In 1987 a 40+ year old Reggie Jackson, in his final year, got to hit in the same lineup with the up and coming “Bash Brothers” Canseco and McGwire. Reggie could only hope and wonder what it would have been like to have played with these two when he was in his prime. Well now he’ll get his chance. The “straw” that stirred the drink will hopefully be able to keep those two miscreants in line as the A’s attempt to outpower and outpitch the AL West. Table setters like Bert Campaneris, Billy North and Tony Phillips will do their best to get on base for the big guns. On most days a young basepath daredevil named Rickey Henderson will lead off. Arguably the games greatest lead off man, Henderson offers the rare compliment of speed, power and a great batter’s eye. The staff will be anchored by the great Catfish Hunter and the phenom Vida Blue. Dave Stewart and Bob Welch will slot in nicely in the 3 and 4 spots with Mike Noris and Blue Moon Odom vying for the #5 slot. Once you get past the starters it gets even tougher thanks to a pen that has Lindblad and Aker as the setup men and dual HOF closers in Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley. Marc Weiss will be returning to the A’s bench after leaving the franchise to head to Chicago for one season.
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