Generation A's Fans : A Family's Long Love Affair with One of Baseball's Best Teams

GROWING UP WITH THE A'S.The Oakland A's and the Martinez family have one thing in common: they stick together through good times and bad.For Donald A. Marquez, the ballpark was as much of a home as the humble Bay Area split-level that housed eight children and their parents. Every family member had an A's story, from his beloved grandmother to his youngest cousins. Even Easter Sunday was planned around the Home Nine's schedule. The family suffered when Jose Canseco struck out an incredible 175 times in 1986, and rejoiced together at the team's breakthrough win in the 2006 playoffs.Generation A's Fans: A Family's Long Love Affair With One of Baseball's Best Teams is the story of one of the sport's most undervalued teams, and the family who loves them.

Donald A. Marquez has written articles for Raiderfan Magazine and Area Chica. In addition to the hundreds of Oakland A's games he has seen in person, including the playoffs and World Series, he was present for the 1987 All-Star Game and attended the team's National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York in 2004.