Politics & social justice are important...but today, I'm talking about baseball!
Sunday morning in late January is not when you expect to find thousands of baseball fans getting together, but think again when the town is Oakland! Two months before the season opener against Seattle Mariners at the Coliseum, 10,000 fans turned up for this year's Oakland A's sellout Fan Fest.
Roaring cheers welcomed the 2013 team in the Oracle Arena and echoed their farewell standing ovation after last October's Game 5 AL playoff loss to the Detroit Tigers at the Coliseum. Chanting "Let's Go Oakland!", fans welcomed Billy Beane, AL executive of the year, Bob Melvin, AL manager of the year, along with mascot Stomper, and many of last year's stars -- including Yeonis Cespedes, Josh Reddick (whose beard may soon rival that Brian Wilson's across the Bay at AT&T Park), Coco Crisp (catch his retro Afro), and a dozen or more players to the opening chapter of the 2013 season.
Melvin said the Fanfest recaptured the deep faith the A's felt from fans whose cheers kept them on the field even as the Tigers celebrated their victory at the first base dugout.
The right field bleacher veterans greeted newcomers Chris Young (centerfielder acquired from the Diamondbacks) and shortstop Hiro Nakajima to the team. Young drew the most questions, including a fan's request to dance the Bernie (which he did with Reddick), and what flavor pie he liked best (Young nervously glanced at Reddick and behind a curtain for the walk-off ritual that hopefully awaits him this year).
Comcast commentators Shooty Babbitt and Casey Pratt fed questions to a panel including Melvin, Beane, Reddick and Young. Melvin said Young, whom he had coached in Phoenix, knows how to push all his buttons. And Beane diplomatically said Young was his choice of any baseball player in either league that he wanted to join the team off-season.
One serious question to Beane and Melvin focused on second base - where Scott Sizemore, Jemile Weeks and Adam Rosales will duke it out in spring training to replace traded Cliff Pennington. The GM and manager said that was still a question mark, but they felt good about the choices already on the team.
Go A's!
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