The majority of the focus on the upcoming Hall of Fame election will center on the final appearances of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Curt Schilling on the BBWAA ballot along with the debuts of David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez. One candidate who will struggle to draw the attention that his Hall of Fame case warrants is Tim Hudson. In my previous article on Hudson, I took an in-depth look into his excellent .625 win-loss percentage and compared his career to recent Hall of Fame inductees and other prominent pitchers from his era. For this piece, I will examine Hudson’s pair of late season undefeated streaks that played key roles in helping the Oakland Athletics rally from behind to secure the 2000 and 2002 AL West division titles. In 2000, Hudson dominated the opposition with a microscopic 1.16 ERA and won each of his last seven starts, including the division-clinching game on the final day of the regular season. Two years later, he made another significant impact on the playoff race by posting a stellar 8-0 mark and 1.75 ERA over his final 11 starts, which included four wins during the A’s record-breaking run of twenty consecutive victories.
Originally signed by Oakland as a 6th round draft pick in the 1997 Amateur Draft, Hudson made his major league debut for the club on June 8, 1999. Hudson quickly established himself as one of the top young pitchers in the game, finishing his rookie campaign with a superb 11-2 record and a 3.23 ERA. In the process, the right-hander helped the A’s complete their first winning season since 1992. During the first half of his sophomore campaign, Hudson went 10-2 with a 4.27 ERA and earned his first All-Star selection. After a rough patch of outings following the Midsummer Classic, Hudson entered his August 28 home start versus the Chicago White Sox with a 13-6 mark and 5.23 ERA. However, Hudson’s ERA was deceptively high as, up until that point, his season had been feast-or-famine: In nine of his 13 victories he had pitched seven or more innings while giving up two or fewer runs. Conversely, in each of his six losses he had allowed more than a run per inning pitched.
Toeing the rubber against the potent White Sox offense was an unlikely place for Hudson’s undefeated streak to begin. After all, the South Siders held a commanding lead atop the AL Central division with a league-best 77-53 record while also pacing the junior circuit with an average of 6.12 runs scored per game. Moreover, just three weeks before in Chicago, Hudson had been chased from the mound in the third inning and taken the loss versus the White Sox. Going into Hudson’s August 28 start, the A’s were 68-61 and locked in a three-team race for the AL West, trailing the Seattle Mariners by two and a half games and a game and a half ahead of the third place Anaheim Angels. Oakland was also one of six clubs in a close battle for the AL Wild Card. At this point, the Boston Red Sox led the wild card standings by a half game over the Cleveland Indians and a full game over the A’s. Hudson was opposed by White Sox starter Jim Parque who was in the process of putting together a career year and carried a 10-5 record and 4.39 ERA into the contest. Unlike his previous outing against Chicago, this time around Hudson dominated the White Sox offense, tossing a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 Oakland victory. The righty only allowed two baserunners the entire game—a top of the third inning walk to Paul Konerko and a single to Frank Thomas in the fourth. Neither White Sox baserunner advanced past first base as Konerko was forced out at second on a groundout before a strikeout closed the frame while Thomas was erased on an inning-ending double play. Hudson struck out eight and induced 13 ground ball outs including a Ray Durham tap back to the mound to end the game. Parque matched zeroes with Hudson through the first four innings until the A’s offense broke through with a pair of runs in the fifth before adding another run in the sixth. Hudson’s win moved his record to 14-6 and brought his ERA back below 5.00 to 4.93. The combination of Oakland’s victory and losses by Seattle and Boston pulled them within a game and a half of the Mariners and a half-game of the wild card.
Hudson drew his next start on September 3 in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The two clubs were in the thick of the wild-card race and came into the game with near identical records of 70-64 for the A’s and 71-64 for the Blue Jays. Hudson outpitched Toronto starter Esteban Loazia in a tight 4-3 win to give the hurler his 15th win of the season. Hudson allowed three runs, one of which was unearned, over seven and two-thirds innings of work while Loazia yielded four runs, three earned, across eight innings. Both Hudson and Loazia exhibited pinpoint control with neither pitcher surrendering a walk. Longballs proved to be the difference as Hudson kept the ball in the yard while Oakland sluggers Terrence Long, Miguel Tejada, and Jason Giambi each took Loazia deep in the A’s 4-3 victory.
