Oakland Athletics: Ranking the 10 Best Pitchers in Team History

With four World Series titles, the Oakland A's have been, over the years, a storied franchise, thanks in no small part to their pitchers.

Don't get me wrong, the A's have had plenty of pop in their offense as well. But for now let us reminisce about the pitchers who have shined bright over the past 40-plus years.

There have been power pitchers, mean pitchers and curve ball pitchers, just to name a few.

With all the different types of pitchers came an array of personalities as well. Words like mean, hard-nosed, laid back and stubborn all come to mind when thinking about pitchers from the Athletics' past.

Check out my list of the 10 greatest A's pitchers of all time, and feel free to comment on who I missed and who you would replace him with.

10. Mike Moore

This big country boy had to be on the list.

Mike Moore was an All-Star with the A's, winning 66 games during his tenure.

Moore played with the A's for four years and won 17 or more games three times.

9. Ken Holtzman

Ken Holtzman sometimes gets left out of conversations about great A's pitchers. This should not be the case.

Holtzman was a big part of the championship teams from 1972 to 1974. During those seasons Holtzman won 19, 21 and 19 games respectively.

In five seasons with the A's, he won 71 games and had an ERA of 2.92.

Although he was in Oakland for a shorter period of time, Holtzman's ERA with the A's was lower than Catfish Hunter's and Vida Blue's.

8. Mark Mulder

Mark Mulder was a big tall lefty with great stuff.

Mulder finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2001, winning 21 games in just his second year in the big leagues.

As an Athletic, Mulder was 81-42 and he made the American League All-Star team twice.

7. Tim Hudson

You will notice that I have put the "big three" from the the early-2000s together. And you will probably see a familiar pattern later on as well.

Since these guys dominated at the same time, they should probably not be too far apart when ranking them.

Tim Hudson is in the middle, this by no way saying the other two deserve to be higher or lower, but I had to put them somewhere.

Hudson was in Oakland from 1999 to 2004, compiling a 102-63 record along the way. He was also a two-time All-Star with the A's. In just his second year in the big leagues he finished second in the Cy Young voting.

6. Barry Zito

With the way things are going for Barry Zito these days, fans might think it's crazy to even have him on this list.

This list is for pitchers when they played for the A's, and when Zito donned the green and gold, he was pretty darn good.

The lefty with a monster curve ball was 102-63 with a 3.52 ERA while with the A's.

He was the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2002, going 23-5.

Zito was a three-time All-Star, and when his time was up in Oakland, he was considered one of the best in the game, which landed him his lucrative contract with the team across the Bay.

5. Dennis Eckersley

I know how some fans hate it when a reliever makes a top-pitchers list. Sorry, but there is no way Eck is not on this list.

Dennis Eckersley was a key component during the A's dominance from 1988 to 1990.

How in the world do you leave a guy out who won the Cy Young Award and the MVP in the same season?

4. Bob Welch

What a pick up this guy was from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Even after the Dodgers used him for nine seasons, Welch was magnificent as an Athletic.

Welch was with the A's from 1988 to 1994, and he won the Cy Young in 1990, winning a league-high 27 games.

When it was all said and done in Oakland, Welch compiled an impressive record of 96-60.

3. Dave Stewart

Don't let the high voice fool you, this guy was mean and nasty!

Known for his intimidating stare, Dave Stewart was a key component during the Athletics' run of three straight World Series appearances.

Stewart played for the A's for eight seasons, compiling a record of 119-78 with a 3.73 ERA. He was able to eat up innings, averaging over 200 per season as an Oakland Athletic.

In the 1989 World Series, he won two games on his way to winning the MVP.

From 1987 through 1990, Stewart never finished less than fourth in the Cy Young Award voting.

Some might argue that number three is too high for Stewart. Sorry, he is my personal favorite and this is where I think he belongs.

2. Vida Blue

As a young kid, I always liked Vida Blue.

Although most of my memories of him were as a San Francisco Giant, his best days were in an A's uniform.

In 1971 the fiery lefty won the Cy Young and the MVP awards. Durring his time in Oakland, Blue won 20 games or more three times while going 124-86.

Blue was also an All-Star three times while with Oakland.

1. Jim "Catfish" Hunter

Jim "Catfish" Hunter is the face of A's pitching as far as I'm concerned.

You have to start with Hunter and Vida Blue if you're going to make a list of the A's best arms.

Catfish won 161 games with the Oakland A's and made the All-Star team four times.

From 1972 to 1974 he finished no worse than fourth in Cy Young voting, while winning it in 1974.  Hunter won 20 or more games four times in a row from 1971 to 1974.

Not too shabby, Catfish!