Oakland A's All-Time Team

Steven Resnick by Senior Writer Written on July 15, 2009
(0)
...
Share This  

Slide 1 of 15

Display_image

This slideshow is designed to show the best players at east position of the Oakland A's.

Let's take note that I'm just interested in the Oakland portion of the A's, so no players who played in Philadelphia and Kansas City will be included unless they came over to Oakland.

The numbers will represent the time spent with the A's. This lineup will definitely be good and could go up against some of the other all-time lineups.

Catcher: Terry Steinbach

2 May 1996:  Manager Art Howe and catcher Terry Steinbach of the Oakland Athletics confer on the pitchers mound during a game against the Anaheim Angels at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California.  The Angels won the game 3-1. Mandatory Credit

Terry Steinbach comes in as Oakland's best catcher. He played 11 seasons in Oakland, with his best season coming in 1996. He caught 1,050 games as a catcher for the A's.

The 1996 season that was mentioned is when Steinbach hit .272 with 35 homers, 100 RBI, 140 hits, 25 doubles, one triple, and scored 79 runs.

For his career with Oakland, Steinbach hit .275, with 132 homers, 595 rbis, 205 doubles, 14 triples, and scored 498 runs.

He has a World Series ring from the 1989 where he had a homer and seven RBI. He also was named an all-star three times in his career.

First Base: Mark McGwire

Display_image

Mark McGwire was one of the most feared sluggers for the A's.

He set a rookie record for most homeruns by a rookie with 49. Although he didn't hit for an extremely high average, he also walked a lot because pitchers feared him.

For his career with Oakland, he played in 1329 games. Had 1157 hits for the A's, hit 363 home runs, drove in 941 runs, and 195 doubles. He had an on-base percentage of .394

He was selected to nine All-Star games, won a Gold Glove, and was the 1987 Rookie of the Year.

Second Base: Mark Ellis

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 01:  Mark Ellis #14 of the Oakland Athletics attempts to throw out Adam Everett in the eighth inning during action against the Detroit Tigers during a Major League Baseball game on July 1, 2009 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Califo

Mark Ellis is Oakland's career leader in home runs for a second basemen.

He urrently has 73 homers and has driven in 326 runs. What makes Ellis the best second basemen the A's have ever had is his defense.

Ellis has tremendous range and rarely makes an error. He was robbed of a Gold Glove a couple of years ago.

His best season in the majors came in 2007 when he hit .276, 19 homers, 76 RBI, 33 doubles, three triples, 84 runs, 161 hits, and 9 stolen bases.

Shortstop: Miguel Tejada

Display_image

Miguel Tejada was one of the scariest hitters as an Athletic.

He provided lots of power from the shortstop position. Coming up in the A's organization, he was known for his defensive abilities, but he was above average at best defensively.

He had the ability to make the tough plays look easy and make the easy plays look too hard. He won an MVP with the A's in 2002—his best season with the A's.

For the year he hit 34 homers, 131 RBI, had a .308 batting average, 30 doubles, 204 hits, and scored 108 runs.

As a shortstop for the A's, he hit .270 with 156 homers, 604 RBI, 968 hits, 191 doubles, and scored 574 ru.

Third Base: Eric Chavez

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 12:  Eric Chavez #3 of the Oakland Athletics waits in the field against the Seattle Mariners during a Major League Baseball game on April 12, 2009 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.  (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Eric Chavez barely beats out Sal Bando. The reason is that even though injuries have plagued Chavez recently, Chavy was the better hitter, and had more power. And on defense, Chavez was the best in baseball at the hot corner.

For his career with the A's he has 1,250 hits, 227 homers, 777 RBI, 274 doubles, 720 runs scored, and a .268 batting average.

On defensive, he won six straight Gold Gloves. One came in a season where both shoulders were severely injured.

His best season as an A was in 2001. He posted a .288 average, hit 32 homers, 114 RBI, 43 doubles, 159 hits, and scored 91 runs.

Left Field: Rickey Henderson

Display_image

Rickey Henderson is one of the greatest players ever to play the game of baseball. In 14 seasons for the A's, he set records that included most stolen bases in a career, most steals in a season, and most career lead-off homers.