Hudson returned home for his September 9 start to face the last place Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Similar to his performance less than two weeks before against Chicago, Hudson gave Devil Rays hitters nothing to work with as he pitched a two-hit shutout for win number 16 on the year. Meanwhile, Oakland’s offense played Home Run Derby in the 10-0 rout, crushing five longballs in the first four innings to chase Devil Rays starter Albie Lopez from the game before adding a sixth round-tripper off reliever Trevor Enders in the following frame. Hudson’s control was precise as he yielded no walks for his second straight start. Also like his shutout of the White Sox, the young hurler did not allow Tampa Bay’s offense to advance past first as the only hitters to reach base, John Flaherty and Gerald Williams, each did so with singles and were left stranded when the inning ended. Exactly a week later, Hudson took the hill versus the Devil Rays again, this time on the road in Tampa Bay opposite former first overall draft pick Paul Wilson. The A’s scored three runs off Wilson in the top of the fourth and added two more in the fifth which proved to be enough for a 5-2 victory. Hudson battled all day, allowing a pair of runs on six hits and four walks in six and two-thirds innings of work. The righty’s 117-pitch outing gave him his fourth straight win to bring his record to 17-6 and his ERA down to 4.49. Seattle won so Oakland was unable to make up ground and sat two games back in the division race. However, the combination of the A’s victory and Cleveland’s loss to the New York Yankees moved them into a tie with the Indians for the wild card.
Following Hudson’s win over Tampa Bay, Oakland continued their road trip, proceeding to Baltimore to face the Orioles. The A’s won the first two games but then, after splitting a September 20 doubleheader, the club traveled across the country to Seattle for a crucial four-game series with the Mariners who now led the AL West by three games. Oakland tapped Hudson to pitch the September 21 opening contest of the series while Seattle countered with veteran lefty Jamie Moyer. The Mariners drew first blood, taking a 2-0 lead after a shaky first inning by Hudson. However, the young righty was able to settle down and did not allow another Seattle player to cross the plate while the A’s offense cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth before breaking the game open and chasing Moyer from the hill with a four-run outburst two innings later. Oakland’s 5-2 victory brought them back within a pair of games of Seattle and gave them a share of the wild card lead with Cleveland. Hudson’s final line of two runs allowed, one of which was unearned, through six innings secured the eighteenth win of the year for the hurler.
After Oakland concluded their final road trip of the season by taking two of the next three games against Seattle and winning the opener of a four-game home series versus the Angels, the club stood atop the wild card standings with a one and a half game lead over the Indians and now trailed the Mariners by just a half game in the AL West. The A’s looked to continue this momentum with their hottest pitcher toeing the slab for the September 26 match up with the Angels. Just like his previous start, Hudson survived a shaky first inning but surrendered a pair of runs to give Anaheim an early lead. The A’s sluggers wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring five in the bottom of the first and adding two more in the second to knock Angels starter Scott Schoeneweis out of the game. Hudson pitched masterfully the rest of the way, not allowing another run and earning the victory for his eight innings of work. With the Mariners and Indians both winning their games, the standings remained unchanged. However, Oakland and Cleveland both won three of the next four games while Seattle went 2-2 over the same span. Thus, going into the tentative final day of the regular season, the A’s held a half game lead over the Mariners which gave Oakland the opportunity to clinch the division with a victory over the Texas Rangers on October 1. Yet, because the A’s had played one less game than their rivals, if they lost to the Rangers and both the Mariners and Indians won their respective games, Seattle would win the division and Oakland would be forced to travel to Tampa Bay to play the Devil Rays in a makeup game to decide the wild card.
