And now, finally and fittingly, it\u2019s moot.<\/p>\n
Alderson, the architect of the Oakland teams<\/a> that went to the World Series three years in a row from 1988-1990, will be inducted in the A\u2019s Hall of Fame on Saturday in a pregame ceremony at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. He is part of a class that includes the late Dave Henderson, one of Alderson\u2019s standout acquisitions, \u201cMoneyball\u201d second baseman Mark Ellis, and 1970s pitcher John \u201cBlue Moon\u201d Odom.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the recognition,\u201d Alderson, 78, said this week from his home in St. Petersburg, Florida. \u201cBut mostly it\u2019s an opportunity to say thank you to a bunch of people, starting with Roy Eisenhardt.\u201d<\/p>\n Eisenhardt, the A\u2019s president from 1980-86, brought Alderson to the front office as a lawyer and two years later put him in charge of baseball operations. Alderson had no experience in the job, but he seems to have done OK.<\/p>\n In trades he acquired Dennis Eckersley, Bob Welch, Dave Parker, and reacquired Rickey Henderson twice. That\u2019s three Hall of Famers and a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, Welch, whose 27 victories in 1990 were the most since 1968 and remain so, perhaps forevermore. (The Eckersley trade was Alderson\u2019s greatest not only for what Eckersley became but also for what the A\u2019s gave up: three minor-leaguers who never made the show.)<\/p>\n Under Alderson the A\u2019s drafted and developed Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Walt Weiss, three consecutive Rookies of the Year and two more Hall of Famers if only \u2026<\/p>\n Off the scrap heap he signed Dave Stewart, who might be in Cooperstown if he\u2019d encountered Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan earlier in his career. Alderson also brought in the aforementioned Dave Henderson; Don Baylor; Reggie Jackson (for a farewell season); starting pitchers Mike Moore (66-36 over four seasons) and Storm Davis (35-14 over two); Eck\u2019s peerless setup men Rick Honeycutt and Gene Nelson; and Billy Beane, who he introduced to the concepts of what became known as Moneyball.<\/p>\n The list goes on \u2013 Ron Hassey, anyone? \u2013 but one acquisition is rarely, if ever, included on the list of Alderson\u2019s career acquisitions: La Russa, the Hall of Fame manager. The A\u2019s got him in the middle of the 1986 season. Alderson was the GM. He had to have been involved, right?<\/p>\n \u201cDirectly involved,\u201d he replied with a chuckle, and he left it at that.<\/p>\n Alderson is a proud but humble man. And a military man who knows triumphs rarely belong to one individual. There will be no stolen valor.<\/p>\n Eisenhardt and others are left to tell the story.<\/p>\n \u201cTony was a guy I\u2019d had my eye on for a long time,\u201d Eisenhardt said. \u201cThat was the final piece, getting Tony in the dugout.\u201d<\/p>\n In June of 1986, with La Russa on the hot seat in Chicago, the A\u2019s went on high alert. When La Russa was fired by White Sox broadcaster-turned-GM Ken \u201cHawk\u201d Harrelson, Eisenhardt and Alderson, along with farm director Karl Kuehl, jetted to O\u2019Hare to meet with La Russa.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was my first interview ever,\u201d said La Russa, who had zoomed through the White Sox farm system to become their major league manager at age 34, \u201cso my focus was to make a good impression. \u201cThe first thing they said was, \u2018This isn\u2019t an interview. This is a meeting to convince you to become A\u2019s manager.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n La Russa was interested, but he had made elaborate plans for a family vacation, an RV trip to Mount Rushmore with stops along the way to pick up friends. Could the A\u2019s wait \u2019til September? No.<\/p>\n Could they wait \u2019til after the All-Star break?<\/p>\n The O\u2019Hare meeting ended without resolution. Eisenhardt and Kuehl flew back to the Bay Area. Alderson stayed back, pondering his next move.<\/p>\n His next move was to drive to La Russa\u2019s home.