A’s Hall of Fame will add ‘Big 3’ pitchers. Will they be honored in Sacramento?
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- A's set to induct Zito, Hudson and Mulder into Hall of Fame prior to Sept. 13 game.
- All three pitchers anchored rotation during A’s 2000-03 postseason streak.
- Induction marks first Hall of Fame class since A’s relocation to West Sacramento.
The “Big Three” A’s starting pitchers from the team’s four consecutive postseason berths in the early 2000s will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame prior to a Sept. 13 game against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park, the team announced Tuesday.
Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder all began their careers in Oakland between 1999 and 2000 and earned at least two All-Star appearances with the team before departing by 2007.
Monte Moore, the broadcaster who coined the term “dinger” and called games for the A’s for more than 20 years, will also be honored, the A’s said in the news release.
This is the first A’s Hall of Fame class since the franchise moved temporarily to West Sacramento, with 2025 the first in a three-year stint after leaving Oakland before their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
The hurlers were all key members of the starting rotation in the team’s 2000-03 postseason runs. The stretch is the longest for the A’s since legends like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers contributed to a 1971-75 streak that included three straight World Series victories from 1972-74.
The A’s lost in the American League Division Series all four seasons to start the 2000s and are still looking for their first World Series victory since 1989.
Zito played eight seasons for the A’s with a 3.58 cumulative ERA. During his Cy Young 2002 campaign, he led the American League in wins with 23 during and started the most games in the league, a feat he would repeat three more times for the team. Zito then played for the San Francisco Giants for seven years before returning to Oakland for three games in 2015.
Hudson was runner-up for the Cy Young in his sophomore 2000 season that he ended with an American League-best 20 wins. In his A’s tenure, Hudson pitched to a 3.30 ERA before moving on to stints with the Atlanta Braves and Giants.
Mulder had a 3.92 ERA during his five seasons with the A’s that included a Cy Young runner-up finish in 2001 after he led the American League with 21 wins and four shutouts.
The A’s in Tuesday’s news release noted that all three pitchers spent at least some time playing for the Sacramento River Cats, who were the Triple-A minor-league affiliate of the A’s when the ballpark opened in 2000 until switching to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015. Mulder and Zito pitched for the River Cats in 2000 before being promoted to join the then-Oakland A’s. Hudson made an injury rehab start with the River Cats in 2004, according to the team.
