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Athletics (baseball)

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Oakland Athletics
2024 Oakland Athletics season
LogoCap insignia
  • Established in 1901
  • Based in Oakland since 1968
Major league affiliations
Current uniform
Retired numbers
Colors
  • Green, gold, white[a][2]
         
Name
  • Oakland Athletics (1968–present)
  • Kansas City Athletics (19551967)
  • Philadelphia Athletics (19011954)
Other nicknames
  • The A's
  • The Swingin' A's
  • The White Elephants
  • The Elephants
  • The Green and Gold
Ballpark
Major league titles
World Series titles (9)
AL Pennants (15)
West Division titles (17)
Wild card berths (4)
Front office
Principal owner(s)John J. Fisher
PresidentDave Kaval
President of baseball operationsBilly Beane
General managerDavid Forst
ManagerBob Melvin

The Oakland Athletics, often referred to as the A's, are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team plays its home games at the Oakland Coliseum. Throughout their history, the Athletics have won nine World Series championships.

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the team was founded in Philadelphia in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series championships in 1910, 1911, and 1913, and back-to-back titles in 1929 and 1930. The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968. They won three consecutive World Series in 1972, 1973, and 1974, led by players including Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, and owner Charlie O. Finley. After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas Jr., the team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the "Bash Brothers", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson and manager Tony La Russa.

From 1901 to 2020, the Athletics' overall win–loss record is 9,064–9,476 (.489).[3]

History

The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 and then to its current home in Oakland, California, in 1968. The A's made their Bay Area debut on Wednesday, April 17, 1968, with a 4–1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum, in front of an opening-night crowd of 50,164.[4]

The Athletics' name originated in the term "Athletic Club" for local gentlemen's clubs—dates to 1860 when an amateur team, the Athletic (Club) of Philadelphia, was formed. The team later turned professional through 1875, becoming a charter member of the National League in 1876, but were expelled from the N.L. after one season. A later version of the Athletics played in the American Association from 1882 to 1891.[5]

The familiar blackletter "A" is one of the oldest sports logos still in use. An image in Harper's Weekly with the rival Brooklyn Atlantics shows that the "A" appeared on the original Athletics' uniform as early as 1866.[6]

Elephant mascot

After New York Giants manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a "white elephant on his hands", team manager Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, and presented McGraw with a stuffed toy elephant at the start of the 1905 World Series.[7] McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously. By 1909, the A's were wearing an elephant logo on their sweaters, and in 1918 it turned up on the regular uniform jersey for the first time.

In 1963, when the A's were located in Kansas City, then-owner Charlie Finley changed the team mascot from an elephant to a mule, the state animal of Missouri. This is rumored to have been done by Finley in order to appeal to fans from the region who were predominantly Democrats at the time. (The traditional Republican Party symbol is an elephant, while the Democratic Party's symbol is a donkey.)[8] Since 1988, the Athletics' 21st season in Oakland, an illustration of an elephant has adorned the left sleeve of the A's home and road uniforms. Beginning in the mid 1980s, the on-field costumed incarnation of the A's elephant mascot went by the name Harry Elephante.[9] In 1997, he took his current form, Stomper.[10] Stomper was debuted during Opening Night on April 2, 1997.[11]

Uniforms

Through the seasons, the Athletics' uniforms have usually paid homage to their amateur forebears to some extent. Until 1954, when the uniforms had "Athletics" spelled out in script across the front, the team's name never appeared on either home or road uniforms. Furthermore, neither "Philadelphia" nor the letter "P" ever appeared on the uniform or cap. The typical Philadelphia uniform had only a script "A" on the left front, and likewise the cap usually had the same "A" on it. In the early days of the American League, the standings listed the club as "Athletic" rather than "Philadelphia", in keeping with the old tradition. Eventually, the city name came to be used for the team, as with the other major league clubs.

After buying the team in 1960, owner Charles O. Finley introduced new road uniforms with "Kansas City" printed on them, as well as an interlocking "KC" on the cap. Upon moving to Oakland, the "A" cap emblem was restored, although in 1970 an "apostrophe-s" was added to the cap and uniform emblem to reflect the fact that Finley was in the process of officially changing the team's name to the "A's".

The Athletics logo (1983–1992)

Also while in Kansas City, Finley changed the team's colors from their traditional red, white and blue to what he termed "Kelly Green, Wedding Gown White and Fort Knox Gold". It was also here that he began experimenting with dramatic uniforms to match these bright colors, such as gold sleeveless tops with green undershirts and gold pants. The innovative uniforms only increased after the team's move to Oakland, which also came at the time of the introduction of polyester pullover uniforms. During their dynasty years in the 1970s, the A's had dozens of uniform combinations with jerseys and pants in all three team colors, and in fact did not wear the traditional gray on the road, instead wearing green or gold, which helped to contribute to their nickname of "The Swingin' A's". After the team's sale to the Haas family, the team changed its primary color to a more subdued forest green and began a move back to more traditional uniforms.

