Record: 50-112, 6th, AL West (44 GB)
Postseason: lol
Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum (aka "the Mausoleum") (100 hits, 93 HR)
Runs scored: 575 (9th)
Runs allowed: 767 (12th)
Pythag record: 60-102 (-10)
Recap: The A's somehow managed to have the worst season in American League history despite playing games against 2 expansion teams. They were .384 or worse in every single month, although they were spared the "worst season of all time" ignonimity in the last week of the season thanks to the Montreal Expos' nosedive.
History: In 1968 the A's set an AL record with 106 losses. The 1969 team: "hold my beer". As a franchise the A's are the team everyone else in the league kicks dirt on. They have a lifetime record over three cities of .466 and have never won more than 82 games in a season. In 1959, playing in Kansas City, they were somehow only 4 games out of 1st in spite of an 81-73 record. That's as good it gets if for some reason you've chosen to be an A's fan.
Outlook: The A's did grossly underachieve according to their Pythag and they can't possibly be as bad as they were last year. In fact, I'd go ahead and say that they added a few key pieces between last season and the offseason. I'm not saying they'll contend or even finish over .500 but they should get past the two expansion teams this year, at least.
Rotation
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | age | throws | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Vinny | Sanchez | 32 | L | 9 | 19 | 0.321 | 0 | 4.39 | 32 | 32 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 213.1 | 957 | 277 | 129 | 104 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 12 | 68 | 2 | 1 | 11.7 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| Lee | Barnard | 26 | R | 6 | 12 | 0.333 | 0 | 3.26 | 25 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 171.1 | 732 | 171 | 74 | 62 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 68 | 9 | 93 | 13 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 4.9 |
| Chris | Olivares | 23 | L | 7 | 8 | 0.467 | 0 | 4.08 | 33 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 156.2 | 666 | 166 | 79 | 71 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 51 | 11 | 77 | 6 | 1 | 9.5 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 4.4 |
| Jeremiah | Vardaman | 30 | L | 4 | 16 | 0.200 | 0 | 3.97 | 33 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 154.1 | 667 | 169 | 80 | 68 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 63 | 17 | 81 | 7 | 2 | 9.9 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| Chris | Allen | 25 | R | 3 | 10 | 0.231 | 0 | 4.30 | 23 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 117.1 | 513 | 136 | 66 | 56 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 43 | 8 | 51 | 6 | 0 | 10.4 | 0.5 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| Ergot | Newman | 20 | R | 3 | 5 | 0.375 | 0 | 2.54 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 74.1 | 286 | 58 | 21 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 3 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 8.6 |
| Nate | Lancaster | 27 | R | 4 | 5 | 0.444 | 0 | 3.47 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 70.0 | 291 | 60 | 28 | 27 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 3 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 7.7 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 6.2 |
| Pedro | Betancourt | 27 | R | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | 0 | 5.37 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 70.1 | 312 | 69 | 48 | 42 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 4 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 8.8 | 0.5 | 4.9 | 6.1 |
| Frédéric | Rodriguez | 20 | R | 4 | 3 | 0.571 | 0 | 3.93 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 68.2 | 298 | 69 | 31 | 30 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 77 | 8 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 10.1 |
| Jared | Mann | 18 | R | 0 | 11 | 0.000 | 0 | 8.16 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 64.0 | 310 | 84 | 64 | 58 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 6 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 11.8 | 1.5 | 6.0 | 5.3 |
| Rick | Villegas | 20 | R | 1 | 5 | 0.167 | 0 | 7.17 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54.0 | 251 | 65 | 44 | 43 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 4 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 10.8 | 1.2 | 4.8 | 9.3 |
| Jonathan | Feuerborn | 19 | R | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 0 | 4.36 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.2 | 242 | 64 | 27 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 10.7 | 0.7 | 4.7 | 6.9 |
| Aaron | Cain | 19 | L | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | 0 | 7.43 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49.2 | 240 | 70 | 48 | 41 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 6 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | 1.1 | 4.3 | 8.0 |
| Ryan | O'Neal | 28 | L | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 0 | 4.25 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 48.2 | 221 | 52 | 29 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 9.6 | 0.2 | 5.7 | 4.1 |
| Roberto | Ortiz | 24 | L | 3 | 3 | 0.500 | 0 | 5.23 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 43.0 | 197 | 34 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 3 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 7.1 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 8.8 |
| Kevin | Culbertson | 21 | L | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0 | 6.14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 95 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 6.1 | 0.4 | 4.5 | 11.5 |
| Omar | Solis | 21 | R | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2.45 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 78 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6.9 | 0.5 | 4.4 | 6.9 |
| Victor | Gutierrez | 26 | R | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0 | 8.27 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16.1 | 79 | 25 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 13.8 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 3.9 |
| Antonio | Cabrera | 27 | R | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 3.97 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 55 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11.9 | 0.8 | 5.6 | 6.4 |
| Rick | Shelton | 29 | L | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 6.14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 34 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Roy | Furtick | 24 | R | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 35.31 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 37 | 10 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 20.8 | 2.1 | 27.0 | 6.2 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
The A's had the sense to break apart a starting rotation that finished dead last in the AL with a 4.42 ERA. Gone are 3 of the top 4 guys in Vinny Sanchez, Chris Olivares, and Jeremiah Vardamann. Their new #1 is Rick Shelton, who went 10-14 for the Pilots with a nifty 3.17 ERA before the A's acquired him in exchange for minor league catcher Jordan Jenkins and the troubled Andy Hall. Lee Barnard is back as the #2 man; he was actually pretty good last year in spite of the 6-12 record and if he can cut down on the homers he could be a successful pitcher in this league.
