Stormy Weather

This week was pretty miserable.  Since Monday, I've tweaked my back for the umpteenth time.  The San Jose Sharks have lost two games in a row and have blown a 2 game lead in their playoff series.  The Oakland A's were swept by the Seattle Mariners at home.  And just when I was looking forward to walking around the monthly De Anza Flea Market tomorrow... Mother Nature decides to bring some rain to the Bay Area.

However... I refuse to let a little rain and my favorite teams' struggles ruin my weekend.  Today I figured I'd show off some cards that JBF sent me, while featuring positive moments from Oakland A's history.

But before I get started, let's set the mood with one of my favorite songs from back in the day...

Alright, here we go...

1988 Grenada MLB Stamps

In 1930 and 1931, Lefty Grove led the American League in wins, ERA, and strikeouts thus becoming the 2nd player in MLB history to win the pitcher's Triple Crown in back to back seasons.

1981 Topps Stickers #122

In 1980, Mike Norris won his first Gold Glove Award.  But the highlight of his career was that he had the 2nd most wins, the 2nd lowest ERA, and the 2nd most Cy Young Award votes in the American League that season.

1991 Score Hottest Players #1

On 9/23/88, Canseco stole second base against the Milwaukee Brewers and became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

1989 Fleer Superstars #42

At the end of the 1988 season, Weiss won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and became the third Athletic to win it in as many years.

1990 Woolworth Baseball Highlights #29

In Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, Hendu hit two home runs and a double to help the Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants 13 to 7 exactly ten days after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

1990 Topps Glossy All-Stars #21

On June 29th, 1990... Stew pitched a no-hitter at the SkyDome against the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1992, Dennis Eckersley became the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award and MVP Award in the same season.

1998 SPx Finite #111 (#'d 7075/9000)

In 2000, Giambi terrorized pitchers and took home the AL MVP Award.  That season he led the league in on-base percentage and was in the Top 10 in batting average, home runs, RBI's, runs scored, and slugging percentage.

2005 Donruss Diamond Kings

Studio Series #DK18 (#'d 138/250)

A member of the Big Three, Mulder led the American League in wins in 2001 and has the third highest winning percentage in Athletics franchise history.

2005 Donruss Mound Marvels #15 (#'d 161/175)

And wrapping things up is a Bay Area fan favorite... Tim Hudson.  Huddy has the second highest winning percentage in franchise history.  He's second only to HOFer... Lefty Grove.

Nothing like flipping through some baseball cards and browsing Baseball Reference to help brighten up those rainy days.  Thank you Wes for providing all of the cards featured in this post.  Your JBF Bombs are always appreciated.

Hopefully you've had a chance to look through the package I shipped out a while back.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

In addition to the inserts, parallels, and oddballs featured above... Wes also sent a nice stack of hits as well:

And if that weren't enough... he also added in this beautiful hard signed patch card of Seattle Seahawks' running back, Christine Michael:

This card is seriously amazing.  Thanks again Wes!