Gary

LATEST ARTICLES ( 131 )

• An Old Friend Has Returned.

  

  1976 ToppsReading is one of the few things that calms my mind for any given length of time as concentrating on any one thing for long moments poses some... Read more

  Posted on 29 May 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• “Bip” the Player Meets “Bip” the Cat.

  

  Around Fall 2001 I was moving in to a new place with my girlfriend at the time; she was 21, petite, had short red hair, a great sense of humor, loved to eat... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Be Nice to Your Pizza Delivery Guy!!!!

  

  For those of you who aren’t A’s fans, catcher Bruce Maxwell was arrested this off-season after a delivery driver told the police a highly intoxicated Maxwell... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• I Should Be Dead.

  

  I was hanging out with a friend the other day when a stranger put a gun to my head. I thought I was dead. I told him I was leaving and thought he was going to... Read more

  Posted on 23 April 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Carney Lansford and the Cosmos.

  

  My middle school science teacher was a die-hard Giants fan. Our class listened to the ’89 NLCS game 5 clincher against the Cubs and Mark Grace on a portable... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Even More Self Indulgent Childhood Memories.

  

  Childhood often walks the fine-line between the blissful and boring, and Big League Chew was an integral part of the blissful “baseball experience” that my... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• 2 Boys Trading Baseball Cards, Summer 1974.

  

  Looks like he’s, well, you know.Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” poured out of the Mustang in the driveway as Pete and Nick sat on the front porch. Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2018 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Green and Gold Fan Spotlight

  

  Carmen was destined to become an A’s fan from birth, born and raised in Oakland, the child of a 60’s era, black leather jacket clad Huey Newton... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Baseball Card Time Travels.

  

  As I pull this baseball card from the pile it takes me on a long forgotten trip back to the 1990’s and the bottomless pit of purgatory known as Jr. High School. Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• A Short Story Ode to Mike Epstein

  

  It is a cold December night in 1972, and I am with Mike Epstein and his wife. We are exiting his cherry-red Ford Thunderbird and about to enter the Marshmallow... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Jeff Jones and the 1981 Topps Baseball Card.

  

  At present, I am particularly excited by “bad taste.” I have the deep feeling that there exists in the very essence of bad taste a power capable of creating... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Jessica Canseco Gives the 411 on Jose’s Dong.

  

  The following was taken from Jessica Canseco’s book, “Juicy: Confessions of a former baseball wife.”…we kissed for awhile and I relaxed a little, but then I... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• A Short Story Ode to Mickey Klutts.

  

  “Baseball is a universe as large as life itself, and therefore all things in life, whether good or bad, whether tragic or comic, fall within its domain. Read more

  Posted on 06 August 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Some Thoughts About the Game.

  

  “I believe in the Church of Baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I’ve worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva,... Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Mark McGwire and Heshers from the Past.

  

  Now that we know the baseball card craze of the 80’s/90’s was a facade with no chance of anyone (besides the industry itself) making profit, we can laugh at... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• The Baseball Gods Have a Message, and They Have a Sense of Humor.

  

  And as I crossed the Sacramento River towards the stadium, perhaps the baseball gods had a message for me with their semi-divine detachment? Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2017 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Former Pitcher Brian Kingman Reviews “Fastball John.”

  

  Reviewed by Brian KingmanFastball John is an Amazing Book!You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2016 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Bear Vs Shark. Shark Gets Eaten.

  

  I don’t have the affection towards Jeff “Shark” Samardjiza that I do for other former Athletics–he simply wasn’t in a Oakland uniform long enough for me to care... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2016 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• Turn out the Lights…the Party’s Over.

  

  This is what last place feels like.I absolutely loathe doing these sort of things–analyzations and grades are usually the penchant of a scout or a small town... Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2016 BASEBALL, SPORTS

• The Future is Here and It Looks So Bright That I Gotta Wear Shades.

  

  We unload off of the BART train like a herd of cattle and enter the dingy station with a mixture of part excitement and part bovine expression. Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2016 BASEBALL, SPORTS