The #3 guy Chris McGranahan, is a guy who frustrated the absolute crap out of me last year with his inability to pick up decisions for the New York Yankees. He was a throw-in in the trade the dealt Alex Cardenas away. Chris Allen had a bad year last year but does have the pedigree of being the #17 prospect according to OSA in 1966, so there's some hope there. His peripherals don't exactly excite me to be honest. Nate Lancaster rounds out the rotation. His 3.47 ERA was actually above the league average, which is not bad at all.
Bullpen
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | age | throws | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Freddy | Uscanga | 24 | R | 3 | 8 | 0.273 | 12 | 3.64 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 89.0 | 364 | 79 | 38 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 6 | 57 | 4 | 1 | 8.0 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 5.8 |
| Adam | Cheeseman | 35 | L | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 6 | 4.50 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 68.0 | 289 | 64 | 35 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 31 | 7 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| Sterling | Schaeffer | 19 | L | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 1 | 6.90 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 44.1 | 214 | 67 | 36 | 34 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 13.6 | 1.4 | 4.9 | 5.7 |
| Jesus | Flores | 35 | L | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0 | 4.71 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42.0 | 181 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 9.6 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 8.4 |
| Nick | Gibson | 34 | L | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 0 | 4.68 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 42.1 | 186 | 45 | 24 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 9.6 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| Jordan | Aguilera | 21 | R | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1.67 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 37.2 | 153 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 6.7 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 13.6 |
| Brian | Pursley | 22 | L | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 4.95 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 36.1 | 164 | 37 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 9.2 | 0.7 | 5.9 | 10.9 |
| Jose | Rubio | 30 | R | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 0 | 3.18 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 34.0 | 146 | 33 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 5.3 |
| Jake | Duckett | 24 | R | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 3 | 4.13 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 32.2 | 157 | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 4 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 9.9 | 0.3 | 6.1 | 9.1 |
| Matt | McGee | 18 | R | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 3 | 4.83 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 31.2 | 132 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 7.1 | 1.4 | 5.1 | 6.3 |
| Danny | Weickert | 36 | R | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 0 | 2.32 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 31.0 | 131 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 8.4 | 0.6 | 4.1 | 6.4 |
| Andy | Hall | 27 | L | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 0 | 4.45 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30.1 | 126 | 27 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 8.0 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 6.2 |
| Steve | Flores | 20 | L | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 0 | 5.85 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20.0 | 92 | 25 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 8.1 |
| Julio | Flores | 20 | L | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 0 | 7.41 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17.0 | 75 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 7.4 |
| Dan | Clary | 22 | L | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 0 | 7.20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15.0 | 67 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 10.2 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 9.0 |
| Joe | Rodriguez | 19 | L | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 6.43 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14.0 | 64 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 |
| Manny | Fuentes | 32 | L | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 0.96 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9.1 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.7 |
| Nick | Lackey | 18 | L | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0 | 5.00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9.0 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| John | Williamson | 23 | L | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Parker | Jelley | 21 | L | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 3.38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 0.0 | 13.5 | 10.1 |
| Nate | Dolezal | 30 | L | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.8 |
| Jason | Davis | 20 | L | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.0 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
Dang, I didn't realize the A's used *43* pitchers last year. That's... excessive for 1969 but hey, I'd say they did find some gems in the, um, tree after they shook it out. Carlos Ramirez and Freddy Uscanga were co-closers and somehow managed to combine for 25 saves for a 50 win team. Ramirez has real heat, topping out at 98 MPH on the radar gun (they had radar guns in 1969, right?) but somehow that doesn't translate into strikeouts. Uscanga had a solid enough rookie year, although a 3-8 record in relief speaks to a predilection to blowing up a bit too often. Speaking of blowing up too often, Adam Cheeseman played 54 games and looked a lot more like the kind of guy you'd expect on a team like this. He combined poor control with poor movement and not so great stuff. He's seen as a leader in the clubhouse though!