With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the A’s handed the ball to Hudson to start the potential division-clinching game in front of Oakland’s rabid home crowd. While Texas had long since been eliminated from playoff contention, after being on the receiving end of an embarrassing 23-2 drubbing by Oakland the previous day, the Rangers had plenty of incentive to want to play spoiler for the A’s. In addition, Texas started struggling young pitcher Ryan Glynn who was trying his best to stay on the team’s major league roster and had every reason to want to end his season on a high note. Hudson showed up in top form, allowing just a walk and a pair of hits while striking out five through the first four innings. Texas threatened in the top of the fifth, getting runners on second and third base, but Hudson was able to keep the ball on the ground and work his way out of trouble. Despite carrying a 5.84 ERA into the game, Glynn proved to be very much up to the task, matching zeros with Hudson. With the game still scoreless in the sixth, Hudson implored his teammates to just get him one run. Finally, the A’s got on the board in the seventh when the bottom of the batting order delivered with number eight hitter Jeremy Giambi smacking a two-out double down the right field line followed by a Ramon Hernandez single to center which scored Giambi. Texas made things interesting in the top of the eighth with Royce Clayton’s two-out double. However, after an intentional walk to cleanup hitter Rafael Palmeiro, Hudson got Chad Curtis to ground into a force out at second to end the inning. The A’s extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the frame when Randy Velarde homered off Glynn and Olmedo Saenz took reliever Tim Crabtree deep. Having matched his season high of 120 pitches, Hudson gave way to closer Jason Isringhausen for the bottom of the ninth who got the final three outs as Oakland captured the AL West division title. Hudson was credited as the winning pitcher, thus reaching the 20-victory plateau. With his win over the Rangers, the right-hander had successfully run the AL West gauntlet, beating each of the A’s division rivals in sequence to close the regular season.
Hudson’s division-clinching victory wrapped up a seven-start stretch in which he went 7-0 with a minuscule 1.16 ERA across 54 1/3 innings. With his excellent finish to the campaign, Hudson had played a significant role in helping Oakland rally past Seattle to win the division title and was named AL Pitcher of the Month for September. The young righty did not allow a home run over his final seven starts, and lowered his ERA from 5.23 to 4.14. While Hudson finished the year with a seemingly mediocre ERA, it was actually the ninth lowest mark in the AL. At the time, baseball was experiencing one of its most extreme scoring periods. In fact, the league average 4.91 ERA for the 2000 season ranks third-highest in the one-hundred and twenty plus year history of the junior circuit. Hudson’s 20-6 record gave him an AL-best .769 win-loss percentage and tied him with Blue Jays pitcher David Wells for the top victory total in the circuit. Hudson finished runner-up to Red Sox hurler Pedro Martinez in the AL Cy Young Award vote.
Following their division-clinching win over Texas, the A’s advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1992. Oakland faced the AL East champion Yankees who beat them in a closely-contested five-game ALDS. Hudson made his playoff debut, starting Game Three of the series on the road in New York. Even though the righty took the loss, he pitched reasonably well, going the distance and allowing three earned runs in the 4-2 defeat.
Hudson continued his winning ways in 2001, posting an impressive 18-9 record with a solid 3.37 ERA which ranked fifth lowest in the AL. The young hurler’s excellent campaign helped Oakland capture the AL Wild Card and return to the postseason. Unfortunately, the A’s once again fell to the Yankees in a hard-fought five-game ALDS. After losing key players Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen to free agency over the offseason, Oakland found itself on the outside of the playoff picture as the 2002 season reached its final two months. Going into Hudson’s August 3 home start versus the Detroit Tigers, the A’s owned a 62-48 record and sat third in the AL West, trailing the division-leading Mariners by six games and the runner-up Angels by three. Oakland also ranked third in the wild-card race with a three-game deficit to both the Red Sox and the Angels. Hudson entered the game with just a 7-9 record despite a 3.63 ERA. However, the righty’s record was misleading as he had been denied five potential victories due to his bullpen blowing the lead in games where he was in line to be the winning pitcher. Opposing Hudson was Tigers starter Jose Lima. Since winning 21 games for the 1999 Houston Astros, the eccentric Lima had struggled mightily in the ensuing years and brought an ugly 6.90 ERA into the contest despite ending July with a pair of solid starts. Oakland’s offense got to Lima early and chased the Tigers hurler from the hill in the fourth after he surrendered his sixth run. Hudson pitched seven innings and gave up three runs, one of which was unearned, to pick up the victory in the A’s 8-4 triumph.
