Dale Tafoya - Billy Ball: Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland As

DALE TAFOYA IS AUTHOR OF BASH BROTHERS: A LEGACY SUBPOENAED (Potomac Books, 2008) and has followed Oakland As baseball for thirty years. His work has appeared in the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Orlando Sentinel, Modesto Bee, The Source, and Beckett Baseball Card Monthly. In addition to his writing credits, Tafoya has been a guest on ESPN Radio, FOX Sports, Cumulus Media and Comcast Sports. Tafoya resides in the San Francisco-Bay Area.

FIRST, HEARTFELT THANKS TO MY HEAVENLY FATHER FOR YOUR grace on this journey.

Ive always considered Billy Ball an exciting era of Oakland As history. But only when I placed a microscope on those years did I fully understand the significance. Thanks to Lyons Press, this amazing story has turned into a book. To Niels Aaboe, my editor at Lyons who gave my book proposal a publishing home, thank you for your razor-sharp guidance. To Stephanie Scott, another Lyons editor, thank you for sending along the proposal to the right person. To Ken Samelson, thank you for copy-editing the manuscript and your attention to detail.

To my brothers, Robert Tafoya and Richard Rodriguez, thank you for your love and support. To my nieces, Ava and Jeanette, and nephews, Ricky, Jeremy, and Robbie, keep making your uncle proud.

To Josephine Tafoya-Peraza, my aunt, and the rock of Tafoya town, thank you for your support, encouragement and always holding it down.

To the wonderful scribes who covered Billy Ball and shared their time with me to capture the story: Dave Newhouse, Bruce Jenkins, Kit Stier, John Hickey, Randy Galloway, Glenn Schwarz, Stephanie Salter, and Alan Fallick.

To Catherine Aker, the As fantastic vice president of communications and community, many thanks for the organizations efforts in engaging the community. They will come.

Photographer Ron Riesterer is a Bay Area treasure and has delivered some wonderful photos in this book. Billy Martin Jr. and Judge Eddie Sapir were class acts and always generous with their time.

The late Michael Hamilburg, my first literary agent, landed my first book deal in 2007and gave me a platform. Hamilburg was a well-connected Hollywood agent and producer, but he took on first-time authors. I was one of them. To any aspiring writers, it only takes one Yes!

My sincere appreciation to the library staffs of Sports Illustrated, Time, the Sporting News, Sport, Life, the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, the Detroit Free Press, the Associated Press, Gannett News Service, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Daily News, the Boston Globe, the Daily Review, the Los Angeles Times, the Oakland Public Library, Beachwoodreporter.com, ESPN.com, and MLB.com.

Special thanks to these individuals: Ken Korach, Carl Steward, Bud Geracie, Roy Eisenhardt, Wayne Hagin, Paul Gutierrez, Jorge Leon, David Beach, John Horne, Pam Kessler, John Underhill, Andy Dolich, Pete Gonzlaez, Seth Honeycutt, Hector Gomez, and Zdravomir Staykov.

Writing a book is like opening a business. Besides writing, researching and interviewing, youre emailing countless interview requests. Much appreciation to those who helped me secure them: Scott MacDonald, Matt Chisholm, Cheryl Zeldin, Kevin OBrien, Josh Rawitch, Cory Parsons, Frank Pace, Jameson Lange, Bud Kennedy, and Janet Shields-Scott.

Beginning when Walter A. Haas Jr. purchased the As in 1980, the Haas family propelled Billy Ball to the next galaxy. Working with the Haas family, specifically Denis Chicola, to set up an interview with Roy Eisenhardt for the book was wonderful. Roy was very cooperative and helpful. Everyone I interviewed in the book revered the Haas family and described how they transformed the As into the best organization in baseball.

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