Three of Major League Baseball's most promising young pitchers, including 2010 All-Star Trevor Cahill, will be spreading plenty of holiday cheer on behalf of the Oakland A's next week when the team stages its "2010 A's Holiday Caravan" Dec. 2-5.
Brett Anderson and Tyson Ross, also rising young stars, will join Cahill and team mascot Stomper for several public and community appearances around the Bay Area, starting with the A's Community Fund annual holiday party for more than 200 children from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School at the Oakland Zoo Thursday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later on Thursday, the A's representatives will participate in the Walnut Creek Holiday Parade of Lights from 6 to 9 p.m., including a post-parade autograph and photo session with fans.
The 22-year-old Cahill, a leading Cy Young Award candidate this year despite his young age, posted an 18-8 record and 2.97 ERA to lead an Oakland pitching staff that led the American League in ERA (3.56). His 18 wins were the most by an American League pitcher, 22 years or younger, in 25 years.
Anderson, also 22, recorded a 7-6 mark and 2.80 ERA this past season, although he was limited to 19 starts because of two stints on the disabled list. Ross, a graduate of Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School and the A's 2008 second-round draft pick out of the University of California, is a hometown-boy-made-good story who made the 2010 Opening Day roster as a non-roster invitee and spent half of the season with Oakland. The 23-year-old Berkeley native went 1-4 with a save and 5.49 ERA in 26 games before being optioned to Sacramento July 7.
General information for the "2010 A's Holiday Caravan" is listed below. For up-to-date caravan information and prize opportunities, fans can follow the A's on twitter at @oaklandas. All participants and locations are subject to change.
Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill will sign autographs and take photos with fans at the Pepsi display inside Lucky Supermarket in El Cerrito for one hour.
| When: | 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Lucky Supermarket in El Cerrito - 1000 El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito |
| What: | Anderson and Cahill to sign autographs for fans |
Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Stomper will ride along in the Walnut Creek holiday parade down Broadway Plaza Street. After the parade, they will be at the A's sales table signing autographs and taking photos with fans.
| When: | 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek |
| What: | A's players and mascot Stomper to ride in Walnut Creek Holiday Parade and sign autographs for fans at the A's ticket information table. |
Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Stomper will ride in this year's Oakland Holiday Parade. The parade will begin on Broadway and 11th Street.
| When: | 2:00 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Beginning on Broadway and 11th Street, Oakland |
| What: | A's players and mascot Stomper will ride in the 11th Annual Comcast "America's Children's Holiday Parade". |
Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill will pose for photographs and sign autographs at the Santa set in Grand Court for shoppers who make a $5 or more donation to the Simon Youth Foundation. A's mascot Stomper will also be on hand to pose for photos and hand out candy canes.
| When: | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton |
| What: | A's players and mascot Stomper will sign autographs for shoppers who make a charitable donation. |
A's mascot Stomper will take photos with kids at a special meet and greet at the Mrs. Claus' Breakfast Nook, which kicks off the 29th Annual San Jose Holiday Parade.
| When: | 7:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Tech Museum (Venture Hall), 201 South Market Street, San Jose |
| What: | A's mascot Stomper makes appearance at Mrs. Claus' Breakfast Nook Prior to San Jose Holiday Parade |
Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and A's mascot Stomper will ride along in this year's San Jose Holiday Parade. The parade will begin on Santa Clara Street and Demas Avenue, near the HP Pavilion. After the parade, the players will sign autographs for fans at the A's booth during the San Jose ParadeFest at Christmas in the Park.
| When: | 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Where: | Beginning on Santa Clara Street and Demas Avenue, near the HP Pavilion |
| What: | A's Players and mascot Stomper ride in the 29th Annual San Jose Holiday Parade. After the parade, players will sign autographs at the San Jose PardeFest at Christmas in the Park. |
The A's are also making many closed to the public community visits and appearances around the Bay Area:
The A's will host their Annual A's Community Fund Holiday Party for over 200 children from kindergarten through fifth grades from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School at the Oakland Zoo. The A's players will sign autographs and take pictures with the students and in addition, each child will receive a wrapped gift, compliments of the Good Tidings Foundation. The A's holiday party will include an animal presentation in the Wildlife Theater by the Oakland Zoo, lunch for the children courtesy of Round Table Pizza, plus face painters, arts and crafts, and a visit by Santa and the A's mascot Stomper.
The A's Community Fund will treat 10 children from the Salvation Army Garden Center Shelter in Oakland to a shopping event. Five boys and five girls from the shelter will each receive a $200 gift card to Target in Bayfair Center to purchase items of their choice off their "Santa's wish lists." Children will be escorted by the A's players and Stomper, in their shopping experience. Each child will also receive a $50 gift card to purchase an item (or items) for a family member or person of their choice. After the shopping event, each child will be treated to lunch, where they will receive autographs and take photos with the players.
A's players and Stomper will visit 60 students grades kindergarten through fifth from Lafayette Elementary School in Oakland at their mentoring and after school tutoring program. The Lafayette School Mentoring Project is a bilingual program offering mentoring, academic assistance, and enrichment programs to the students of West Oakland.
A's players will sign autographs and talk with teens at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center's adolescent substance abuse treatment center, Thunder Road. Thunder Road is a nationally-recognized non-profit program that has specialized in substance abuse treatment since 1987, supporting more than 6,000 young people and their families through the challenges they face (many of whom have no insurance and are unable to pay for care). It is the only program of its kind in Northern California. Most of the young people in this program are without role models or career paths so the support, self-esteem building and life skills training skills received are invaluable.
Through a partnership with the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF), A's mascot Stomper will join other local sports team's mascots for the United Airlines Fantasy Flight SFO: A Journey to the North Pole. United Airlines will host 60 special needs children and their family members for a very special experience which includes pre-departure activities at the gate, a short "fantasy flight" around the Bay Area in a holiday decorated aircraft and gifts upon landing at the North Pole.