On August 9, Hudson took the mound on the road in New York against the Yankees who held a league-best 71-42 record. New York starter Orlando Hernandez left the game after pitching a scoreless first inning due to numbness in his left leg. Hudson kept the Yankees potent offense off the board for seven frames before muscle cramps in his legs forced his own departure from the game with Oakland up, 2-0. Unfortunately for Hudson, the A’s bullpen was unable to hold the lead and allowed the Bombers to tie the score in the eighth, marking the sixth time the club’s relief corps had cost the hurler a potential victory. Oakland ultimately won the game, 3-2, in the sixteenth inning after six hours of play. Hudson shook off his leg cramps and was back for his next start five days later, facing the Blue Jays at home. The righty pitched well, giving up just a pair of runs, one of which was unearned, in seven and one-third innings of work to secure the victory in the A’s 4-2 win. Toronto starter Pete Walker surrendered four runs in six frames and took the loss. Hudson’s solid pitching performance moved him to 9-9 for the year and lowered his ERA to 3.35. Oakland’s record improved to 70-51 but still ranked third in both the division and wild card standings.
On August 19, the A’s opened a ten-game road trip with Hudson taking the hill in Cleveland, opposite Indians starter Danys Báez. Hudson overpowered the Tribe’s offense for his tenth win of the year, allowing only one run in eight and one-third innings of pitching. The combination of Oakland’s 8-1 victory, which was the club’s sixth in a row, along with Seattle’s loss put the A’s just a single game behind the Mariners and Angels in both the AL West and wild-card races. Oakland continued their winning ways, taking the next three games to complete the sweep over Cleveland and in the process moved into a tie for the division lead. The A’s then kicked off the second leg of their road trip with a victory over the Tigers to bring their winning streak to ten straight and gain sole possession of the division lead for the first time since the opening weeks of the season. Holding a respective one and two-game edge over Seattle and Anaheim in the tight AL West, the club called upon Hudson for the second game in Detroit. In a rematch of three weeks before, Jose Lima toed the slab against the right-hander. Once more, Hudson stymied Detroit’s offense, allowing just three runs and going the distance to earn the complete game victory. By contrast, Lima was unable to make it out of the third before being touched for 11 runs in the 12-3 rout. The following day, the A’s completed the sweep over the Tigers and then rolled into Kansas City where the club beat the Royals on three successive nights to finish their ten-game road trip undefeated and extend their winning streak to 15. With the victories, Oakland widened their lead in the AL West to four games over the Angels and four and a half over the Mariners.
Hudson drew his next starting assignment on August 30 at home versus the Minnesota Twins who led the AL Central division by a healthy 16-game margin. Hudson and Twins starter Brad Radke matched each other pitch for pitch until A’s third baseman Eric Chavez broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. Oakland added another run in the seventh off reliever Tony Fiore and prevailed by a final score of 4-2 to give the team its sixteenth victory in a row and Hudson wins in each of his last four starts. The righty limited Minnesota’s offense to just a pair of runs in six and one-third innings of work, thus lowering his ERA to 3.22 and improving his record to 12-9. With two more wins over the Twins and a victory over the Royals, Oakland extended the streak to 19 in a row which tied the AL mark set by the 1947 New York Yankees. The final two victories had been dramatic, ninth inning walk-off wins delivered by slugger Miguel Tejada. Thus, Hudson entered his September 4 start against the Royals with a chance to pitch the A’s into the AL record books with their twentieth consecutive win. Oakland raced out to an early lead, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first off Royals starter Paul Byrd. In the top of the fourth with the score 11-0, an error by Tejada helped fuel a five-run inning by Kansas City. Hudson departed the game in the top of the seventh, having thrown six and two-thirds innings with five runs allowed, three of which were unearned. Despite not pitching quite up to his recent form, with his team comfortably ahead 11-5, Hudson was still in line to be the winning pitcher. However, Oakland’s bullpen was unable to hold the lead as the Royals scored five runs in the top of the eighth before tying the game off closer Billy Koch in the ninth. While the A’s relief corps had blown the lead and cost Hudson the chance at earning the victory, it set the stage for Scott Hatteberg’s dramatic bottom of the ninth, pinch-hit walk-off home run that gave the club its record-breaking twentieth consecutive win. Hudson had been one of the main contributors to the A’s amazing run, picking up four victories—two at home and two on the road—during the stretch. Oakland’s streak finally came to an end two nights later with a loss versus the Twins in Minnesota. Nevertheless, during their record-setting run, the A’s surged from third place, four and a half games back in the AL West to standing atop the division with a three and a half game lead.
