OAKLAND – When A’s shortstop Nick Allen performed with one among his journey ball groups as a younger child, he was given the quantity 10, which he stored for a number of extra years.
Allen remembers that the quantity 10 was additionally being worn at the moment by Miguel Tejada, who had it when he Baltimore Orioles, the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and eventually the San Francisco Giants in 2011.
“Rising up, he was positively one of many large shortstops within the sport,” stated Allen, who turns 24 in October, of Tejada. “It was actually cool seeing him play.”
Tejada, a six-time MLB All-Star, is slated to be on the Coliseum on Sunday for the A’s ceremony honoring the 2002 staff that received a then-AL file 20 consecutive video games.
The occasion just isn't solely a chance for followers to see the staff yet one more time, however can be an opportunity for present A’s gamers to familiarize themselves with members of that 103-win squad. Tejada, as an illustration, was the AL’s Most Beneficial Participant that 12 months after he hit 34 house runs to go along with an OPS of .861.
Listed here are 5 info which may have been forgotten concerning the 2002 A’s 20-game win streak.
1. BILLY IRONMAN: Then-A’s nearer Billy Koch, who's scheduled to Sunday, made 13 appearances within the 20 video games between Aug. 13 to Sept. 4, 2002. The outcomes? 9 saves, a 3-0 file, and a 1.93 ERA over 14 innings. He had 10 strikeouts and 9 walks in that point.
Nonetheless, Koch solely had one blown save in the course of the streak. That got here within the twentieth sport as he gave up an RBI single to Luis Allcea with two outs within the high of the ninth, because the Royals tied the sport 11-11. In fact, Koch ended up with the win after Scott Hatteberg’s solo house run with one out within the backside of the ninth inning.
2. FOR STARTERS: The A’s obtained largely excellent beginning pitching in the course of the streak, because the Massive Three of Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito mixed to earn the wins in 11 of 20 video games.
The A’s greatest beginning pitcher in the course of the streak, although, was Cory Lidle. He went 3-0 and allowed only one earned run over 30⅓ innings pitched over 4 begins, which included a whole sport on Aug. 21 in a 6-0 A’s win over Cleveland.
Lidle died Oct. 11, 2006, in a airplane crash in New York. His spouse, Melanie, and their son Christopher are attending the ceremony on behalf of Cory.
3. LABOR DISPUTE: A piece stoppage loomed close to the tip of August as MLB and the Gamers Affiliation frantically labored to finalize a brand new collective bargaining settlement.
Simply eight years earlier, the 1994 strike by the gamers worn out the rest of that season, plus the playoffs and the World Sequence each being canceled. May it occur once more?
Lastly, with simply hours to spare earlier than a strike deadline set by the union, the MLB and MLBPA got here collectively on a four-year settlement on Aug. 30, and baseball’s schedule continued with out a hitch. The important thing financial points that needed to be resolved at the moment have been income sharing and a luxurious tax on payrolls.
The A’s went on to win their sixteenth straight sport on Aug. 30., a 4-2 house victory over the Minnesota Twins and captured 4 extra video games in a row to set the AL file. Possibly none of it occurs if baseball doesn’t discover labor peace on the final hour.
4. NOT PULLING AWAY: The A’s entered their Aug. 13 sport with Toronto with a more-than-respectable file of 68-51 however have been nonetheless in third place within the AL West. The primary-place Seattle Mariners have been 72-46 and the Anaheim Angels have been 70-48.
The A’s moved right into a three-way tie for first place on Aug. 20 after their seventh straight win, a 6-3 victory over Cleveland. Oakland moved into sole possession of first place on Aug. 23, one sport up on Seattle, with a 9-1 win over Detroit.
Even by the tip of the 20-game streak, the A’s weren’t in a snug place. With their 12-11 win over Kansas Metropolis on Sept. 4, the A’s have been solely 3½ video games up on the Angels. Seattle had fallen seven video games again by that time.
After some spotty play in the midst of September, the A’s have been neck and neck with Anaheim once more. Lastly, Oakland righted the ship and wound up successful the division by 4 video games over the Angels, who would go on to win the World Sequence that 12 months.
5. THE VOICE: A’s play-by-play announcer Ken Korach’s calls on Tejada’s walk-off hits within the 18th and nineteenth video games of the successful streak will reside on endlessly. Korach, although, solely bought that chance as a result of Invoice King determined to stay on a scheduled trip he had deliberate round Labor Day.
Because the A’s streak was nearing file proportions, somebody talked about to King that he would possibly need to return from his trip a bit sooner than anticipated. King, although, didn’t consider was the proper factor to do to Korach, who remained the A’s most important radio play-by-play voice for a few of the streak’s most memorable moments.