<\/p>\n \u201cI left it to Sandy to talk Tony into it,\u201d Eisenhardt said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I recall,\u201d Alderson said when I relayed the story to him, \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to leave until he told me yes \u2013 or definitively no.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, La Russa said yes. The A\u2019s agreed to wait until after the All-Star break. La Russa took the A\u2019s, then 31-52, to Boston and beat Roger Clemens with Stewart as the surprise starter.<\/p>\n The A\u2019s went 45-34 the rest of the way.<\/p>\n In 1987, their first full season under La Russa, the A\u2019s were in the hunt, a half-game out of first place in the A.L. West when September came. They finished third, four games out, at 81-81.<\/p>\n Then came what La Russa, a man with 60-plus years in baseball, calls \u201cthe best offseason work\u201d he has ever seen.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as the season was over,\u201d he said, \u201cSandy had a couple-three meetings to talk about what we needed. We identified six or seven needs that would really help us. Then we identified three or four players in each category.\u201d<\/p>\n In December, they went to the winter meetings with targets set.<\/p>\n They wanted a starting pitcher. They got Welch from the Dodgers in a three-team deal that sent Jay Howell and Alfredo Griffin to the Dodgers and pitching prospects Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst to the Mets. (The A\u2019s got Matt Young, a left-handed pitcher, in the deal; that didn\u2019t work out too well.)<\/p>\n They wanted a left-handed slugger to put between Canseco and McGwire in the heart of the order. They got Parker from the Reds for pitchers Jose Rijo and Tim Birtsas. (That was a big win until Rijo stuck it to the A\u2019s in the 1990 World Series, winning two games and the MVP.)<\/p>\n They signed Hassey, a left-handed hitting veteran catcher to share time with Terry Steinbach.<\/p>\n They signed Henderson to compete for the centerfield job, which he won and kept a stranglehold on for five seasons. They signed Glenn Hubbard to play second base and Don Baylor for veteran leadership and a DH against lefties.<\/p>\n The A\u2019s went 104-58, then 99-63, then 103-59.<\/p>\n So why isn\u2019t Alderson in the A\u2019s hall of fame? Don\u2019t ask him. Don\u2019t ask anybody. Nobody seems to know much about how it works. Those who should know aren\u2019t eager to share. I tried for three days to get basic information on the process. The process of selecting a Pope is more transparent.<\/p>\n On the fourth day, I received an email from the A\u2019s: \u201cA\u2019s Hall of Famers are selected by a vote of fans, media, front office members, and current Hall of Famers.\u201d<\/p>\n OK then. I mean, what more could anyone want to know?<\/p>\n The Hall has only been around since 2018 and you certainly can\u2019t argue with the inaugural class<\/a>: Eck, Stew, Rickey, Catfish, Reggie, Rollie and Finley. All one-name guys.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789143662_585_AP25033740301647.jpg\")
<\/a>Former Oakland Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson speaks during a celebration of life for former Athletics baseball player Rickey Henderson in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu)<\/p>\n![\"Oakland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789143663_238_AP880812049.jpg\")
<\/a>Oakland Athletics first baseman Mark McGwire, far right, bashes forearms with Jose Canseco (33), Carney Lansford and Ron Hassey (44), who scored ahead of him after his grand slam in the eighth inning against the California Angels at Oakland, Ca., on Aug. 12, 1988. It is McGwire\u2019s 21st homer of the season and the first grand slam of his major league career. The A\u2019s beat the Angels, 7-2. (AP Photo\/Sal Veder)<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789143664_439_AP704241801355.jpg\")
<\/a>Former Chicago White Sox manager,Tony LaRussa, 41, tries on an Oakland A\u2019s cap at the San Francisco Airport after arriving from Chicago July 3, 1986. LaRussa agreed to a multi-year contract as manager with the A\u2019s after Jackie Moore was fired last week. (AP Photo\/Paul Sakuma)<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789143664_98_BNG-L-AS-0906-08.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n