Mcgwire welcomed to A’s Hall of Fame
Slugger joined by Blue, Campaneris, Haas Jr., La Russa in Class of ’19
OAKLAND >> A sea of green jackets populated the back halls of Oakland Coliseum’s Treehouse on Saturday afternoon. Five new names were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame — Vida Blue, Tony La Russa, Bert Campaneris, former owner Walter A. Haas Jr. and Mark Mcgwire.
A green jacket wasn’t necessary to spot the crew of legendary Athletics, all or most still rocking some variations of their signature looks. Rollie Fingers’ curled mustache, Dennis Eckersley’s long shag and ‘stache, Mark Mcgwire’s goatee, Dave Stewart’s steely, competitive stare.
Mcgwire, once reclusive with the media, fielded questions from the press for 15 minutes about his strong legacy with two teams, how he and Sammy Sosa “revived baseball” following the 1994 players’ strike, their home run battle quickly transforming into a global spectacle and batting practice a private show for a select 25,000.
“When I go to a lot of places, they think I’m a Cardinal. I always say to them, ‘I was with the A’s for 14 years and only with the Cardinals for five.’ It’s amazing,” Mcgwire said.
Life as a father raising a few future ball players, sons Max (first baseman) and Mason (pitcher, with a devastating splitter), has kept Mcgwire a little removed from the big league game — though, he knows and is impressed by Peter Alonso, whose 50 home runs just set a new rookie record. Mcgwire held it (with his 49 in 1987) until Aaron Judge broke it in 2017.
A couple new inductees are paying close attention. Blue and Campaneris shared their thoughts on the 2019 A’s.
Have you kept up with the A’s this year? What’s stood out to you?
Campy: “I watch them all the time, I have my channels set up so I can watch Oakland, Angels, Texas and the Yankees (all the teams Campaneris played for in his 19-year career). But my favorite is Oakland. They have a good chance this year, they’re playing good.”
Blue: “I’ve been watching them the last couple years. They’re in the shadows of the Houston Astros with 90-plus wins again like they had last year. I think, in a sense, it might be good for them for it to be this way, because it allows them to go about their business without any added pressure. Next thing you know they’ll be showing the world they’re a special group of young men.”
What stands out to you about this team? What similarities do you see between this squad and the successful A’s teams you were part of?
Campy: “Back then we had good pitching, that’s how we won in ‘72, ‘73, ‘74 is we had three great pitchers (on each team). Rollie Fingers, Bobby Locker, Darold Knowles. You have to have pitching. You have to have good base running. You have to have everything to win. Right now they are pitching good, they just have to keep it going. It’s good right now, they have a chance to go all the way.”
Blue: “Thing I watched the most is the pitching. You have to consider that Khris Davis — what does he have now, 22 home runs? — last year he had 40-plus. Chapman and other guys have picked up the slack so they’re doing it the right way. And you have a different hero every day and that’s what baseball is about. The A’s aren’t the only team doing this, several teams are playing good right now, but the A’s are playing well right now and that’s the key to a successful team come playoff time.
“I think it’s a pretty special group and Bob Melvin is the right group for this group of men. The team adapts the attitude of the manager and Bob is a pretty even-keeled guy. He doesn’t get too high or too low and that attributes to the success of this team. You can have controlled aggression and you can get too laid back too, but somewhere in the middle is right where they are and shows the success they’re having.”
Do you see a promising mentality in this team?
Blue: “I know what it’s like to be at the top of the mountain top and what it’s like to be six feet under. Quietly, I’m expecting really good things from these guys. Based on the way they went to New York and played the Yankees and last trip where they played the Astros tough.”
Campy: “You have to have good pitching, hitting and so far everything is going their way. They have to beat the Yankees or Astros. Oakland already beat both, so when you beat a team like that you think they can beat them three, four times in a playoff.”