Currently, the team wears home uniforms with "Athletics" spelled out in script writing and road uniforms with "Oakland" spelled out in script writing, with the cap logo consisting of the traditional "A" with "apostrophe-s". The home cap is green with a gold bill and white lettering, while the road cap, debuting in 2014, is all green with "A's" in white with gold trim. Regardless of road or home games, the batting helmets used are green with gold brim. However, before 2009, when the black A's helmets appeared, road helmets were green with green brim.

From 1994 until 2013, the A's wore green alternate jerseys with the word "Athletics" in gold. It was used on both road and home games. During the 2000s, the Athletics introduced black as one of their colors. They began wearing a black alternate jersey with "Athletics" written in green. After a brief discontinuance, the A's brought back the black jersey, this time with "Athletics" written in white with gold highlights. Commercially popular but rarely chosen as the alternate by players, in 2011 they were replaced by a new gold alternate jersey with "A's" in green on the left chest. With the exception of several road games during the 2011 season, the Athletics' gold uniforms were used as the designated home alternates. It was retired in 2019 in favor of the team's kelly green alternate uniform (see below). A green version of their gold alternates was introduced for the 2014 season to replace their previous green alternates. The new green alternates feature the piping, "A's" and lettering in white with gold trim.

In 2018, as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary since the move to Oakland, the A's wore a kelly green alternate uniform with "Oakland" in white with gold trim, and was paired with an all-kelly green cap.[12]

The nickname "A's" has long been used interchangeably with "Athletics", dating to the team's early days when headline writers wanted a way to shorten the name. From 1972 through 1980, the team nickname was officially "Oakland A's", although, during that time, the Commissioner's Trophy, given out annually to the winner of baseball's World Series, still listed the team's name as the "Oakland Athletics" on the gold-plated pennant representing the Oakland franchise. According to Bill Libby's Book, Charlie O and the Angry A's, owner Charlie O. Finley banned the word "Athletics" from the club's name because he felt that name was too closely associated with former Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack, and he wanted the name "Oakland A's" to become just as closely associated with him. The name also vaguely suggested the name of the old minor league Oakland Oaks, which were alternatively called the "Acorns". New owner Walter Haas restored the official name to "Athletics" in 1981, but retained the nickname "A's" for marketing purposes. At first, the word "Athletics" was restored only to the club's logo, underneath the much larger stylized-"A" that had come to represent the team since the early days. By 1987, however, the word returned, in script lettering, to the front of the team's jerseys.

Prior to the mid-2010s, the A's had a long-standing tradition of wearing white cleats team-wide (in line with the standard MLB practice that required all uniformed team members to wear a base cleat color), which dates back to the Finley ownership. Since the mid-2010s, however, MLB has gradually relaxed its shoe color rules, and several A's players began wearing cleats in non-white colors, most notably Jed Lowrie's green cleats.

Current home uniform, worn by Sean Doolittle
Current road uniform, worn by Frankie Montas
Current alternate forest green uniform, worn by Matt Olson
Current alternate kelly green uniform, worn by Lou Trivino
Former alternate gold uniform, worn by Sean Doolittle
Former alternate forest green uniform, worn by Josh Outman
Former alternate black uniform, worn by Gregorio Petit

Ballpark

The Oakland Alameda Coliseum—originally known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, and later named as Network Associates, McAfee, Overstock.com/O.co and RingCentral Coliseum—was built as a multi-purpose facility. Louisiana Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Athletics officials during the 1978–79 baseball offseason about moving the Athletics to the Superdome in New Orleans. The Athletics were unable to break their lease at the Coliseum, and remained in Oakland.[13]

After the Oakland Raiders football team moved to Los Angeles in 1982, many improvements were made to what was suddenly a baseball-only facility. The 1994 movie Angels in the Outfield was filmed in part at the Coliseum, filling in for Anaheim Stadium.

The Coliseum as seen in its original open grandstand configuration before being enclosed.

Then, in 1995, a deal was struck whereby the Raiders would move back to Oakland for the 1995 season. The agreement called for the expansion of the Coliseum to 63,026 seats. The bucolic view of the Oakland foothills that baseball spectators enjoyed was replaced with a jarring view of an outfield grandstand contemptuously referred to as "Mount Davis" after Raiders' owner Al Davis. Because construction was not finished by the start of the 1996 season, the Athletics were forced to play their first six-game homestand at 9,300-seat Cashman Field in Las Vegas.[14]

Although official capacity was stated to be 43,662 for baseball, seats were sometimes sold in Mount Davis as well, pushing "real" capacity to the area of 60,000. The ready availability of tickets on game day made season tickets a tough sell, while crowds as high as 30,000 often seemed sparse in such a venue. On December 21, 2005, the Athletics announced that seats in the Coliseum's third deck would not be sold for the 2006 season, but would instead be covered with a tarp, and that tickets would no longer be sold in Mount Davis under any circumstances. That effectively reduced capacity to 34,077, making the Coliseum the smallest stadium in Major League Baseball. Beginning in 2008, sections 316–318 (immediately behind home plate) were the only third-deck sections open for A's games, which brought the total capacity to 35,067 until 2017 when new team president Dave Kaval took the tarps off of the upper deck, increasing capacity to 47,170. The Athletics were the last remaining MLB team to share a stadium with an NFL team on a full-time basis, a situation that ended at the end of 2019 when the Raiders relocated to Las Vegas in 2020 making the Coliseum a baseball-only facility once again.

