From their caps to their toes, A’s fans rock some awesome green and gold style in the stands.

I most love checking out the fancy footwear of our diehards (and I’m not even one of those women with a shoe obsession!). You see, there’s only so much fashion liberty one can take with a team jersey, jacket or hat. But with shoes, there’s so much room for creativity!  My eyes light up at the sight of custom-designed gems or hand-crafted beauties. For example, those sparkly baby toddler shoes (below) are just about the cutest things ever. But it’s also pretty terrific when fans find happy accidents of the green and gold in one fortuitous pair. Hello, rockin’ cowboy boots!

Which pair do you covet from the selection below? Have any awesome green/gold A’s shoes you’d like me to include in the next round? If so, send me the photo in an email: kara@oaklandathletics.com

Happy trails, A’s fans. See you — and your kicks — in the stadium soon!

Without a doubt, Dog Day with the A’s is one of my favorite special events during the Oakland A’s baseball season. I love dogs and obviously I love baseball, so it’s the perfect combination for the fan who wants to catch a game with his/her best friend. Despite the gloomy July weather, this year’s event on July 29 lived up to all expectations. In fact, there were more dogs than ever packing the second deck in the outfield — close to 700 pups!

For me, the fun part is seeing the enthusiasm of our A’s fans and the love they pour into making their dogs’ costumes. From a cutie decked out in hula gear (complete with a coconut shell bra!) to Cooper, the Daschund named after Cooperstown, we’ve got some of the best dressed dogs in baseball.

Oh and did I mention, historically, the A’s record is 5-1 on Dog Day. Yet another reason to have a couple more of these a season!

Below is a slideshow of some of the photos I (and my mom!) collected through the evening. Click through — maybe you’ll see your pup! Can’t wait to see you next year for Dog Day with the A’s, 2012.

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Also, check out this cuteness — and cleverness — from A’s fan, Cathy. I think Hideki “Shih Tzu-i” is my favorite. Hilarious. Thanks so much for sharing, Cathy!!

44 home games completed, 37 more to go. Believe it or not fans, but we are more than halfway through the season. How does time fly so quickly? Non-baseball fans lament the season’s length, stuffed with a game count that’s well into the triple digits. But for a true baseball fan — and I know you’ll agree with me — there’s no such thing as too many games.  Judging by the effort you all make to catch Fall League games and Cactus League games, I think a lot of us wouldn’t mind a bit if we could watch some sort of baseball year-round.

While the team has their own kinks to work out in the second half of the season (let’s try to find some hot bats and an error-less defense), one thing that has impressed me over the first half is how our fans have turned out and represented the green and gold. From the dedicated families showing up on school nights to the elderly couple sticking it out through the rain to our Left Field and Right Field (aka Matsuiland — see the photo to the left when the gang let me hold the letter “A”. I was so honored!) bleacher crews, we have some of the best fans in major league baseball. Fans, thanks for making the first half of the season so memorable. Even though I don’t want the season to end, I’m already looking forward to the second half and the next homestand.

One of the highlights of this young 2011 Oakland A’s baseball season was without a doubt, Sunday’s Japanese Heritage Day. I loved the pre-game festivities, the attendance from the Japanese community (both from the Bay Area and elsewhere), and the relevancy of the day in light of the recent disasters in Japan. Exciting action on the field and the team’s first win didn’t hurt either.

The A’s had been planning on a Japanese heritage day ever since they acquired Hideki Matsui in November 2010. While they hosted a similar event last season, now that Matsui was on the team, they’d really have important reasons to encourage a bridge between the two cultures.  As the planning kicked into high gear, I was asked to emcee the pre-game reception for the team’s Japanese sponsors and Matsui’s family. I readily agreed, even though I call myself the worst half-Japanese girl since I don’t even speak a word of the language!

Here are some photos from the reception in the Coliseum’s East Side Club:

Consul General Hiroshi Inomata holding Matsui’s foul ball that he coincidentally caught on Friday’s Opening Night

The lovely Cherry Blossom Queen, Arisa Hiroi and me

Masao Matsui addressing the crowd. Also representing Hideki’s family were his wife, mother and brother. Lovely family!

The Emeryville Taiko drummers performing a couple of their songs.

Before and after pictures of a cask of sake from Berkeley’s Takara distillery. True to Shinto tradition, Matsui San, Inomata San and A’s owner Lew Wolff cracked open the barrel for good luck.

Fundraising for Japan’s disaster relief fund was one of the main focuses of Sunday’s game, and I’m proud to say that A’s fans collected more than 65-thousand dollars. What wonderful generosity. Just as touching were all the displays of love and hope from people in the stands.

Also, I knew that the Japanese people loved their baseball heroes, but I didn’t realize to what extent. The Kagawa family (photo below) flew in from Hong Kong, where they currently live, to catch the A’s/Mariners series. Now that is dedication!

On top of all the festivities indirectly in his honor, Matsui didn’t disappoint and had a truly special game. Not only did he break his season’s short hitting slump, but a shot down the left field line in the bottom of the second inning was his career hit number 2500. It was a beautiful site and the crowd respectfully and eagerly gave him a standing ovation.

Who knows how long Matsui will be sporting the green and gold (hopefully for the rest of his American career!), but I hope the A’s continue to honor our friendship with Japanese fans. In this case, baseball is one of the best cross-cultural bridges I can thing of.