Hudson’s next start came on September 9, in Anaheim, facing the second place Angels who, by this point, had cut Oakland’s lead to just two games. Taking the mound for the Halos was veteran Kevin Appier who had pitched alongside Hudson in the A’s starting rotation during the 1999 and 2000 seasons and brought a solid 14-9 record and 3.66 ERA into the game. Hudson and Appier were each able to keep the opposing team’s offenses in check and engage in a pitching duel. Appier lasted six and two-thirds innings, with his only runs allowed coming on solo home runs by Jermaine Dye and Terrence Long in the top of the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Hudson grinded through seven and one-third innings of work, surrendering just one run on a bottom of the fifth inning solo shot by Garrett Anderson which cut Oakland’s advantage to 2-1. This time, the A’s bullpen successfully protected the lead, giving Hudson his thirteenth win of the season and extending the division lead to three games. The righty’s narrow win proved to be vital as Anaheim beat Oakland in each of the next three nights to draw even in the AL West standings. Five days later, Hudson was back at home to take on the A’s other main rival in the division race, the Mariners. Fresh off getting the better of Appier, Hudson now faced Seattle’s veteran hurler Jamie Moyer who had won 20 games during the prior season and carried an impressive 13-7 record and 3.23 ERA into the game. After leading the AL West from the second week of April into the latter part of August, the Mariners had fallen to third, eight games behind Oakland and Anaheim who remained tied for first in both the division and the wild-card races. With the A’s looking to push Seattle further out of the playoff picture, Hudson pitched, perhaps, his finest game of season, allowing only four hits and a pair of walks to earn the shutout win in a tense, 1-0, Oakland victory. Moyer proved to be a formidable foe, going the distance while giving up just one unearned run following a pair of infield errors to open the bottom of the second inning which set the stage for Scott Hatteberg’s RBI single. Hudson’s shutout win pushed his record to 14-9 and lowered his ERA to 3.01. With the victory, Oakland now sat nine games ahead of Seattle but due to Anaheim’s win over Texas, the A’s and the Halos remained tied. For his pair of key victories against Oakland’s division rivals, Hudson was named co-AL Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez.
Hudson’s next turn in the rotation came at home on September 19 to pitch the final matchup of a four-game series with the Angels. After relinquishing the lead to Anaheim twice since Hudson’s most recent start, Oakland came into the game, having drawn even in the division race with a 7-4 victory the night before. Opposing the A’s hurler for the second time in September was veteran Kevin Appier. While neither starter was quite as effective as in their battle earlier in the month, once again, Hudson managed to outpitch his more experienced foe, allowing three runs in seven and one-third innings compared to the four runs surrendered by Appier in five and one-third frames. Oakland took the game by the final score of 5-3 to reclaim the division lead and give the right-hander his fifteenth victory of the year as well as his third campaign in a row reaching the 15-win mark. Hudson’s final start of the regular season came in Seattle on September 25. Sporting a 99-58 record, the A’s were inching closer to the divisional title, now leading the AL West by three games over the Angels while the Mariners were all but mathematically eliminated at eight games back. Hudson rematched his second veteran in September when Jamie Moyer toed the rubber for Seattle. Both hurlers exited the game after completing seven innings, with Hudson getting the better of the duel, giving up just one run compared to Moyer’s two. However, Oakland’s bullpen coughed up the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning and the A’s lost the game, 3-2. The frustrating outcome was an all too familiar one for Hudson as it marked the eighth time during the season the club’s relief corps had cost him a potential victory by surrendering the lead in a game in which he was in line to be the winning pitcher. In spite of this, Hudson still managed to finish the 2002 campaign with a solid 15-9 record supported by an excellent 2.98 ERA. Oakland and Anaheim each won their respective games the following day which clinched the AL West division title for the A’s and secured the wild card for the Angels.
Oakland faced the AL Central champion Twins in the ALDS but, once again came up short in the opening round of the postseason, losing to Minnesota in five games. Hudson started Games One and Four of the ALDS. Unfortunately, the righty suffered a strained left internal oblique muscle during his final regular season start in Seattle. Hampered by the injury, Hudson struggled against Minnesota, going 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in his pair of ALDS starts.
