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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Coco Crisp offered a long list of reasons why Oakland is such a great fit for him for years to come -- his sentiments the same whether or not he had a nice new contract to his name. The Athletics have mutual strong feelings about their do-everything centre fielder and speedy leadoff man, who is staying with the As for an additional two seasons after agreeing Friday to a new contract through 2016 that adds $22.75 million in guaranteed money. "Its nice. I dont think it was weighing on me too much," Crisp said Friday, a day before Oakland holds its FanFest. "Either way, if it happened after the season or before, this is the place I want to be." The deal includes a 2017 option that could become guaranteed, the As said. Crisp was set to attend FanFest on Saturday with the two-time reigning AL West champions, a week ahead of the start of spring training in Phoenix. Crisp has a $7.5 million salary this year under a club option exercised Nov. 1. He will earn $11 million per season in 2015 and 2016, and the 2017 option is for $13 million with a $750,000 buyout. A switch-hitter who gets things going at the top of the lineup with his aggressive baserunning and, more recently, pop in his bat -- Crisp hit a career-high 22 home runs last year. "Im just grateful they put me up there and give me the opportunity to do that. If I hit 22, thatd be awesome. If I hit 23, thatd be better," Crisp said, grinning. "If the best part of the wood gets ahold of the balls, that would be amazing." The 34-year-old Crisp, starting his fifth season with the As, hasnt played more than 136 games in a season since arriving in the Bay Area. He batted .261 with the 22 homers, 66 RBIs and 21 steals last year. Despite the power surge, Crisp has refused to call himself a home run hitter. Yet he does hope to duplicate that production in 2014. "Thats a lot of home runs. Its really impressive for a leadoff hitter," new infielder Nick Punto said. "He might not call himself a home run hitter but he has some pop in the bat." Crisps 2017 option would vest with 550 plate appearances in 2016 or 1,000 plate appearances in 2015-16 combined or 130 games in 2016, or 260 games in 2015-16 combined. In addition, the 260 combined games is with no fewer than 110 played in 2016 and he cant finish 2016 season on the disabled list. New Oakland closer Jim Johnson is happy to no longer have to face Crisp. "Hes a pain," Johnson said. "He fights off good pitches. Hes a guy you think you have a plan and your plan goes to crap." Crisps current contract allows him the use of a ballpark suite for six games per year -- excluding the Yankees, Red Sox and Giants -- and the number increases to eight for 2015-17. Former Tigers manager Jim Leyland said several times that containing Crisp was the biggest key for Detroit to beat the As in the division series for the second straight season. Crisp is a career .278 hitter in 30 post-season games for Boston and Oakland. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who said Friday he hopes for an extension to stay with the As beyond his initial $36 million, four-year deal from February 2012, realizes how much it means to be playing alongside Crisp for the near future. "I dont know if Im going to be the next to get an extension, but he is the key for this team," Cespedes said. "I want to play in Oakland beyond my four years. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to play in the big leagues. I dont forget that." The Coliseum field is still dirt piles in preparation for a Monster Trucks event at the Coliseum later this month, then it will be quickly converted and re-turfed for baseball. Kyle Lowry Jersey . At least 90 players who had college eligibility remaining are expected to enter the draft, shattering last years record number of 73. 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The 19-year-old, who had been scratched in four straight games, had plans to fly back to B.C. over the three-day Christmas break, but sensing the increasing likelihood of a stint for Team Canada, he told his father Andy he might have to cancel those plans. "When we made the decision to not send him to the World Juniors that in our minds was when he proved to us that he had to play," said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, "and so weve been committed to the kid." It was the latest in a series of hurdles Rielly has gracefully overcome for the Maple Leafs this season. There was the lofty challenge of cracking the NHL roster out of training camp, sticking around beyond the 10-game mark and finally doing enough to convince those within the organization that his development was best served in North America rather than with the Canadian juniors in Malmo this holiday season. Now for the first time all year, Rielly is standing on solid ground in Toronto. The clouds of those earlier distractions have cleared and his sole focus can be on the ice. "It is a bit of a change," he told the Leaf Report, "but I think its a change in a good way. Im happy that I dont really have any worries right now. Im just trying to keep playing well and just trying to keep in the lineup." Rielly has not left the lineup since that four-game stint in early December. And with each passing game he offers growing glimpses of the potential which made him the fifth overall selection in the 2012 Draft. Those daring drives up the ice, with puck in tow, are becoming increasingly frequentt, too emphatic to miss and a glaring reminder of why the Leafs decided to keep him in lieu of a trip back to Moose Jaw or a stint with the junior team.dddddddddddd "He continues to grow," Carlyle said of Rielly, tied for fifth among rookie defenders with 11 points. "He makes mistakes as young players do – and old players do also. But we think theres a lot more potential in Morgan Rielly and you see glimpses of it now; his skating ability; his ability to move the puck; his ability to get up on the rush; his ability to read the game. Its all improving. And thats a great sign." Much of it, Carlyle says, is an increasing sense of comfort and confidence. And if theres one piece of advice Rielly has garnered above all others in his acclimation to the NHL, its to play with confidence. That was the wisdom passed along from Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf, who, in addition to 26-year-old Cody Franson, has been the most influential voice for the rookie defender. "I could be back in junior or you know over in Sweden, but Im not so [I] just try to have confidence and play like I can," said Rielly, averaging exactly 18 minutes nightly this season. "And thats all been Dion. Hes been great with that. Hes been really trying to help me with that." Still just a teenager, Rielly and fellow rookie Jerry DAmigo were fit with shovels as the official portion of practice wrapped on a quiet Saturday afternoon. They were called upon to clean the ice of snow for shootout work, the Leafs heading to the skills aspect of extra time in each of the past four games. It was the predictable grunt work of a first-year player trying to earn his keep. And it was exactly where he wanted to be. ' ' '