The Athletics' spring training facility is Hohokam Stadium, located in Mesa, Arizona. From 1982 to 2014, their spring training facility was Phoenix Municipal Stadium, located in Phoenix, Arizona.[15] Previous spring-training sites since they moved to Oakland in 1968 were Yuma and Mesa, Arizona, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada, all in the 1970s. [citation needed]

Improvements to the Coliseum

In his time as president, Dave Kaval has enhanced the fan experience by making upgrades to the Oakland Coliseum, including the addition of a number of club and premium seating areas, renovating Shibe Park Tavern, and introducing three new fan areas: Championship Plaza, The Treehouse and a kids' zone.

Championship Plaza

In 2017, the team created this new outdoor plaza in the space between the Coliseum and Oracle Arena. The grassy area is open to all ticketed fans, and it features food trucks, seating and games like corn hole for every A's home game.

The Treehouse

The A's introduced The Treehouse at the start of the 2018 season. The 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) area is open to all fans and features two full-service bars, standing-room and lounge seating, numerous televisions and pre- and postgame entertainment.

A’s Stomping Ground

The A's Stomping Ground transformed part of the Eastside Club and the area near the right-field flag poles into a fun and interactive space for kids and families. The inside section features a stage and video wall for interactive events, a digital experience that lets youngsters race their favorite A's players, replica A's dugouts, a simulated hitting and pitching machine, foosball, and a photo booth. The outside area includes play areas, a grassy seating area, drink rails for parents, and picnic tables. Later this season, the A's will add a miniature baseball field and spiderweb play area.

Premium Spaces

The A's added three new premium spaces, including The Terrace, Lounge Seats, and the Coppola Theater Boxes, to the Coliseum for the 2019 season. The new premium seating options offer fans a high-end game day experience with luxury amenities. The team also added two new group spaces - the Budweiser Hero Deck and Golden Road Landing - to the Coliseum.

Other Additions

Dave Kaval, the president of the team, has innovated the fan experience by removing the tarps on the upper deck, introducing a modern version of the beloved mechanical Harvey the Rabbit to deliver the first pitch ball, and naming the playing surface at the Coliseum "Rickey Henderson Field." The Club hosted the first free game in MLB history for 46,028 fans on April 17, 2018, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the A's first game in Oakland. On July 21, 2018, the A's set a Coliseum record for the largest attendance with a crowd of 56,310 when the team played host to the San Francisco Giants.

New Ballpark

2000s proposals

Since the early-2000s, the A's have been in talks with Oakland and other Northern California cities about building a new baseball-only stadium. The team has said it wants to remain in Oakland. On November 28, 2018, the Athletics announced that the team had chosen to build its new 34,000-seat ballpark at the Howard Terminal site at the Port of Oakland. In 2018 the team announced its intent to purchase the Coliseum site and renovate it into a tech and housing hub, preserving Oakland Arena and reducing the Coliseum to a low-rise sports park as San Francisco did with Kezar Stadium.[16]

Prior proposals

Fremont

After the city of Oakland failed to make any progress toward a stadium, the A's began contemplating a move to the Warm Springs district of suburban Fremont. Fremont is about 25 miles (40 km) south of Oakland; many nearby residents are already a part of the current Athletics fanbase.

On November 7, 2006, many media sources announced the Athletics would be leaving Oakland as early as 2010 for a new stadium in Fremont, confirmed the next day by the Fremont City Council. The plan was strongly supported by Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman.[17] The team would have played in what was planned to be called Cisco Field, a 32,000-seat, baseball-only facility.[18] The proposed ballpark would have been part of a larger "ballpark village" which would have included retail and residential development. On February 24, 2009, however, Lew Wolff released an open letter regarding the end of his efforts to relocate the A's to Fremont, citing "real and threatened" delays to the project.[19] The project faced opposition from some in the community who thought the relocation of the A's to Fremont would increase traffic problems in the city and decrease property values near the ballpark site.

San Jose

In 2009, the City of San Jose attempted to open negotiations with the team regarding a move to the city. Although parcels of land south of Diridon Station would be acquired by the city as a stadium site, the San Francisco Giants' claim on Santa Clara County as part of their home territory would have to be settled before any agreement could be made.[20]

By 2010, San Jose was "aggressively wooing" A's owner Lew Wolff. Wolff referred to San Jose as the team's "best option", but Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said he would wait on a report on whether the team could move to the area because of the Giants conflict.[21] In September 2010, 75 Silicon Valley CEOs drafted and signed a letter to Bud Selig urging a timely approval of the move to San Jose.[22] In May 2011, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed sent a letter to Bud Selig asking the commissioner for a timetable of when he might decide whether the A's can pursue this new ballpark, but Selig did not respond.[23]

