OAKLAND — A sea of green jackets populated the back halls of Oakland Coliseum’s Treehouse Saturday afternoon. Five new names were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame — Vida Blue, Tony La Russa, Bert Campaneris, former owner Walter A. Haas, Jr. and Mark McGwire.
A green jacket wasn’t necessary to spot the crew of legendary Athletics, all or most still rocking some variations of their signature looks. Rollie Fingers’ curled mustache, Dennis Eckersley’s long shag and ‘stache, Mark McGwire’s goatee, Dave Stewart’s steely, competitive stare.
McGwire, once reclusive with media, fielded questions from press for 15 minutes about his strong legacy with two teams, how he and Sammy Sosa “revived baseball” following the 1994 players’ strike, their home run battle quickly transforming into global spectacle and batting practice a private show for a select 25,000.