t matter. It’s when the kids keep jibber jabbering about all the additions that have nothing to do with the game that cause problems. Every year my father did his best to get us to at least one MLB game a season, which unfortunately meant way more Giants games. No matter. I always had a great time going to Candlestick, except when the fog rolled in at the end of the night. Being cold as a kid sucked. That was, and is, still a consistent difference about the Coliseum; the sun is always shining.

I’ve had this hat since 2007, but I can’t, for the life of me, remember what day I picked it up. I do know that it was some time after my 24^th birthday. This hat was first introduced at the start of the 1993 season and has served as the A’s home cap ever since. Now, you’re probably thinking that the A’s have been using this color scheme and cap for much longer. Yes and no. The color scheme, dark green panels with gold bill, first came around in 1973 to compliment one of three uniform styles the A’s wore at home; however, as the years progressed through 1993 the “A’s” logo took on different shapes and styles. Therefore, the particular look for the logo has been in use for the last 20 years, and this year it its 20^th birthday. Yay!

Last night was an especially great night despite the fact the Seattle Mariners won 2-0. This marks nine years in a row that the A’s have lost their season opener at home, and based on last year, I’m not too worried. The day started with a ritualistic run to In-N-Out Burger

1. Because we were hungry.

2. Because Tommy is from the Seattle area and hadn’t enjoyed its deliciousness in a number of years.

Then it was off to a convenience store so I could grab my 40 ounce bottle of Mickey’s Fine Malt Liquor which has somehow become a part of my pre-game routine. At the tail end of the 2012 season, including the playoffs, the parking lot over by the Coliseum Bay Area Rapid Transit station didn’t charge for parking, and it served as kind of a secret spot to be able to just park and walk over without worry. This year: $10. I felt pretty bad for suggesting that idea. How was I supposed to know they started charging?

The pre-game action stared in section A4 of the parking lot on the north side of the Coliseum. Van was all ready acquainted with a lot of the right field crew after they met at the World Baseball Classic at AT&T Park, but Tommy hadn’t. And if Tommy was to sit with us in right field, I had to get him on everybody’s good side. It really didn’t take long. Even though almost all A’s fans are Oakland Raiders fans as well, the whole violent stigma that has followed over the years is merely a myth. They’re all good people. After polishing off my Mickey’s we headed to the B lot to meet up with some other friends including Jessica Kleinschmidt (@RedBottomCleats), Wes Crisp (@RFWes), Hailee Miguel (@Hailee_miguel) and Justin Lopez (@GearsOfLopez) who had won tickets from A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson for creating the best sign for the game. After some chatter and photos we headed over to the south side entrance so we could get into section 149 without any problems.

Since the bleacher tickers are general admission trying to get into section 149 has become a bit of a problem after the intense popularity the regular crew stirred up. Even the season ticket holders have to pull rank at times as they’ve clearly been there for years when most people wouldn’t give the A’s the time of day; something I really admire about everyone. The A’s were just finishing up their batting practice session as the Mariners pitchers were taking the field for warm-up. Tommy had met a number of the Mariners players during Fan Fest back in January, as well as during his Top-52 campaign in which he received full support from the Mariners; it’s still a mystery why he didn’t move on. Equipped with his King Felix crown and cape, Tommy shuffled down to the front and hailed to some of the pitchers. Most of them waved and said hey to him, Charlie Furbush, of all people, spotted me and gave me the total bro full-extension finger point hello… which I of course returned. We have a history…

Batting practice for the Mariners was rather entertaining. Michael Morse, one of my favorite players in the league, was hitting absolute bombs during his session. One of which was crushed to dead center and off the grim trim about 25 feet above the wall and could have easily kept going had it not been in the way.

But overall, it was great to be back in the Coliseum. Things of course didn’t end so well the last time I was there as the A’s had unfortunately lost Game five of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, but none of that really seemed to matter as the Tigers celebrated their victory. All of the fans rose to their feet and gave the A’s a standing ovation for all the hard work and dedication they had displayed throughout the 2012 season. That night was the only time I had ever cried when leaving a sporting event. I, and especially my friends, didn’t want the magic to end. Not for our sake, but because last year’s team had been so valiant. Critics and baseball fans alike had counted the A’s out of contention well before the season had started, but none of that seemed to get to the players.

Back on July 18 the A’s invited me to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, something I longed to do since I was a kid. Granted, my desire had always been to take the field for the A’s as a starting second baseman, but my life took a different path after I took a fastball to the nose when I was 16. Regardless of that, I was more than honored to be asked to partake in such a prestigious event in the stadium, and for the team I fell in love with almost 26 years ago. Leading up to that night Josh Reddick had hit me up on Twitter and volunteered to catch for me, a more than kind gesture in response to the All-Star campaign video I had created for him during my time in the Fan Cave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lZgFvPBGuo

A lot of my friends on Twitter had been asking me what pitch I was going to throw in the days leading up, and when the idea of a Chad Bradford submarine pitch came into the discussion I knew that was the right thing to do. The day before I practiced for a solid hour, trying to get it locked in. When I was younger I could throw submarine without much issue, but the years without practice had clearly set me back quite a bit. When the moment came, things took a different direction.

