OAKLAND - Dennis Eckersley was honored Friday afternoon at the Coliseum. Then the A's gave a performance that certainly had to appeal to the Hall of Fame pitcher.
Kendall Graveman turned in his best start since returning from the disabled list, and the relief combo of Chris Hatcher and Blake Treinen shut the door in a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The opener of a brief three-game homestand had a nostalgic pregame vibe with Eckersley on hand for a ceremony to rename the Coliseum's Gate D after him, with former A's teammates Rickey Henderson, Carney Lansford, Mike Moore and Terry Steinbach on hand to join in the celebration.
Eckersley, who won the 1992 MVP and Cy Young awards with the A's, was gracious in accepting his honor. And while the gate ceremony was all about commemorating the past, Eckersley also expanded on what he hopes is a prosperous future for the A's.
"It seems like things are happening here. Things have changed, for the good," he said. "A lot of positive stuff. You can feel it, it seems different."
For a guy who was born in Oakland and went to high school in Fremont, Eckersley doesn't get back to the Coliseum much. For many years now, he's served as a TV analyst for the Boston Red Sox. So what exactly does he notice is different around the Coliseum?
"I don't know, just the energy of hopefully getting a new stadium," Eckersley said. "It almost feels real. I don't think they're messing around. At least that's how it feels. I don't know, I hope so."
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The good vibes carried over to Friday's game against a Texas team that is battling in a crowded American League Wild Card race.
The A's mustered just four hits over seven innings against Rangers righty Nick Martinez. But Khris Davis mashed two homers, snapping back to life after a 2-for-26 stretch with 12 strikeouts over his previous six games.
It was a timely performance for the man who wore "Khrush" on the back of his jersey. A's players are wearing alternative uniforms with nicknames in conjunction with Players Weekend festivities across the majors.
"I better live up to that name," Davis said.
Graveman had the trademark movement on his sinker, but he also mixed in a backdoor cutter and an effective changeup. Hatcher and Treinen, two names nowhere on the A's bullpen radar throughout the first half of this season, are showing signs of perhaps forming an effective late-inning combo for a relief core in need of some stability.
From that aspect, the game had to be pleasing to Eckersley.
One effort the A's have made since Dave Kaval took over as team president is to engage the franchise's living legends more, and Eckersley certainly is one. He, along with Rickey Henderson, hold the title of special assistant to the president, although it's tough for Eckersley to be too active in that role while based on the East Coast.
But he was genuine when sharing what it meant for the A's to reach out to him and acknowledge his nine-year career in green and gold, which included 320 saves and four All-Star appearances, three AL pennants from 1988-90 and the '89 World Series championship.
"The older you get, you reflect a lot more and you understand," Eckersley said. "(The connection to the A's) means so much more the longer you've been away from it. I don't know if I appreciated it enough … But boy, we had it going on there for a while. It's not that easy to have a team like we had those three years."