Henderson also won a MVP in 1990.

For his career Henderson had 1746 hits, 289 doubles, 167 homers, 648 RBI, scored 1270 runs, and had a .288 batting average.

Centerfield: Dwayne Murphy

Display_image

Dwayne Murphy was the best center fielder for the A's. He was more known for his defense than his hitting, winning six consecutive gold gloves for the A's.

For his career he hit .247, 153 homers, 563 RBI; he scored 614 runs and had 139 doubles, 1,069 hits, and 20 triples.

The best season for Murphy was in 1988. He batted .256, posting 33 homers, 88 RBI, 18 doubles, 143 hits, and two triples.

Right Field: Reggie Jackson

Display_image

Reggie Jackson was the best right fielder the A's have had. He won a MVP for the A's in 1973.

Jackson spent 10 years in Oakland, playing in 1,346 games. For his career, he hit 269 home runs, 776 RBI, 234 doubles, 1228 hits; he scored 756 times, and hit .262.

His best season with the A's was in 1969, when he hit 47 homers, drove in 118 runs, and scored 123 runs. He had 151 hits, 36 doubles, three triples, 13 stolen bases, and hit .275.

He also was a five time all-star with the A's.

Designated Hitter: Jose Canseco

Display_image

Jose Canseco gets selected as the Designated Hitter. Canseco had both power and speed, posting a 40 homer and 40 steal season.

He played nine seasons in Oakland and played in 1,058 games. He hit 254 homers, drove in 793 runs, stole 135 bases. Conseco had 1,048 hits, 186 doubles, and scored 662 runs.

Canseco's best year came in 1988, where he hit .307, hit 42 homers, drove in 124 runs, stole 40 bases. He had 34 doubles, 187 hits, and scored 120 runs.

Starting Pitcher: Catfish Hunter

Display_image

Catfish Hunter has the most wins by an Oakland pitcher with 131, and a 2.98 ERA. He also won the 1974 Cy Young Award, and appeared in six all-star games for the A's.

His best season was in 1972, when he went 21-7 with a 2.04 ERA. He had 16 complete games, five shutouts, pitched 295.1 innings, walked 70 batters, and struck out 191.

Closer: Dennis Eckersley

25 Jul 1992:  Pitcher Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland Athletics prepares to throw the ball during a game against the Minnesota Twins. Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule  /Allsport

When Dennis Eckersley was on he was nearly unhittable. He is the only closer in the history of baseball to win a Cy Young Award and MVP in the same season.

His seasons were dominant that even the great Mariano Rivera still hasn't had a comparable season to Eckersley.

He is Oakland's leader in saves. He was known for his sidearm delivery and his impeccable control.

Manager: Tony Larussa

Display_image

Tony Larussa has been the best manager for the A's since the franchise went to Oakland. He coached in Oakland from 1986-1995, and he left before the A's began to sputter even more.

Larussa currently ranks second in wins with 798 and second in losses with 673.

His best season with the A's was a 104-win season in 1988. When the A's won the World Series in 1989, the A's won 99 games.

General Manager: Billy Beane

FREMONT, CA - NOVEMBER 14: Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (R) speaks at a press conference with Lew Wolff (L) owner and managing partner of the Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball Commisioner Bud Selig announcing the building of a n

General Manager Billy Beane did wonders to the struggling franchise. In fact, the A's won a lot during the 2000's thanks to his hiring and his ability to evaluate talent.

Although it seems that Beane has hit a little bit of a lull, he does have the ability to make trades to help the A's in the future. Currently, the A's have one of the better farm systems in all of baseball.

Beane has his own philosophy about baseball and even wrote a book in regards to it. He likes his teams to work counts and when the batter does get a pitch to hit, to not miss.

If a player isn't working out or he isn't able to resign him, he usually gets the most value for the player.

Crop_45x45
or to post this comment

13 Comments

There are no comments yet. Get the conversation started by leaving the first comment

Loading more comments...
posted just now
  • Loading...
  • Nobody has liked this comment yet
Cancel

This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete

608
reads

13
comments

written on July 15, 2009 Sports

The best Athletics newsletter on the web

Subscribe Now

We will never share your email address