Selig addressed the San Jose issue via an online town hall forum held in July 2011, saying, "Well, the latest is, I have a small committee who has really assessed that whole situation, Oakland, San Francisco, and it is complex. You talk about complex situations; they have done a terrific job. I know there are some people who think it's taken too long and I understand that. I'm willing to accept that. But you make decisions like this; I've always said, you'd better be careful. Better to get it done right than to get it done fast. But we'll make a decision that's based on logic and reason at the proper time."[24]

On June 18, 2013, the City of San Jose filed suit against Selig, seeking the court's ruling that Major League Baseball may not prevent the Oakland A's from moving to San Jose.[25] Wolff criticized the lawsuit, stating he did not believe business disputes should be settled through legal action.[26]

Most of the city's claims were dismissed in October 2013, but a U.S. District Judge ruled that San Jose could move forward with its count that MLB illegally interfered with an option agreement between the city and the A's for land. On January 15, 2015, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the claims were barred by baseball's antitrust exemption, established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1922 and upheld in 1953 and 1972. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo commented that the city would seek a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.[27] On October 5, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rejected San Jose's bid on the Athletics.[28]

Peralta

A 2017 plan would have placed a new 35,000 seat A's stadium near Laney College and the Eastlake neighborhood on the current site of the Peralta Community College District's administration buildings. The plan was announced by team president Dave Kaval in September 2017.[29] However, just three months later, college officials abruptly ended the negotiations.[30]

Rivals

San Francisco Giants

The Bay Bridge Series is the name of a series of games played between (and the rivalry of) the A's and San Francisco Giants of the National League. The series takes its name from the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge which links the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. Although competitive, the regional rivalry between the A's and Giants is considered a friendly one with mostly mutual companionship between the fans, as opposed to White Sox–Cubs, or Yankees–Mets games where animosity runs high. Hats displaying both teams on the cap are sold from vendors at the games, and once in a while the teams both dress in original team uniforms from the early era of baseball. The series is also occasionally referred to as the "BART Series" for the Bay Area Rapid Transit system that links Oakland to San Francisco. However, the name "BART Series" has never been popular beyond a small selection of history books and national broadcasters and has fallen out of favor. Bay Area locals almost exclusively refer to the rivalry as the "Battle of the Bay".[31]

Originally, the term described a series of exhibition games played between the two clubs after the conclusion of spring training, immediately prior to the start of the regular season. It was first used to refer to the 1989 World Series in which the Athletics won their most recent championship and the first time the teams had met since they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (and the first time they had met since the A's also defeated the Giants in the 1913 World Series). Today, it also refers to games played between the teams during the regular season since the commencement of interleague play in 1997. Through the 2018 regular season, the Athletics have won 63 games, and the Giants have won 57 contests.[32]

The A's also have edges on the Giants in terms of overall postseason appearances (18-12), division titles (16-8) and World Series titles (4-3) since both teams moved to the Bay Area, even though the Giants franchise moved there a decade earlier than the A's did.

On March 24, 2018, the Oakland A's announced that for the Sunday, March 25, 2018 exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants, A's fans would be charged $30 for parking and Giants fans would be charged $50. However, the A's stated that Giants fans could receive $20 off if they shout "Go A's" at the parking gates.[33]

In 2018, the Athletics and Giants started battling for a "Bay Bridge" Trophy[34] made from steel taken from the old bay bridge which was taken down after a new bridge was opened in 2013.[35][36] The A's won the inaugural season with the trophy, allowing them to place their logo atop its bay bridge stand.[37]

Historic rivalries

Philadelphia Phillies

The City Series was the name of a series of baseball games played between the Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League that ran from 1903 through 1955. After the A's move to Kansas City in 1955, the City Series rivalry came to an end. Since the introduction of interleague play in 1997, the teams have since faced each other during the regular season (with the first games taking place in 2003) but the rivalry has effectively died in the intervening years since the A's left Philadelphia. In 2014, when the A's faced the Phillies in inter-league play at the Oakland Coliseum, the Athletics didn't bother to mark the historical connection, going so far as to have a Connie Mack promotion the day before the series while the Texas Rangers were in Oakland.[38]

The first City Series was held in 1883 between the Phillies and the American Association Philadelphia Athletics.[39] When the Athletics first joined the American League, the two teams played each other in a spring and fall series. No City Series was held in 1901 and 1902 due to legal warring between the National League and American League.

Achievements

Awards

Hall of Famers

Oakland Athletics Hall of Famers
Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Philadelphia Athletics

Home Run Baker *
Chief Bender *
Ty Cobb
Mickey Cochrane *

Eddie Collins
Jimmy Collins
Stan Coveleski
Elmer Flick

Nellie Fox
Jimmie Foxx *
Lefty Grove *
Waite Hoyt
George Kell

Nap Lajoie
Connie Mack *
Herb Pennock
Eddie Plank *

Al Simmons *
Tris Speaker
Rube Waddell *
Zack Wheat

Kansas City Athletics

Luke Appling

Lou Boudreau

Whitey Herzog
Tommy Lasorda

Satchel Paige

Enos Slaughter

Oakland Athletics

Harold Baines
Orlando Cepeda
Dennis Eckersley *
Rollie Fingers *

Goose Gossage
Rickey Henderson *
Catfish Hunter *

Reggie Jackson *
Tony La Russa
Willie McCovey

Joe Morgan
Mike Piazza
Tim Raines

Don Sutton
Frank Thomas
Billy Williams
Dick Williams

  • Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Athletics cap insignia.
  • * Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics listed as primary team according to the Hall of Fame

Ford C. Frick Award recipients

Oakland Athletics Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Harry Caray
Herb Carneal

Al Helfer
Bill King

By Saam
Lon Simmons

  • Names in bold received the award based primarily on their work as broadcasters for the Athletics.

