Watch: A's toast Hudson/Mulder/Zito with pregame 'Big Three' tribute
The Oakland Athletics capped off the home portion of the 2015 schedule with a loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, but the vibe was still pretty upbeat.
That's because the entire weekend was essentially dedicated to the 'Big Three' of the early 2000s - pitchers Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.
The homegrown trio played a crucial role in Oakland's postseason appearances from 2000 until 2003, and this past Saturday featured the farewells of both Zito (who pitched for the A's) and Hudson (who toed the rubber for San Francisco). While neither soon-to-be-retired veteran had a successful outing in the actual game, the air was filled with a heavy sense of nostalgia.
The celebratory atmosphere continued on Sunday, when all three threw ceremonial first pitches to current A's Josh Reddick, Sonny Gray and Sean Doolittle in addition to being honored with a nice tribute on the field:
After all the celebrations, Mulder expressed his enjoyment about the entire day to MLB.com's Alex Espinoza: "It's an amazing weekend and it was fun to be a part of, especially for those guys. Like I've said, they've essentially had double the career that I had. It's amazing to see those ovations they got yesterday and it was well-deserved."
Mulder also joined the A's TV crew for a chat in the middle innings, during which he reflected on the A's of the early 2000s:
2015 may have been an extremely tough year for the Green and Gold, but finishing the home schedule on a warm note such as this was a good touch by the organization.