While the poorly-timed muscle strain prevented Hudson from pitching at his best during the ALDS, just as in 2000, the hurler’s late season undefeated stretch had proved to be indispensable in helping the A’s overtake their division rivals and clinch the AL West crown. Over the final two months of the season, Hudson went 8-0 with a spectacular 1.75 ERA in 82 1/3 innings pitched across 11 starts. During Hudson’s dominant stretch, Oakland surged from six games behind the Mariners in the AL West standings to win the division by four games, going 10-1 in the righty’s final 11 starts. In the closing weeks of the campaign, the righty took the hill versus the A’s main rivals in the division race, Anaheim and Seattle, outdueling grizzled veterans Kevin Appier and Jamie Moyer a pair of times each. Throughout his stellar late season run, Hudson exhibited impeccable control, surrendering just 11 walks over 82 1/3 innings and never more than two in any one start.
Between 2000 and 2004, Hudson shared the A’s starting rotation with Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. This impressive trio of young starters came to be known as the Big Three. In their five seasons together, the Big Three helped Oakland win three AL West division titles and one AL Wild Card. Perhaps, the Big Three’s finest run as a collective unit was during the final two months of the 2002 season: Hudson’s 8-0 record and 1.75 ERA led the way; Mulder went 7-1 with a 3.16 ERA; and Zito also did his part, posting an 8-2 mark supported by a 2.24 ERA. Combined, the Big Three posted an incredible 23-3 record and 2.38 ERA over the final two months of the campaign. Oakland’s number four starter Cory Lidle also pitched sensationally, being named AL Pitcher of the Month in August after going 5-0 with an otherworldly 0.20 ERA. Lidle’s amazing August included a streak of 32 consecutive scoreless innings but was followed by a difficult September in which he went 0-1 with a 4.64 ERA. Each of these four hurlers were instrumental in the A’s record-breaking run of 20-straight victories with Hudson and Zito both winning four games while Mulder and Lidle were credited with three apiece.
Despite completing yet another strong season, Hudson did not factor into the 2002 Cy Young Award vote. Zito, who finished the year with a 23-5 record and a 2.75 ERA, took home the award, edging out Red Sox hurler Pedro Martinez in a close election. Although it is true Zito had a better overall season than Hudson, their numbers were a lot closer than reflected in the Cy Young vote. Zito edged his teammate in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP while Hudson held the upper hand in innings pitched, complete games, and shutouts. Of course the WAR metric was still several years away from being a factor in Cy Young elections, yet, the two hurlers’ WAR totals show their value as almost identical with Zito ranking third in the AL with a 7.2 mark while Hudson is slotted one spot behind his teammate at 6.9. Nevertheless, the disparity in their support from award voters largely stemmed from Zito’s advantage in wins. Had Hudson not been snake bitten by the A’s bullpen blowing several of the righty’s potential victories, it is likely he would have reached the twenty-win plateau and been a more serious candidate in the 2002 Cy Young Award vote.
With his pair of late season undefeated streaks, Hudson played key roles in the Oakland A’s come-from-behind rallies to clinch the 2000 and 2002 AL West division titles. These dominant runs represent strong bullet points in Hudson’s underrated Hall of Fame case. While the upcoming Hall of Fame election will be dominated by the controversial legacies of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, and Alex Rodriguez, hopefully voters will take a longer look at one of the more overlooked candidates and consider Tim Hudson.
----by John Tuberty
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Stat links to main players mentioned: Tim Hudson, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Eric Chavez, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, David Wells, Jamie Moyer, Kevin Appier, Jason Isringhausen, Cory Lidle, Jose Lima, Scott Hatteberg, Jim Parque, Albie Lopez, Ryan Glynn
Sources: Baseball Reference,
ESPN September 2000, ESPN August 2002 article, Sports Illustrated Vault, The New York Times, UPI, San Francisco Chronicle, Mychael Urban-Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A’s Big Three—Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito (Wiley)
Tim Hudson cards: 2003 Topps Pristine, 2004 Topps Pristine, 2002 Fleer Triple Crown, 2004 Fleer Tradition, 2003 Donruss Champion, 2003 Upper Deck Authentics, 2001 Upper Deck, 2002 Topps Reserve, 2003 Donruss
Other players cards: Jim Parque 2000 Pacific, Albie Lopez 2000 Pacific Crown Collection, Ryan Glynn 1999 Fleer Tradition Update, Oakland Athletics Team 2003 Topps, Kevin Appier 2003 Leaf, Jamie Moyer 2002 Fleer Triple Crown, Mark Mulder 2003 Donruss, Barry Zito 2003 Donruss
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