Somehow, I totally overlooked Henderson. That definitely would have been THE media circus of them all.  

In a Jackson vs. Schmidt rivalry I don’t see Schmidt saying much (if anything) to fuel the flames. But in 1979, Henderson broke in with the A’s the same season the Phillies signed… Pete Rose. We had three or four major Philly newspapers back then and that wouldn’t have been enough to cover all the Man of Steal vs. Charlie Hustle stories.

That’s another angle right there: how the A’s championship teams of the early 70′s as well as the ’89 Bash Brothers squad would have fared under our intense media scrutiny. Jackson and Henderson no doubt would have loved it. The other players, I don’t know. I’ve always believed that when you put on a Sixers, Flyers, Phillies, or Eagles uniform, you put the weight of a championship-starved town on your shoulders along with the media that constantly reminds you about it. (I’ll never forget Schmitty saying this is the town where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day).

Thanks again for the baseball fix. Can’t wait til pitchers and catchers report.

That was one of the most awesome “What If?” questions in Philly sports. Never gave it much thought because the A’s moved long before I was born and long before that little dynasty they had in the early ’70s.

But now that I think about it… can you imagine the likes of Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Sal Bando, and Joe Rudi winning all those championships in Philly? They’d be freaking legends in this town.

And, oh yeah, that Reggie Jackson guy. Personality-wise, he was the anti-Schmidt. To have him and Schmitty playing in the same town with our fans and media… hoo boy.  Hell of a rivalry. Factor in Jackson being a Cheltenham High alum and it gets even better.

Last but not least, a little trivia: Checked the Oakland A’s 1974 roster and was surprised to find none other than Manny Trillo on the team. It was his second year in the bigs and he didn’t play much until after he joined the Cubs the following season.

Anyway, thanks for giving us a much-needed baseball fix. Got my kid a new glove and I sheepishly admit he caught me sniffing the leather on it like a crack addict. What can I say. Just hooked on baseball, man.

Pete, three comments:
1) I like the categories you’ve added.
2) I fully expect you to write a ringing endorsement for Holliday by the All Star break as you finally realize that he is a straight-up hitting machine.
3) At first I thought 2nd was a somewhat bold pick but then I looked at Texas’s starting rotation and Seattle’s lineup.

Can’t wait to read the rest.

As far as the A’s, I read a fantastic book a few years back by Rob Neyer and Eddie Epstein titled “Baseball Dynasties”.  For anyone who hasn’t read it, I highly recommend that you do.  It is packed with great info.  Anyway, in the book the A’s are credited with 3 dynasties in their existence (1911 and 1929 while in Philly and 1974 while in Oakland).  It’s wild how Connie Mack would continually repeat the cycle of building a monster ballclub only to sell everyone off when he needed money.