Retired numbers

The Athletics have retired six numbers, and honored one additional individual with the letter "A". Walter A. Haas, Jr., owner of the team from 1980 until his death in 1995, was honored by the retirement of the letter "A". Of the six players with retired numbers, five were retired for their play with the Athletics and one, 42, was universally retired by Major League Baseball when they honored the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier. No A's player from the Philadelphia era has his number retired by the organization. Though Jackson and Hunter played small portions of their careers in Kansas City, no player that played the majority of his years in the Kansas City era has his number retired either. The A's have retired only the numbers of Hall-of-Famers who played large portions of their careers in Oakland. The Athletics have all of the numbers of the Hall-of-Fame players from the Philadelphia Athletics displayed at their stadium, as well as all of the years that the Philadelphia Athletics won World Championships (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930).

9
Reggie
Jackson

RF
 
Retired
May 22, 2004
24
Rickey
Henderson

LF
 
Retired
August 1, 2009
27
Catfish
Hunter

P
 
Retired
June 9, 1991
34
Rollie
Fingers

P
 
Retired
July 5, 1993
43
Dennis
Eckersley

P
 
Retired
August 13, 2005
A
Walter A.
Haas, Jr.

Owner
 
Honored
1995
42
Jackie
Robinson

All MLB
 
Retired
April 15, 1997

Athletics Hall of Fame

On September 5, 2018, the Athletics held a ceremony to induct seven members into the inaugural class of the team's Hall of Fame. Each member was honored with an unveiling of a painting in their likeness and a bright green jacket. Hunter, who died in 1999, was represented by his widow, while Finley, who died in 1996, was represented by his son. If the team ever gets a new stadium, a physical site will be designated for the Hall of Fame, as the Coliseum does not have enough space for a full-fledged exhibit.[40]

Key
Bold Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Athletic
Bold Recipient of the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award
Athletics Hall of Fame
Year No. Player Position Tenure
2018 43 Dennis Eckersley P 1987–1995
34 Rollie Fingers P 1968–1976
24 Rickey Henderson LF 1979–1984
1989–1993
1994–1995
1998
27 Catfish Hunter P 1965–1974
9 Reggie Jackson RF 1967–1975
1987
34 Dave Stewart P 1986–1992
1995
Charlie Finley Owner
General Manager
1960–1981
2019 10, 11, 22, 29, 42 Tony La Russa IF
Manager
1963
1968–1971
1986–1995
14, 17, 21, 28, 35 Vida Blue P 1969–1977
19 Bert "Campy" Campaneris SS 1964–1976
25 Mark McGwire 1B 1986–1997
Walter A. Haas, Jr. Owner 1981–1995
2021 Connie Mack Manager
Owner
1901–1950
1901–1954
Eddie Collins 2B 1906–1914
1927–1930
Frank "Home Run" Baker 3B 1908–1914
Charles "Chief" Bender P 1903–1914
2 Mickey Cochrane C 1925–1933
2, 3 Jimmie Foxx 1B 1925–1935
10 Lefty Grove P 1925–1933
Eddie Plank P 1901–1914
6, 7, 28, 32 Al Simmons LF
Coach
1924–1932
1940–1941, 1944
1940–1945
Rube Waddell P 1902–1907

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

Dave Stewart, Oakland Athletics pitcher from 1986 to 1992 and 1995

17 members of the Athletics organization have been honored with induction into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Athletics in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
No. Player Position Tenure Notes
12 Dusty Baker OF 1985–1986
14, 17, 21, 28, 35 Vida Blue P 1969–1977
19 Bert "Campy" Campaneris SS 1964–1976
12 Orlando Cepeda 1B 1972 Elected mainly on his performance with San Francisco Giants
4, 6, 10, 14 Sam Chapman CF 1938–1941
1945–1951
Born and raised in Tiburon, California
43 Dennis Eckersley P 1987–1995 Grew up in Fremont, California
32, 34, 38 Rollie Fingers P 1968–1976
Walter A. Haas, Jr. Owner 1981–1995 Grew up in San Francisco, California attended UC Berkeley
24 Rickey Henderson LF 1979–1984
1989–1993
1994–1995
1998
Raised in Oakland, California
27 Catfish Hunter P 1965–1974
9, 31, 44 Reggie Jackson RF 1968–1975
1987
1 Eddie Joost SS
Manager
1947–1954
1954
Born and raised in San Francisco, California
10, 11, 22, 29, 42 Tony La Russa IF
Manager
1963
1968–1971
1986–1995
1, 4 Billy Martin 2B
Manager
1957
1980–1982
Elected mainly on his performance with New York Yankees, Born in Berkeley, California
44 Willie McCovey 1B 1976 Elected mainly on his performance with San Francisco Giants
8 Joe Morgan 2B 1984 Elected mainly on his performance with Cincinnati Reds, raised in Oakland, California
19 Dave Righetti P 1994 Born and raised in San Jose, California
34, 35 Dave Stewart P 1986–1992
1995
Born and raised in Oakland, California

Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame

The Athletics have all of the numbers of the Hall-of-Fame players from the Philadelphia Athletics displayed at their stadium, as well as all of the years that the Philadelphia Athletics won World Championships (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930).

