Those late 1980s Oakland Athletics teams were the reasonI became a baseball fan.
Wait, that's not entirely true. I became an A's fan in 1981 -- asnonsensically explained here -- and Rickey Henderson was my first"favorite" player. But, from1981-1985, I lived in North Carolina. Back then, being a fan of a west coast MLB team meant youmight see them play on television once or twice a year (LosAngeles Dodgers, excepted) and see one-third of their boxscores in the nextday's newspaper.
By the time we moved back to California, Rickey had beentraded to the Yankees. In 1986-87, theA's ushered in a new era of still unexplained power behindthe bats of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. In 1988, Oakland began a run of four division titles in five years alongwith three American League pennants and one world championship. Rickey rejoinedthe A's in 1989, but Oakland's not-quite-dynasty was as much about theirpitching as they were about their hitting.
Dave Stewart was Oakland's ace starting pitcher duringthis time, posting four consecutive 20-win seasons from 1987-90 and winning theWorld Series MVP award for the 1989 championship team -- he gave me autographbefore a game that year and later, he threw me a ball during batting practice. Acknowledgingmy obvious bias, he remains the best big game arm I've ever seen and is my second-favorite Oakland A's player ever.
These days, Stewart lives in Poway -- a small town about10 minutes east of Stately Bootleg Manor -- and works as a player agent (theDodgers' newly-minted 200-million dollar man Matt Kemp is his most famousclient). He also manages a local youthtravel ball squad...which is how my eight-year-old son Jalen first met him. Stewart's team regularly trains at the samebaseball skills facility where Mrs. Bootleg and I send Jalen during hissurprisingly frequent, week-long "breaks" and "vacations"during the school year.
Several months ago, J casually mentioned that one of theinstructors was going to introduce him to Stewart. It was said with the same tone he uses tooffhandedly announce that he farted -- an event which, for some reason, hefeels the need to keep my wife and I apprised of in real time, whether he's inthe same room or not.
Jalen's knowledge and affection for Oakland A's baseballis well-known over at the baseball facility. Despite his age, he can cite names and numbers for the squads thatplayed in the 1970s and 1980s just as well as he can for today's teams. (And, no, I don't knowwhere he gets it from. Why do youask?) But, when he told me that he'd bemeeting Dave Stewart, I pooh-poohed it. "Oh, yeah?" I remembermumbling. "Well, if you do, tellhim he's my all-time favorite pitcher."
At the end of the day, Mrs. Bootleg sent me a cell phonepicture of Jalen holding an autographed baseball card. Jalen had met Dave Stewart. My son -- born almost 10 years after Stewartretired -- had met Dave Stewart. Before me. When I got home, I peppered J with questions. It turns out Jalen DID tell Stewart that hewas my all-time favorite pitcher. HEE!
A few weeks later, it was Mrs. Bootleg's turn. My wife -- who NEVER saw Stewart pitch andonly married into the six months of Oakland Athleticsbaseball she enjoys every year -- saw Stewart at a popular localbar/restaurant. I had just startedpractice for J's fall baseball team that afternoon, so Mrs. Bootleg texted mewith the news. She introduced herself asJalen's mom and -- according to my wife -- Stewart went on and on about J. He complimented Jalen's game, his enthusiasmand his freak-show encyclopedic knowledge of the A's.
Afterwards, my wife and son periodically ran into Stewartduring baseball camps, at the supermarket and similar places that I frequentjust as much as they do. Finally, during a Thanksgiving week camp, I left work early to pick Jup. As I walked in, Jalen was literallydragging another boy by the arm and in the direction of...ohmygod, ohmygod,ohmygod...DAVE STEWART.
The other boy seemed skeptical that he was in thepresence of late 1980s/early 1990s greatness. "Jalen says you're somebody famous", the ignorant little sh*tsniffed in Mr. Stewart's direction. "Well, I used to be", Stewart graciously responded. At the sight of me, Stewart turned, extendeda hand and asked, "Are you Jalen's dad?" I suppressed my ear-piercing squeal. We talked for a good 10 minutes.
Charmin Soft -- I was genuinelysurprised at how soft Stewart's right hand was. I know it sounds silly, but this is a guy whothrew more than 2,600 innings during a 16-year big league career. When I mentioned this to Mrs. Bootleg shecondescendingly responded, "You KNOW he probably gets regular pedicures,right?" I covered my ears, ranupstairs and slammed the bedroom door behind me.
What J Has to Say... -- The other boywas still standing there, sizing Stewart up. "What was your best year in the Major Leagues?", heasked. Stewart responded with his 1990campaign and rattled off some stats (which we'll get to in a moment). Whenever Stewart paused, Jalen helpfully jumpedin with something else from that season ("And, you threw a no-hitter against Toronto!" "And, you pitched in the World Series againstCincinnati" "And, you beat Roger Clemens a lot!") Stewart wrapped J up in a bear hug andexclaimed, "I love this boy! How do you know all that?" Here, I jumped in and said, "Hey, Iraised him well!" Oh, shut up. I'd like to see how YOU'D respond to meetingyour all-time favorite pitcher.
Fact Check -- Stewart was alittle fast and loose with his résumé. He told the boy he went 24-5 with200-something strikeouts in 1990. I'll let it slide.
Fact Check II -- Stewart was listed at6'2" during his playing career. I'm6'0" and appeared to have at least an inch on him. When I mentioned this toMrs. Bootleg, she acted like I'd insulted her future boo. "Oh, he's DEFINITELY taller than you. Every time I've met him, I couldn't get overhow tall he was." My wife is4'8". Make your own judgments abouther Lilliputian viewpoint.
Inside Information -- One of Stewart'sother clients is current A's 1B/DH Chris Carter. Carter had something of a breakthrough seasonin Oakland this year (.350 OBP, .514 SLG, 16 home runs). Stewart mentioned him as a player to watchfor next season and then offered what I'll treat as a few, uh... "off therecord" opinions on how the A's have treated Carter during his brief MLBcareer. Suffice to say, Stewart thinksCarter will hit 40 home runs with regular playing time.
"Can We Have Your PhoneNumber?" -- I mentioned that I take Jalen up to Oakland to seean A's game once a year. Stewart lit upat this and insisted that the next time we go, I should let him know and he'llarrange for us to sit in his diamond level seats and watch batting practicefrom the field.
Damn it, Stew. Youand I both know that this will never happen. Besides, how would I reach you? I don't even have your phone... "Can we have your phone number, DaveStewart?!", Jalen blurted out.
I don't know WHY he asked (or why he called Stewart byhis full name, as if he were cutting a promo on a WWE wrestler), but Stewartgave me his cell phone number and asked that I call him right there, so he'dhave mine. Again, I would NEVER call himto selfishly collect on such a generous offer. Sharing those ten minutes with Stewart and my baseball-obsessed son wasworth more than free seats at the Oakland Coliseum.
Unless we're talking about the 2013 Labor Day weekendseries against the Rays. Hypothetically.
You know how to reach me, Stew.
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