By Morris Phillips

When asked for his reaction to being selected to the All-Star game after spending much of April and May wondering if John Jaso would bypass him as the A’s starting catcher, Derek Norris kept coming back to one word.

“Surreal.”

Quite appropriate because that word describes the A’s weekend in which they beat the Blue Jays four straight, surprised all of major league baseball with a bold trade and then capped it off with the announcement that six (seven) A’s had been chosen as All-Stars.

And while the A’s may be a bit shocked by all their good fortune and shaking their collective heads, they haven’t lost their heads. Their brilliant performance on the field over the weekend speaks to that: the A’s allowed Toronto four runs in four games, and trailed for just two plus innings in the entire series.

On Sunday, Jeff Samardzija made his A’s debut and the pep in his step undoubtedly created by his transformation from being a last-place Cub to a first-place Athletic was noticeable from the start. The A’s prized acquisition showed off his classic fastball, slider mix in shutting down the Jays through seven innings. Samardzija allowed four hits and a run, striking out five and while looking nothing like a pitcher with a 2-7 record, which he had with the Cubs in his 17 starts there.

The A’s offense weighed in with a run in the second and two more in the fourth to back their new pitcher which at least to Samardzija must have felt surreal. The 29-year old right hander threw seven innings of shutout baseball for the Cubs on Opening Day only to see the lovable losers fall to the Pirates that day, 1-0 in 10 innings. And that was just the start of the challenging conclusion of Samardzija’s career in the Windy City: through 10 starts this season, his ERA sat at 1.46, the lowest in the history of the game for a pitcher with 10 starts under his belt without having at least one win.

Through all of that, Samardzija’s attitude never suffered. And his teammates, coaches and journalists covering the team couldn’t help but notice.

“He’s been grinding all season. That’s what the good ones do; they don’t get bothered by things they can’t control,” Cubs manager Rick Renteria said at that time.

“Not once has he been negative about the run support or not having a win,” Cubs’ teammate Nate Schierholtz said.

On Sunday, Samardzija received several ovations from the O.co Coliseum crowd for his initial performance. But he could have received those same cheers for his attitude and professionalism in the midst of all the upheaval.

“Like I said yesterday, they didn’t need me here. They were doing just fine without me. I don’t want to come in and change anything and change the atmosphere. I just want to come in and add and do my part,” Samardzjia said of his new situation in Oakland.

After the game, six A’s were chosen as starters and reserves for the July 15 All-Star game, the most nods the team has received since 1975. Josh Donaldson was voted in as the starter at third base, and he will be joined by Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss, Derek Norris and pitchers Scott Kazmir and Sean Doolittle.

In a bit of surprise, Samardzjia was chosen as well for the National League team despite the trade and his poor won-loss record. His selection came via the player ballot and means he will travel to Minneapolis and wear a NL uniform for introductions, then move over to the AL dugout for the game, where he’ll lead the cheers, but be unable to participate.

“Guys around the league are paying attention and know what you’re doing,” he said of his selection.

With all seven A’s All-Stars on the interview podium after the game, the group genuinely seemed humbled, despite their baseball-best 54-33 record and their statistical superiority of which hasn’t been seen since the 2001 Seattle Mariners put up eye-popping stats on their way to 116 regular season wins.

“We’ve all taken pretty interesting paths to get where we are and we’re appreciative for it,” Moss said.

Moss was released by the Pirates in 2010. He was hitting .154 at the time. Kazmir’s career got so far off the path he didn’t pitch at all in the majors in 2011 and 2012. Doolittle used to be an infielder, a career-threatening injury led him to reinvent himself as a pitcher. Norris entered this season just trying to establish himself as a full-time starter. Donaldson was a catcher in his big league debut in 2010, but his career has blossomed after a full-time move to third base. And Cespedes’ harrowing story of his escape from Cuba was thoughtfully recounted by the Chronicle’s Susan Slusser a year ago.

And the one thing that’s allowed the group to blossom in Oakland?

“They believe in you, and you believe in yourself,” Moss said.

The A’s open the home-and-home interleague series with the Giants on Monday when Jesse Chavez faces San Francisco’s Ryan Vogelsong at 7:05pm.