left to right, Manolo Hernandez Douen, Amaury Pi Gonzalez, and Miguel Tejada celebrate Tejada’s induction into the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame on Sat Aug 17, 2024 at the Oakland Coliseum (photo by Jose Orellana KIQI radio)
Miguel Tejada Inducted into the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
OAKLAND–On Sunday, the 18th of August, before the second game of the last ever Bay Bridge series against the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A’s ceremony on the field officially inducted these players as the sixth Oakland A’s Hall of Fame class of 2024. Born in the Dominican Republic, Miguel Tejada, born in Cuba, José Canseco, who choked up at ther end of his acceptance speech on the field, saying he never dreamed of receiving this honor.
A sunny and joyful afternoon at the Coliseum in front of 32,727 A’s and Giants fans it resembled a big family during an Oakland historic and sad day. We will never again see the Oakland A’s play the San Francisco Giants at this Oakland Alameda-County Coliseum, the home of the four-time World Series champion Oakland A’s.
This was indeed a historic day here in the East Bay. The Giants arrived from New York in 1958, and the A’s from Kansas City in 1968. Numerous families in the Bay Area share fans for each team. They have been friendly geographical rivals ever since.
Miguel Tejada visited the A’s Spanish Radio booth, something the affable ex-player has done in the past, but this time sporting a very bright, nice green jacket, minutes after being inducted into the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame. A humble Miguel Tejada told us about his inspiration for baseball, his Dominican Republic compatriot Juan Marichal.
I asked Miguel about his family, who accompanied him in receiving this well-deserved honor. I asked him about his 10-year-old son, and he told me he was playing baseball and might be another shortstop.
Miguel Tejada played for the A’s from 1997 to 2003. A six-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, the 2002 American League MVP, and the 2005 All-Star game MVP. His career spanned 16 years, mainly with the A’s, and he made stops later in Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, and San Francisco.
In his better years, he was wearing Green and Gold. Inducted also; Hall of Fame Broadcaster Bill King (1927-2005), Manager Dick Williams (1921-2011), and Eddie Joost, who was born in San Francisco and played in the 1940s as an infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics. Carney Lansford, a 2023 inductee, was also there.
In 2019, A’s Cuban-born shortstop Dagoberto Blanco (Campy) Campaneris, the great lead-off hitter who Reggie Jackson once called a key piece of the A’s 1970s dynasty, was inducted into the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame.
Campy played the most number of games in Oakland Athletics franchise history, with 1,795 games in his career. Campaneris was the A’s shortstop during those three consecutive World Championships in 1972-73-74. Campy Campaneris is the A’s Franchise All-Time Hits Leader (1882), All-Time Plate Appearances Leader (7895), All-Time At Bats Leader (7180),
Tremendous shortstop defensively, a base stealer, a great bunter (a lost art today), and an excellent teammate. He is a humble man who represented his country of Cuba, Major League Baseball, and the Oakland Athletics, as well as anybody I know.
There are no more ceremonies scheduled for the A’s in 2024. The A’s missed retiring #19, the number Dagoberto Blanco (Campy) Campaneris wore during their dynasty of the 70s. Unfortunately, fans who wanted to see his number retired will never see it.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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