Also, from 1978 to 2003 (except 1983), the Philadelphia Phillies inducted one former Athletic (and one former Phillie) each year into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame at the then-existing Veterans Stadium. 25 Athletics have been honored. In March 2004, after Veterans Stadium was replaced by the new Citizens Bank Park, the Athletics' plaques were relocated to the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society in Hatboro, Pennsylvania,[41][42][43] and a single plaque listing all of the A's inductees was attached to a statue of Connie Mack that is located across the street from Citizens Bank Park.[44][45]

Key
Year Year inducted
Bold Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of the A's
Bold Recipient of the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award
Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
No. Player Position Tenure Inducted
Frank "Home Run" Baker 3B 1908–1914 1993
Charles "Chief" Bender P 1903–1914 1991
4, 6, 10, 14 Sam Chapman CF 1938–1951 1999
2 Mickey Cochrane C 1925–1933 1982
 — Eddie Collins 2B 1906–1914
1927–1930
1987
Jack Coombs P 1906–1914 1992
5 Jimmy Dykes 3B/2B
Coach
Manager
1918–1932
1940–1950
1951–1953
1984
11 George Earnshaw P 1928–1933 2000
5, 8 Ferris Fain 1B 1947–1952 1997
2, 3, 4 Jimmie Foxx 1B 1925–1935 1979
10 Lefty Grove P 1925–1933 1980
4, 7, 26 "Indian Bob" Johnson LF 1933–1942 1989
1 Eddie Joost SS
Manager
1947–1954
1954
1995
Connie Mack Manager
Owner
1901–1950
1901–1954
1978
9, 27 Bing Miller RF 1922–1926
1928–1934
1998
1, 2, 9, 19 Wally Moses RF 1935–1941
1949–1951
1988
Rube Oldring CF 1906–1916
1918
2003
Eddie Plank P 1901–1914 1985
14 Eddie Rommel P 1920–1932 1996
21, 30 Bobby Shantz P 1949–1954 1994
6, 7, 28, 32 Al Simmons LF
Coach
1924–1932
1940–1941, 1944
1940–1945
1981
10, 15, 21, 35, 38 Elmer Valo RF 1940–1954 1990
Rube Waddell P 1902–1907 1986
12 Rube Walberg P 1923–1933 2002
6, 19, 30 Gus Zernial LF 1951–1954 2001

Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

Athletics in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted Notes
Connie Mack Manager
Owner
1901–1950
1901–1954
2004
2, 3, 4 Jimmie Foxx 1B 1925–1935 2004
10 Lefty Grove P 1925–1933 2005
6, 7, 28, 32 Al Simmons LF
Coach
1924–1932
1940–1941, 1944
1940–1945
2006
2 Mickey Cochrane C 1925–1933 2007
Eddie Collins 2B 1906–1914
1927–1930
2009
21, 30 Bobby Shantz P 1949–1954 2010
5 Jimmy Dykes 3B/2B
Coach
Manager
1918–1932
1940–1950
1951–1953
2011 Born in Philadelphia
Eddie Plank P 1901–1914 2012
Charles "Chief" Bender P 1903–1914 2014
Herb Pennock P 1912–1915 2014 Elected mainly on his performance with New York Yankees
By Saam Broadcaster 1938–1954 2014
4, 7, 26 Bob Johnson LF 1933–1942 2017
Home Run Baker 3B 1908–1914 2019

Team captains

Season-by-season records

The records of the Athletics' last ten seasons in Major League Baseball are listed below.

Season Wins Losses Win % Place Playoffs
2011 74 88 .457 3rd in AL West
2012 94 68 .580 1st in AL West Lost ALDS vs. Detroit Tigers, 3–2
2013 96 66 .593 1st in AL West Lost ALDS vs. Detroit Tigers, 3–2
2014 88 74 .543 2nd in AL West Lost ALWC vs. Kansas City Royals, 9–8
2015 68 94 .420 5th in AL West
2016 69 93 .426 5th in AL West
2017 75 87 .463 5th in AL West
2018 97 65 .599 2nd in AL West Lost ALWC vs. New York Yankees, 7–2
2019 97 65 .599 2nd in AL West Lost ALWC vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 5–1
2020 36 24 .600 1st in AL West Lost ALDS vs. Houston Astros, 3-1
10-Year Record 839 781 .518
All-Time Record 9,028 9,452 .489

Individuals

Khris Davis (outfielder/hitter) has been called “the most consistent hitter in baseball history”[46] with his 2014 to 2018 season averages of .244, .247, .247, .247, and .247.[47]

