Hello everybody, this is my first official post as a member of the 38thnotes team and I couldn’t be more juiced. I have contributed to the site before under the pseudonyms OaklandsOwn22 and Town Syndrome, but my official posting name will now be Tre Eightman. I will write on a variety of topics, but will focus mainly on local sports (professional, college, and high school). If you have ideas for articles or things I should be on the look out for, please hit me up at djvernacular@netscape.net.
Sitting and relaxing on a beautiful day listening to the A’s on the radio, is something that will never get old. That is where I found myself the other day with my brother, remembering some of the most obscure A’s players of our lifetime. Every A’s fan celebrates the Bash Brothers & Rickey and the Big Three & Miggy, but there was a lost decade in the 90s that featured a rather comical cast of sub-par ballplayers that rarely got any love. This is an ode to them.
Our criteria isn’t very specific, but all the players had to play for the A’s for a few years between 1990 and 1999. Some of these guys logged some decent years for us (The Chief), some were over hyped busts (Todd Van Poppel), and some were under appreciated journeyman who spent an extended stay in the Town (Stairsy). What unifies them however is that none of them were stars and all of them contributed to an excruciating decade of A’s baseball. So enjoy me and Coolhand’s picks for the A’s All-Sub-Par teams of the 1990s.
1st Team
P) Todd Van Poppel- Coming out of high school he was a can’t miss prospect, even getting dubbed “the next Nolan Ryan” by Sports Illustrated. The A’s rushed him through the minors, allowing him a mere 32 starts, and he ended up only winning 18 games for us over a 5 year career.P) Steve Karsay
P) Mike Oquist- The undisputed King of the Flat Brim
P) Billy Taylor- He could have been Eck’s brother or an extra in a hillbilly movie. He ranks 3rd on the A’s all time saves list and was one of the most consistent closers in the game for a couple years.
P) Buddy Groom- Most people right now are wondering, who would name their kid Buddy? Actually they didn’t, they named him Wedsel, which explains why he goes by Buddy. He pitched for the A’s for 4 seasons and was a great relief pitcher, more specifically a great set up man for the Hill Billy Taylor.
1B) Troy Neel- Neel played only 3 seasons with the A’s but hit .280 with 37 home runs. His post baseball career is a bit more interesting however. To avoid making child support payments he fled the country and bought an island in Vanuatu. He was eventually arrested and faces up to two years in prison. Crazy.
2B) Brent Gates
SS) Mike Bordick- That guy supposedly good enough to warrant moving Cal Ripken to 3rd Base in Baltimore.
3B) Craig Paquette
OF) Ernie Young
OF) Ryan Christenson
OF) Ben Grieve- It is hard for me to write this, since this is one of the first A’s jerseys I ever bought, but his major league career was a flop. He was a decent hitter, with a .280 average that would look good on our team now, but was a terrible fielder. His arm was so bad that he couldn’t throw it to second base from left field without a couple hops in between.
C) AJ Hinch
DH) Geronimo Berroa- Also known as “The Chief,” he was an amazing player for us for four seasons, even hitting 36 home runs one year. He had a free-swinging philosophy that was fun, if sometimes frustrating, to watch. In 2007, he was accused by another player of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
UT) Lance Blankenship
2nd Team
Pitchers) Mike Mohler, Steve Ontiveros, Ariel Prieto, Jimmey Haynes, Ron Darling
1B) Olmedo Saenz- Olmedo was one of my favorite players when he was on the team because of his ability to come through in the clutch. We have him starting at 1st, though he was mostly a pinch hitter and DH for us.
2B) Mike Gallego- Mike was a decent back up for the A’s but my fondest memory of Mike is when my cousins, brother and I went to Barnes & Noble to hear him read children’s books. Special point for perhaps being the least valuable autograph in my collection. He is now the third base coach for the A’s.
SS) Rafael Bournigal
3B) Scott Brosius- World Series MVP with the Yankees? Who woulda thunk?
OF) Adam Piatt- Apparently if you’re name isn’t Manny or A-Rod, that whole steroid thing can kind of kill your carrer.
OF) Jason McDonald
OF) Matt Stairs- Recently renamed Canadian Bacon by Coolhand, Matt is a player I’ll always remember. Maybe it’s because he’s my mom’s favorite A’s player of all time or because my brother and I always used to call him Beer Belly. Either way, Matt continues to play despite being 41 years of age… and Canadian. And to his credit he hit the long ball better than anyone else on those late 90s A’s teams.C) Ron Hassey
DH) Ruben Sierra- A poor man’s Barry Bonds. Same dangling cross earring, same physique, slight discrepancy in talent.
UT) Scott Spiezio
