Eckersley feels new park

Dennis Eckersley has heard A’s stadium talk for years, for decades, and wonders whether a groundbreaking might someday be a reality.

“The energy of hopefully getting a new stadium, it almost feels real,” Eckersley said. “I don’t think they’re messing around. I think it’s come to that. At least that’s how I feel. I don’t know. I hope so, more than anything.”

The Hall of Fame pitcher was at the Coliseum on Friday night as the A’s named Gate D after him. He was accompanied by family and four former teammates: Rickey Henderson, Carney Lansford, Terry Steinbach and Mike Moore.

Eckersley will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday’s game.

“I never planned on having a gate named after myself,” he said. “It’s neat, it really is. It’s nice for the A’s to do that. It seems like things are happening here. Things have changed, for the good. A lot of positive stuff. You could feel it.”

The A’s haven’t announced a stadium site or funding plan. Three Oakland options remain, including the Coliseum site.

“Everybody knows they need a new stadium,” said Eckersley, a graduate of Washington High School in Fremont. “It’s just a matter of getting it done. It’s not that easy, obviously. They have a lot of young players. It’s hard for them to win this thing. It’s not that easy. You’ve got to have the revenue to do it.

“They’ve made a few runs at it, though, just recently. When they were doing that, I thought that was incredible. What they were doing with what they had then. Just imagine if they get a new stadium.

“I’ll be happy if they ever do get one. I’m a Bay Area kid at heart, man.”

Briefly: The A’s placed pitcher Paul Blackburn on the 10-day disabled list three days after he bruised his hand on a comebacker. Manager Bob Melvin said Blackburn wasn’t responding well enough to throw his regular between-starts session. ... The A’s recalled pitcher Michael Brady to replace Blackburn and Mark Canha to replace Rajai Davis, who was traded to Boston on Wednesday. Canha, who was 5-for-16 during a quick A’s stint in early August, will platoon in center field with Boog Powell and start Saturday against Rangers lefty Cole Hamels . ... Chris Smith, who has been available out of the bullpen, will start Tuesday in Anaheim.