A's Fans Share Their Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder Memories

Jason Burke | Jun 9, 2024

Jun 9, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics first base coach Bobby Crosby (8) poses for a photo with former pitchers Mark Mulder (20) and Tim Hudson (15) before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum, the A's held the first of a series of Alumni Sunday events, in which former A's players will be available to the public for autographs. The alumni on hand were two-thirds of the Big Three, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

The event was held in the Coliseum's East Side Club, where banners of the A's Hall of Fame inductees are hung. Among the inductees are Ray Fosse, Roy Steele, Eric Chavez, Rickey Henderson, Rollie Fingers, and Reggie Jackson. Parents who brought their children were pointing out some of the former greats, and that is what is going to be missed when Major League Baseball leaves Oakland at the end of the 2024 season.

Still, the event had a line out the door and was filled with fans in their A's colors.

Greg Lloyd came wearing his red Tim Hudson All Star Game jersey from his trip in 2000, and completed the attire with a red, white, and blue A's Independence Day hat from around that time. Greg and his grandson Bryce Rocha have both been to games this season, but this event was special for them. Being A's fans together, "that's our life" Rocha said.

After they made it through the line, Greg was excited to show off the signature he received from Hudson. Technically the players during these events aren't supposed to sign personal items, but Hudson saw him in line and gave him a nod like he knew what jersey that was and that he wanted to sign it even before Greg and Bryce made it to the table.

Two more fans, Gerry and Kathy, said their grandson is named after Tim Hudson, so they had to come to Sunday's event. They also showed off a picture of the two former hurlers with Gerry from Fan Fest presented by KMEL Jams back in the early 2000's.

Kathy and Gerry are former season ticket holders that were priced out during the recent surge in pricing a few years back. "We're in that group of diehards that are ready to give up now."

Gerry also recounted a story from when he had a previous brush with Mulder on the golf course. The lefty had hit one nearly out of bounds. "Everyone's looking for his ball and I actually found it and handed it to him." He added with a chuckle, "I found out later that I'd cost him a stroke."

The word that kept circling around when fans talked about Hudson was bulldog, because that's what he was on the mound. Huddy was the alwaysace of the staff. Most nights he was going to go out there and provide innings, and at the very least keep the A's in the game, if not shut the opposition down entirely.

In 2003 he went toe-to-toe with Pedro Martínez in Game 1 of the ALDS in front of 50,606 Oakland fans. Huddy went 6 2/3 and Pedro went seven with each pitcher giving up three runs. Pedro ended up with the lowest ERA in baseball during the regular season and finished third in the AL Cy Young race. Hudson and his 2.70 ERA finished fourth in the Cy voting.

But the guy sitting next to him on Sunday was pretty good, too. Mulder is remembered fondly by fans and media members alike for being a quick worker. Brian, who flew up from Los Angeles to meet Mulder for the first time, recalled a game where the lefty was facing Mark Buehrle and the Chicago White Sox, and the game went so quickly that the fireworks show that followed the game was delayed while they waited for it to get dark.

Brian is a collector of Mark Mulder baseball cards, because he's the player that got Brian into the A's in the first place. "I just liked watching him pitch. He was quick and efficient."

Between the reverse boycott on Friday night and Sunday's alumni event, A's fans had a couple of reasons to push some of their frustrations with the team's impending relocation to the side. The vibes were a little better this weekend than they have been all year. Yet, even with A's legends from the past on hand, the people in attendance were still thinking about how this is all going to go away in just a few months.