Today was Rickey Henderson day in Oakland. The next 30 days will officially be Rickey Henderson Month in Oakland as well. No doubt, this is all deserved, but it begs the question… when will it be Dave Stewart day?
There are plenty of arguments against retiring Stew’s #34. He only spent upwards of eight seasons in Oakland… his career numbers aren’t overwhelming…. he only made the all-star team once…. and he never won that elusive Cy Young Award. The A’s have a pretty exclusive fraternity when it comes to retired numbers. Despite much history, only Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, and Dennis Eckersley have their numbers plastered on the outfield wall Mt. Davis tarp. That’s right… no Vida Blue, no Bert Campaneris, no Gene Tenace, no Mark McGwire, no Jose Canseco, and the list goes on. However, if one were to list the most memorable Oakland Athletics in the last 45 years, Dave Stewart would surely be in that class. He turned in one of the most impressive four year stretches ever during Oakland’s period of dominance from 1987-1990. He complied a record of 84-45 with a 3.20 ERA. He had an 8-3 postseason record with the A’s, including 2 of the 4 wins in Oakland’s 1989 World Series sweep of the Giants.
Statistics aside, Dave Stewart should be included in this class of legends. Ray Fosse slipped that sentiment in during his speech today honoring Rickey Henderson. It was received with an overwhelming ovation from the Athletics’ faithful. Though he never won the Cy Young, he finished in the top four in the voting four years in a row. More importantly, Stew has continued to bleed green and gold, even after his playing days. He’s there any time someone else gets honored, and he still remains Oakland’s most intimidating starting pitcher since his heyday. When it’s all said and done, the organization should retire his number for one reason: The fans want it. A’s fans appreciate history as much as any other club’s, and I’d be surprised to hear any naysayers suggest that Stew doesn’t deserve this honor. He was a terror on the mound and a class act off of it. Since the A’s don’t appear to factor into the title hunt in the next year and a half, here’s hoping Dave Stewart Day is on the docket for the 2010 season.
It was refreshing to see a player that seemed to be the typical American with a bag full of problems like most of us. Nothing is more American than the way he could put down Jack Daniels, cocaine, and Budweiser! He once told the media that when he was 23 years old he drank a fifth of whiskey a day for that entire year. He was continually in and out of rehab for his alcoholism, and was married and divorced four times since he’s been on tour (more on the ex’s later).
Like many competitive athletes there is nothing better than winning, and that nearly always led John to some gambling troubles throughout his career. He estimated that he’s gambled away $50 to $60 million over the past 15 or so years. He once lost his $1.5 million winnings from the WCG-American Express tournament by going to Vegas and playing on a $5,000 slot machine. With all these ups and downs we have rooted for him to pull through and give us another show or another comeback from whatever had plagued him.
The charges were later dropped, and so was the marriage especially after he found out that she was ten years older than she had claimed. His fourth wife Sherrie seemed pretty sane when she attacked him with a steak knife. He showed up to the tournament the next day nice and scratched up. She plead guilty and served 5 months in prison.
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