Roster

40-man roster Non-roster invitees Coaches/Other

Pitchers


Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated hitters






Manager

Coaches


Restricted list

38 active, 0 inactive, 0 non-roster invitees

7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list
* Not on active roster
Suspended list
Roster, coaches, and NRIs updated December 11, 2024
Transactions Depth chart
All MLB rosters

Minor league affiliations

The Oakland Athletics farm system consists of six minor league affiliates.[48]

Level Team League Location
Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators Triple-A West Summerlin, Nevada
Double-A Midland RockHounds Double-A Central Midland, Texas
High-A Lansing Lugnuts High-A Central Lansing, Michigan
Low-A Stockton Ports Low-A West Stockton, California
Rookie ACL Athletics Arizona Complex League Mesa, Arizona
DSL Athletics Dominican Summer League Boca Chica, Santo Domingo

Radio and television

As of the 2020 season, the Oakland Athletics have had 14 radio homes.[49] The Athletics' flagship radio station is KNEW and the team has a free live 24/7 exclusive A's station branded as A's Cast to stream the radio broadcast within the Athletics market and other A's programming via iHeartRadio.[50] Going into the 2020 season, the Athletics had a deal with TuneIn for A's Cast and no flagship radio station in the Bay Area but changed their plans after the COVID-19 epidemic.[51] The announcing team features Ken Korach and Vince Cotroneo.

Television coverage is exclusively on NBC Sports California. Some A's games air on an alternate feed of NBCS, called NBCS Plus, if the main channel shows a Sacramento Kings or San Jose Sharks game at the same time. On TV, Glen Kuiper covers play-by-play, and Ray Fosse typically provides color commentary. Kuiper and Fosse are frequently joined by former Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden, who adds additional color from the field level.

The 2003 Michael Lewis book Moneyball chronicles the 2002 Oakland Athletics season, with a specific focus on Billy Beane's economic approach to managing the organization under significant financial constraints. Beginning in June 2003, the book remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 18 consecutive weeks, peaking at number 2.[52][53] In 2011, Columbia Pictures released a film adaptation based on Lewis' book, which featured Brad Pitt playing the role of Beane. On September 19, 2011, the U.S. premiere of Moneyball was held at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, which featured a green carpet for attendees to walk, rather than the traditional red carpet.[54]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The team's official colors are green and gold, according to the team's mascot (Stomper)'s official website.[1]

