1968 Oakland Athletics season
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1968 Oakland Athletics season
| 1968 Oakland Athletics |
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| Location | ||
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| 1968 Information | ||
| Owner(s) | Charles O. Finley | |
| Manager(s) | Bob Kennedy | |
| Local television | KBHK | |
| Local radio | KNBR (Monte Moore, Al Helfer) |
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The 1968 Oakland Athletics season was the team's first season in Oakland, following their relocation from Kansas City. Their first season in the Bay Area involved the A's finishing sixth in the American League with a record of 82 wins and 80 losses, 21 games behind the eventual World Series champion Detroit Tigers. Managed by Bob Kennedy, their 82-80 record was the team's first winning season since 1952, when the franchise was still in Philadelphia. The paid attendance for the season was 837,466.
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Contents
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Offseason
Relocation to Oakland
- On October 18, 1967, American League owners at last gave Finley permission to move the Athletics to Oakland for the 1968 season. According to some reports, AL President Joe Cronin promised Finley that he could move the team after the 1967 season as an incentive to sign the new lease with Municipal Stadium. The move came in spite of approval by voters in Jackson County, Missouri of a bond issue for a brand new baseball stadium (the eventual Kauffman Stadium) to be completed in 1973. During their 13-year stay in Kansas City, the Athletics were arguably one of the worst teams in baseball history, finishing last or next-to-last place in 10 of those years. Their overall record was 829–1,224, for a winning percentage of .404.
- October 22, 1967: Charlie Finley arrived at the Oakland Airport and was greeted by 400 fans. [1] Finley had signed a 20 year lease ($125,000 US per year or 5% of gate revenues if attendance passed 1.45 million a season) to bring the A’s to Oakland. [2]
Front office
Finley had persuaded Joe DiMaggio to take a position as Executive Vice President and consultant. DiMaggio needed two more years of baseball service to qualify for the league’s maximum pension allowance. [3] In addition, Finley signed Phil Seghi to run the A’s farm system (of note, Seghi signed Pete Rose to his first major league contract). [4]
Notable transactions
- October 19, 1967: Andy Kosco was purchased by the Athletics from the Minnesota Twins.[5]
- January 27, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball Draft (January Draft) notable picks:[6]
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- Round 1: George Hendrick
- Round 2: Reggie Sanders
- Secondary Phase:[7]
- Round 2: Ray Peters (did not sign)
Regular season
On May 8, in a game against the Minnesota Twins, Jim "Catfish" Hunter pitched the first perfect game in the American League since 1922,[8] but the paid attendance in Oakland was only 6,298. [9]
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 103 | 59 | .636 | – |
| Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 71 | .562 | 12 |
| Cleveland Indians | 86 | 75 | .534 | 16½ |
| Boston Red Sox | 86 | 76 | .531 | 17 |
| New York Yankees | 83 | 79 | .512 | 20 |
| Oakland Athletics | 82 | 80 | .506 | 21 |
| Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83 | .488 | 24 |
| California Angels | 67 | 95 | .414 | 36 |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 95 | .414 | 36 |
| Washington Senators | 65 | 96 | .404 | 37½ |
Notable transactions
- June 7, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball Draft (June Draft) notable picks:[10]
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- Round 1: Pete Broberg (did not sign)
- Round 6: Rich Troedson (did not sign).[11]
- Round 26: John Strohmayer
Roster
| 1968 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dave Duncan | 82 | 246 | 47 | .191 | 7 | 28 |
| 2B | John Donaldson | 127 | 363 | 80 | .220 | 2 | 27 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Webster | 66 | 196 | 42 | .214 | 3 | 23 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catfish Hunter | 36 | 234 | 13 | 13 | 3.35 | 173 |
| Chuck Dobson | 35 | 225.1 | 12 | 14 | 3.00 | 168 |
| Lew Krausse | 36 | 185 | 10 | 11 | 3.11 | 105 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Aker | 54 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 4.10 | 44 |
| Diego Seguí | 52 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2.39 | 72 |
| Ed Sprague | 47 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3.28 | 34 |
| Warren Bogle | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.30 | 26 |
Farm system
See also: Minor league baseball
- Life Magazine had declared the A's to have the best minor league system in professional baseball.[12] Finley had spent $2.5 million on bonus contracts as a way of getting prospects to sign with his club.
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Vancouver Mounties | Pacific Coast League | Mickey Vernon |
| AA | Birmingham A's | Southern League | Gus Niarhos |
| A | Peninsula Grays | Carolina League | Jimmy Williams |
| A | Leesburg Athletics | Florida State League | Al Ronning |
| A | Burlington Bees | Midwest League | Jim Hughes |
| Rookie | GCL A's | Gulf Coast League | Billy Herman |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL A's
References
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.118, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.120, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.119, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.121, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Andy Kosco page at Baseball Reference
- ^ 1968 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft
- ^ 1968 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft - Secondary Phase
- ^ Catfish Hunter perfect game box score by Baseball Almanac
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.126, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ 1968 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft
- ^ Rich Troedson page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.85, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
External links
- 1968 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
- 1968 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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