I was actually the second person who was going to be throwing out the first pitch. A woman, whose name escapes me, was the first to go. I remember hearing that she was a local Emmy Award-winning news broadcaster, but everything else is lost. She was way more nervous than I was, mostly because she would be throwing to Reddick, her favorite player. She asked me if I wouldn’t mind warming up with her, I obliged needing the practice myself. What I wasn’t expecting was having to do three interviews with a few people on the field before my throw; thus, I wasn’t able to get loose. Jonny Gomes, who I had become acquainted with a few weeks prior in Seattle, came over and chatted it up with me while the first lady took the mound. We both watched in awe as she threw a laser right down Broadway into Reddick’s glove. Gomes then turned to me, nudged my arm and said, “Well… don’t fuck it up.”

Gomes’s words resonated through my head as I took to the mound, making sure to jump over the chalked third baseline on my way (I’m very superstitious). I wasn’t allowed to throw until they finished with my introduction, which was long, but rather touching. BY the time it was time to throw, my mind was firing in all different directions and I just tossed the ball to the plate with little-to-no form. Had there been a right-handed batter in the box, I would have hit them in the thigh. Thus, it was a little outside, but I didn’t throw it over or bounce it. I was relieved. Reddick then popped up to shake my hand and the first words that came out of his mouth were, “I thought you were going to throw submarine.”

I’ve always made sure to wear this hat to any home games I attend, in keeping with the A’s uniform style. For that, I marked it up with the two guys who influenced me the most throughout my 26 years of going to the Coliseum to cheer on my team.

#25- Mark McGwire is still, hands down, my favorite player of all time. During that fateful first game back in 1987 I witnessed him hit his 14^th home run on the season off of Mike Boddicker which ended up being one of his record 49 that season as a rookie. That season McGwire also finished with a .289 batting average and 118 RBI, yet he only managed to pull the Rookie of the Year award and finish in sixth place for the AL MVP. Finish in second or third place I could understand as George Bell of the Toronto Blue Jays had won the MVP that year with a .308 average, 47 home runs and 134 RBI. But sixth!? C’mon! It seemed like every game I attended at the Coliseum it was Big Mac’s moment to shine. I think I witnessed 15 of his 583 career home runs at the Coliseum, all of which look all the more magnificent with the Oakland Hills in the backdrop. I never say him play after construction of Mt. Davis, which was probably for the better.

McGwire was the 10^th overall pick in the 1984 draft out of USC (as an Oregon grad I really hate USC). He made his debut in 1986, but obviously made his rookie campaign in 1987, as I mentioned above. McGwire’s Major League career with the A’s lasted from 1986- the trade deadline of the 1997 season, which still leaves a bit of sour taste in my mouth especially since he made the AL All-Star team that year. McGwire made nine All-Star Game appearances throughout his Oakland career, won two Silver Slugger awards and won his only Gold Glove of his career at first base in 1990.

No matter what transpired during or after his career, I honestly don’t care. While I know I preach a lot about the purity of the game, the performance enhancing drug discussion is usually one I tend to remove myself from. After all, as a lot of writers and comedians have discussed, “Wouldn’t you take something that you knew would help you make more money?” McGwire was a hero in Oakland to a lot of kids, even with his one World Series ring aside. And that’s all that truly matters.

#16- In my younger years I was a big Jason Giambi fan; however, I never actually witnessed Giambi play in person. I felt I needed to point this out before I start my praise of the man, the myth, the beard.

Reddick is by far one of the coolest guys I ever had the opportunity of meeting last season. He and I first became acquainted while I was in the Fan Cave and I had hit him up on Twitter to let him know I was going to make a video on him. I then (awkwardly) asked him to follow me so I could bounce ideas off of him. He didn’t. Thanks to the trusty internet and the New York Oakland A’s Fan Club we were able to pull our resources and knowledge together to put together one of the best videos I’ve ever created. Once I got it finished and out on the interwebs Reddick approved. Not only that, but Jim Ross, the former voice and talent scout for World Wrestling Entertainment also passed it along.

Last season Reddick hit .242 in his first full season; however, he cranked out 32 homers and 85 RBI, both of which were tops for the A’s. He also had 14 outfield assists, which were tied for second best in the AL. This was one thing that I made sure to tout about in the video I created because most All-Star votes are usually based on offensive prowess. Reddick is the prime definition of a five-tool player. Because of his cannon I was inspired to create a logo and hashtag which I dubbed: #DontRunOnReddick. There is a fair chance you saw these after my video was published…

Clearly without his help, and without his talent, these wouldn’t have been possible. Like Travis Blackley and Gomes, Reddick didn’t have to do any of the things he did, but that, in my eyes, is what takes him from being just a ball player to a superstar. He’s a fan favorite throughout the league, and he’s very social with fans on Twitter and throughout the Oakland community. As for the beard…

Money!

Even more, this shot captured by Root Sports at the end of yesterday’s game.