References

  1. ^ "About Stomper". Athletics.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Clair, Michael (March 17, 2017). "Why do the A's wear green? You can thank Charlie Finley". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 6, 2018. Before Finley came on board, the then-Kansas City A's wore baseball's standard blue-and-red combination. In 1963, that all changed as Finley outfitted the team in glorious gold (Finley said it was the same shade the United States Naval Academy used) and kelly green for the very first time.
  3. ^ "Oakland Athletics Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Boxscore from Baseball-Reference.com "Wednesday, April 17, 1968, 7:46PM, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum"
  5. ^ "American Association (19th Century) - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "r/ClassicBaseball - Amazing 1866 Harper's Weekly woodcut engraving of the Brooklyn Atlantics and Philadelphia Athletics, from the National Association Of Base Ball Players league". reddit. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Logos and Mascots". MLB.com. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "The A's celebrate KC roots with green and gold uniforms — and a mule named Charlie O". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Mascots you don't see on sports sidelines". May 22, 2007.
  10. ^ "Stomper's Place". Oakland Athletics.
  11. ^ "Stomper: The Oakland A's Mascot". MLB. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  12. ^ "Oakland A's to wear kelly green alternate jersey for Friday home games". MLB.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  13. ^ United Press International (January 30, 1979). "Yankees, Twins still dickering". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
  14. ^ "Cashman Field | Las Vegas 51s Cashman Field". Web.minorleaguebaseball.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  15. ^ Leavitt, Parker (October 24, 2014). "Mesa's Hohokam Stadium ready for Oakland A's". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  16. ^ "A's settle on a ballpark site and a futuristic stadium". The Mercury News. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  17. ^ Dennis, Rob (December 30, 2011). "Fremont mayor Bob Wasserman dead at 77". The Argus (Fremont). Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  18. ^ "A's, Cisco reach ballpark deal". USA Today. November 9, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  19. ^ "Full text of A's letter to Fremont". February 24, 2009.
  20. ^ "Plans for A's stadium in San Jose moving forward". USA Today. San Jose, California. Associated Press. June 16, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  21. ^ "How the A's ballpark plans stack up". San Jose Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  22. ^ Seipel, Tracy (September 8, 2010). "75 Silicon Valley leaders endorse A's move to San Jose". San Jose Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  23. ^ Calcaterra, Craig (June 30, 2011). "In case you forgot, the Athletics are still in franchise limbo". HardballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  24. ^ Koehn, Josh (July 12, 2011). "Selig Talks About A's Move to San Jose". San Jose Inside. Sanjoseinside.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  25. ^ Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP (June 18, 2013), CITY OF SAN JOSE; CITY OF SAN JOSE AS SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE; and THE SAN JOSE DIRIDON DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, Plaintiffs, v. OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL, an unincorporated association doing business as Major League Baseball; and ALLAN HUBER "BUD" SELIG, Defendants (PDF), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, retrieved May 5, 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "San Jose sues MLB over A's vote". San Francisco, California: ESPN. Associated Press. June 19, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  27. ^ "San Jose loses appeal over A's move". San Francisco, California: ESPN. Associated Press. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  28. ^ Egelko, Bob (October 5, 2015). "U.S. Supreme Court rejects San Jose's bid to lure Oakland A's". SFGate. Hearst Communications, Inc. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  29. ^ "A's want to build new ballpark next to Laney College in Oakland". September 13, 2017.
  30. ^ "Proposed site for A's ballpark falls through". USA Today. AP. December 6, 2017.
  31. ^ 15 biggest MLB rivalries of all time https://us.bolavip.com
  32. ^ "Head-to-Head record for Oakland Athletics against the listed opponents from 1997 to 2018". baseball-reference.com.
  33. ^ Goldberg, Ron (March 24, 2018). "Athletics Offer $20 Parking Discount to Giants Fans Who Yell 'Go A's' at Gates". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  34. ^ "Athletics, Giants unveil Bay Bridge trophy".
  35. ^ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Bay-Bridge-Now-Open-to-Public-222062721.html
  36. ^ "Last 2 Piers of the Old Bay Bridge Demolished". September 8, 2018.
  37. ^ "A's Take Bay Bridge Series with Another Walkoff Win over the Giants".
  38. ^ "2014 Promotional Schedule". Oakland Athletics.
  39. ^ Burgoyne, Tom (2004). Movin' on Up: Baseball and Phialdephia Then, Now, and Always. B B& A Publishers. p. 128. ISBN 0-9754419-3-0.
  40. ^ https://www.mlb.com/athletics/history/athletics-hall-of-fame
  41. ^ For photos of the A's Wall of Fame plaques, see Philadelphia A's Society Museum and Library Archived December 29, 2005, at the Wayback Machine webpage. Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  42. ^ Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society Archived September 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine official website. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  43. ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (February 22, 2011). "Demographics may doom the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society". philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  44. ^ For photos of the plaque, see Montella, Ernie (June 5, 2004). "Wall of Fame Day in Hatboro, Pennsylvania". Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  45. ^ Jordan, David M. "Vet Plaques Come to Hatboro". Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  46. ^ The Most Consistent Hitter In Baseball History -- Oakland’s Khris Davis can’t stop hitting .247., Michael Salfino and Neil Paine , FiveThirtyEight, 2018-07-20
  47. ^ "Khris Davis". Baseball Reference.
  48. ^ "Oakland Athletics Minor League Affiliates". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  49. ^ "Oakland A's confirm split with radio flagship via Twitter". The Mercury News. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  50. ^ San Francisco Chronicle [@sfchronicle] (July 30, 2020). "JUST IN: The Oakland A's - who had planned to provide streaming-only service for its audio broadcasts in the Bay Area - will partner with 960 AM radio station starting Friday. https://t.co/BE7zJ2pv6M" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2020 – via Twitter.
  51. ^ "A's announce new radio partnerships for upcoming season". The Mercury News. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  52. ^ "The New York Times Best Seller List - June 22, 2003" (PDF). Hawes Publications. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  53. ^ "The New York Times Best Seller List - June 22, 2003" (PDF). Hawes Publications. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  54. ^ "Oakland shines for 'Moneyball' premiere". San Francisco Chronicle. September 20, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2014.

Further reading

  • Bergman, Ron. Mustache Gang: The Swaggering Tale of Oakland's A's. Dell Publishing Co., New York, 1973.
  • Dickey, Glenn. Champions: The Story of the First Two Oakland A's Dynasties—and the Building of the Third. Triumph Books, Chicago, 2002. ISBN 1-57243-421-X
  • Jordan, David M. The Athletics of Philadelphia: Connie Mack's White Elephants, 1901–1954. McFarland & Co., Jefferson NC, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0620-8.
  • Katz, Jeff. "The Kansas City A's & The Wrong Half of the Yankees." Maple Street Press, Hingham, Massachusetts, 2006. ISBN 978-0-9777436-5-0.
  • Kuklick, Bruce. To Everything a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia 1909–1976. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 1991. ISBN 0-691-04788-X.
  • Lewis, Michael. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 2003. ISBN 0-393-05765-8.
  • Markusen, Bruce. Baseball's Last Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Oakland A's. Master Press, Indianapolis, 1998.
  • Peterson, John E. The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History 1954–1967. McFarland & Co., Jefferson NC, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-1610-6.
  • Slusser, Susan. 100 Things A's Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015. ISBN 978-1629370682.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by World Series champions
Philadelphia Athletics

1910 and 1911
1913
1929 and 1930
Succeeded by
Preceded by World Series champions
Oakland Athletics

1972, 1973, and 1974
1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by American League champions
Philadelphia Athletics

1902
1905
1910 and 1911
1913 and 1914
1929, 1930, and 1931
Succeeded by
Preceded by American League champions
Oakland Athletics

1972, 1973, and 1974
1988, 1989, and 1990
Succeeded by