Jason Giambi had plenty to say Wednesday, but his feelings were clear before he uttered a word.
Giambi took his seat in front of a microphone at Oakland Coliseum and broke into a smile as he surveyed the media throng there to greet his return to the A’s. He gave General Manager Billy Beane, seated to his right, a hearty slap on the back.
If A’s fans were bitter when he left Oakland to sign with the New York Yankees after the 2001 season, Giambi, for one, couldn’t hide his joy to be back.
The A’s signed the first baseman-designated hitter to a one-year, $4 million contract Wednesday, with a $6.5 million club option for 2010 and $1.25 million buyout.
“We had such a good time with the fans and what we built (in Oakland), that it probably did hurt when I left,” said Giambi, who turns 38 today. “I went on and played seven years (in New York) and had the time of my life. But it was time to make the full circle back.”
With that, one of the A’s more colorful characters returns to the fold, having played out his seven-year, $120 million deal with the Yankees.
The oddity of bringing back a player who once bolted the A’s via free agency wasn’t lost on Beane.
“I feel like I’m marrying my ex-wife,” he cracked.
With Beane and Manager Bob Geren seated next to him in ties and suit jackets, Giambi showed up in a casual black jacket and black scarf with a T-shirt underneath. Shortly after, he donned a white No. 16 A’s jersey.
Giambi spent the first seven years of his career with the A’s, winning the 2000 American League MVP Award and helping guide the team back to A.L. prominence.
If he even remotely resembles that player in his second stint in Oakland, he’s likely to win back any fans still stinging from his departure.
“Jason understands hitting more than any player I’ve ever been around,” Beane said. “He was the best teacher we ever had here. To be able to bring him back at this point in our team’s development is absolutely perfect.”
Giambi endured some turbulent times in New York — his connection to the Balco scandal dominated headlines for a while — but he also drew attention in more lighthearted ways.
For the record, he said A’s fans won’t see the old-school mustache he wore last season to help break out of a slump. However, the gold thong that he reportedly wore to also change his luck at the plate will still be around.
“Don’t worry. It will be hanging in my locker,” Giambi joked. “The gold thong travels everywhere I go.”
With Giambi’s signing, the addition of Matt Holliday via trade and the possibility of a healthy Eric Chavez, the A’s hope a rejuvenated offense can help nurture their young stable of pitchers.
“With the offense we have now,” Geren said, “it gives (young pitchers) a little more confidence going into a game knowing they don’t have to be perfect.”
Geren said Giambi and Holliday will occupy the third and fourth spots in the lineup, though he hasn’t decided in which order to hit them. But batting the right-handed Holliday fourth between Giambi and Chavez would help break up the A’s glut of left-handed hitters.
Geren added that he still considers Daric Barton his starting first baseman, which would have Giambi seeing most of his time at D.H. and Jack Cust playing lots of right field to keep his power in the lineup.
“I’ll do whatever this team needs,” Giambi said. “The biggest thing is to get out there and produce, and this team needs offense.”
Beane indicated the A’s might not be done adding hitters through free agency. Outfielder Bobby Abreu is available and fits the mold of the patient type of hitter Beane covets.
The A’s pursuit of Rafael Furcal this winter showed they’re not sold on Bobby Crosby as the everyday shortstop, so going after free agent Orlando Cabrera also is possible.