Sayonara Salute #21: Kurt Suzuki

I saw it coming from a mile away. He's been struggling at the plate for the past three seasons and things weren't getting any better. And then it happened last Friday:

However... just because I wasn't surprised, doesn't mean I'm okay with it. The fact is... Kurt Suzuki has been my favorite baseball player for years and anytime your favorite team trades your favorite player... it hurts.

But it's part of being a fan. I've been in this same situation before:

December 5th, 1984 - The Oakland A's trade Rickey Henderson to the New York Yankees.

March 10th, 1999 - The Los Angeles Lakers trade Eddie Jones to the Charlotte Hornets.

August 7th, 2008 - The Green Bay Packers trade Brett Favre to the New York Jets.

June 24th, 2011 - The San Jose Sharks trade Devin Setoguchi to the Minnesota Wild.

And I'm sure it's going to happen again. So as I begin the healing process, I just wanted to salute Mr. Suzuki and thank him for the contributions he has made to the Oakland Athletics franchise.

There's no doubt in my mind that his leadership and defensive skills behind the plate will be missed. On the bright side... at least he'll have more opportunities to play with the Washington Nationals.

And for those of you who are wondering...

Yes... he's still my favorite player. And, yes... I'm still going to collect his cardboard... well at least the ones where he's pictured as an Athletic.

Sayonara Kurt! Best of luck in Washington. Hopefully you'll be able to turn things around offensively on the East Coast... but always know you'll be missed on the other side of the country.

What about you?

Have you ever been in my position, where you favorite player on your favorite team was traded?  Did it affect the way you collect him/her?

Happy Friday everyone!

Awesome Athletics #3: Rickey Henderson

Yesterday, marked the 33rd Anniversary of Rickey Henderson's MLB debut.

On June 24th, 1979, Rickey made his first appearance as a major leaguer for the Oakland Athletics and went 2 for 4 with a double against the Texas Rangers. He also stole the first of his MLB record 1,406 career stolen bases.

It didn't take long for The Man of Steal to become a superstar and my favorite player until the A's traded him to the New York Yankees in 1984. He would eventually come back to Oakland as a free agent in 1990 and although Tony Gwynn had become my new favorite player, Rickey was still my favorite Athletic.

During his 25 year career, he jumped around the league and played for 9 different teams. But he spend 14 of those seasons with the Oakland A's and played 1,704 games with them, which is the 2nd most in franchise history. In fact, he's all over the A's record books:

6,140 At Bats (2nd All-Time)

1,270 Runs Scored (1st All-Time)

1,768 Hits (3rd All-Time)

1,271 Singles (2nd All-Time)

2,640 Total Bases (4th All-Time)

289 Doubles (6th All-Time)

1,227 Walks (1st All-Time)

867 Stolen Bases (1st All-Time)

His career numbers are even more impressive which is why he was a first ballot hall of famer in 2009 and is considered by many to be the best leadoff hitter in the history of the game. More importantly... he's one of the greatest Athletics to take the field in Oakland and he's one of my all-time favorite players.

Here's your question of the day...

Who were your childhood favorites (players)? Do you collect their cards & memorabilia? If so, what's your favorite item (of your favorite childhood player) in your collection?

1 point - Leave your response below.

3 points - Post your response your blog and leave a link below, so other can enjoy what you wrote.

I'll accept responses for this post until Tuesday at 3pm (PST). I look forward to reading all of your responses.

Here's my favorite Rickey Henderson item:

If I had to rank my favorite cards, this one would have to be somewhere in the top 50. It features a classic photo and a decent design. Plus it's hard not to think about 80's rookie cards without including this one. Okay... that's all I've got.

By the way, if you're interested in checking out the current contest standings are click here.

Happy Sunday & sayonara!

Awesome Athletics #2: Jose Canseco

Love him... or hate him... Jose Canseco left his mark on our hobby. As a lifelong A's fan, I've been a fan since his 40/40 days during the late 80's. I'll be honest, I got rid of most of my collection when he was traded to the Rangers. But there's always been a part of me that's been a fan of his.

I know a lot of people consider him to be a snitch... a sell-out... a cheater... and just about every other name in the book. But before any of this happened he was a hero to a lot of A's fans. Don't worry... I've learned from this mistake. I remind my students that athletes are entertainers... and parents are role models.

So today, I'm not going to discuss his mistakes. Instead, I'm going to focus his accomplishments on the diamond.

Canseco will probably never have a plaque in Cooperstown and rightfully so. However his stats and accomplishments as an Athletic are impressive nonetheless. In 1986, he won the American League ROY award. Two years later, he won the AL MVP award after leading the league in slugging percentage (.569), home runs (42) and RBI's (124). That year he also became the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

Then in 1989, he helped the A's win the World Series against the San Francisco Giants in the Battle of the Bay. He made the all-star team five times as an Athletic (6x in all) and was also the recipient of the Silver Slugger Award three times (4x in all).

As an Athletic, he hit 254 home runs (4th all-time), 793 RBI's (6th all-time), and 1,096 strikeouts (2nd all-time).

I know that many of you are saying to yourselves, "he only accomplished this because of PED's" and you're probably right. It's sad that so many players tarnished the game, but luckily some have been caught... and hopefully justice will prevail. Although... at this point... I'm not quite sure what that means.

Anyways... this post isn't honoring Jose "the user" Canseco... it's honoring Jose "the Oakland Athletic" Canseco.

Now it's time for today's question of the day: Have you ever stopped liking one of your favorite player's, because of an "on" or "off" the field decision they made? If so... who and why?

If you look at my PC... "drama" and my "favorite players" seem to go hand in hand.

Have a great week... Sayonara!

Awesome Athletics #1: Jim "Catfish" Hunter

I've been an A's fan for as long as I can remember. My older brother introduced me to baseball and took me to games on a regular basis. Growing up in the Bay Area, you were either a fan of the A's or a fan of the Giants. Anyone else didn't matter. For whatever reason, we attended A's games 95% of the time and so that's where my love for Finley's green, white, and gold originated.

This new series will focus on my favorite current and former Athletics. I'll include cards from my A's PC, which include autographs, memorabilia cards, and rookie cards.

First up.... Jim "Catfish" Hunter. I'll be honest... I can't remember ever watching Hunter pitch. But I remember hearing stories about his ability to win big games for the A's (his postseason record with the A's was an amazing 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA) and of course his perfect game against the Twins in 1968.

He pitched for the Athletics for 10 seasons. In that time, he won 161 regular season games, had a 3.13 ERA, and made the all-star team 6 times (2 more times w/ the Yankees). He also won the Cy Young award in his final season with the A's (1974). That year he led the league in wins, ERA, and WHIP.

The following year, Hunter became the highest paid pitcher in baseball when he signed with the New York Yankees. Luckily, I was only 3 years old at the time, so I didn't have any anger towards his move from the green & gold to Yankee pinstripes.

In 1987 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He chose to have no team insignia on his HOF plaque, because he wanted to be remembered for his accomplishments as both a Yankee and an Athletic. Three years later, the A's retired Hunter's number (27).

On September 9th, 1999 Jim "Catfish" Hunter passed away at the age of 53. Although eleven years have passed, Mr. Hunter's contributions to the Oakland A's will always be remembered.

Question of the day: Do you collect anyone who played before you were born? If so... who and why?