Catcher
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| C | Jonathan | Escobar | L | 27 | 114 | 370 | 38 | 87 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 55 | 3 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0.235 | 0.333 | 0.286 |
| C | Jeff | Culliton | R | 26 | 65 | 121 | 12 | 42 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.347 | 0.367 | 0.446 |
| C | Craig | Wallin | L | 19 | 35 | 111 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.180 | 0.235 | 0.225 |
| C | Phil | Brownmiller | S | 41 | 30 | 68 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.176 | 0.291 | 0.324 |
| C | Curtis | Tyler | L | 20 | 23 | 71 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.169 | 0.192 | 0.197 |
| C | Zé | Salema | L | 23 | 16 | 47 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.170 | 0.322 | 0.234 |
| C | Carlos | Ortega | R | 20 | 11 | 36 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.417 | 0.465 | 0.639 |
| C | Sean | Malone | L | 26 | 14 | 28 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.357 | 0.514 | 0.393 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Jonathan Escobar saw his batting average actually fall 10 points from the Year of the Pitcher and he managed to lose what power he had as well. This has to put his career, even with the A's, in jeopardy. He is, it must be said, a good to great catcher and took home the AL Gold Glove for the position. Jeff Culliton was acquired from the Pilots in exchange for struggling LF Antonio Arredondo but while he hit really well, he is flat out not the guy you want handling such a volatile pitching staff. For that matter, he's rumored to be a disruptive influence in the locker room and as such it's probably best to keep him in a smaller, more replaceable role. Phil Brownmiller was the A's starter in 1968 and for that matter going back to 1954 but elected not to accept retirement when it was offered to him in July. Instead the A's released him and his career is probably over anyway.
Infield
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| 1B | Alex | Cardenas | R | 36 | 153 | 571 | 70 | 177 | 32 | 0 | 16 | 77 | 60 | 5 | 57 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0.310 | 0.382 | 0.450 |
| 1B | Chad | Fleharty | R | 19 | 61 | 166 | 15 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.205 | 0.270 | 0.283 |
| 1B | Frank | McDermott | L | 19 | 55 | 143 | 10 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.308 | 0.348 | 0.385 |
| 1B | Jason | Davis | R | 20 | 67 | 81 | 18 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.284 | 0.422 | 0.593 |
| 1B | Carlos | Lopez | R | 19 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.063 | 0.167 | 0.063 |
| 1B | John | Stoffel | L | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.500 | 0.000 |
| 2B | Rich | Potter | L | 26 | 96 | 350 | 35 | 104 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 0.297 | 0.324 | 0.366 |
| 2B | Nate | Kaplan | R | 20 | 72 | 233 | 27 | 65 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.279 | 0.342 | 0.365 |
| 2B | Bobby | Cardozo | L | 21 | 30 | 76 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0.197 | 0.271 | 0.197 |
| 2B | Joe | Montgomery | L | 33 | 22 | 52 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.231 | 0.467 | 0.250 |
| 2B | Greg | Finch | L | 24 | 17 | 48 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.104 | 0.137 | 0.125 |
| 2B | Jose | Samora | L | 33 | 12 | 32 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.219 | 0.297 | 0.344 |
| 2B | Ray | Camarena | L | 28 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.273 | 0.304 | 0.318 |
| 2B | Eric | Davis | R | 18 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.200 |
| 2B | Tylor | Lavigne | L | 20 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.143 | 0.000 |
| 3B | Ryan | Colvin | L | 42 | 109 | 367 | 32 | 77 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 37 | 35 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0.210 | 0.275 | 0.313 |
| 3B | Lorne | MacBeth | L | 18 | 74 | 194 | 14 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 59 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.206 | 0.230 | 0.273 |
| 3B | Preston | Beall | L | 34 | 39 | 82 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.183 | 0.250 | 0.268 |
| 3B | Danny | Ramirez | R | 34 | 24 | 69 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.261 | 0.320 | 0.362 |
| 3B | Jeff | Oetting | L | 29 | 24 | 62 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.258 | 0.338 | 0.339 |
| 3B | Daniel | Flores | R | 19 | 41 | 36 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.361 | 0.457 | 0.556 |
| 3B | Francisco | Martinez | R | 22 | 10 | 38 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.237 | 0.275 | 0.263 |
| 3B | Austin | Fifield | L | 21 | 21 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.318 | 0.444 | 0.636 |
| 3B | Oscar | Martinez | L | 20 | 34 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.222 | 0.263 | 0.222 |
| 3B | Izzy | Gonzalez | L | 19 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.125 | 0.000 |
| 3B | John | Stoffel | L | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.500 | 0.000 |
| SS | Kellen | Owen | L | 28 | 154 | 583 | 54 | 148 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 74 | 39 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0.254 | 0.303 | 0.348 |
| SS | Ray | Juarez | L | 18 | 74 | 240 | 23 | 64 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 67 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0.267 | 0.326 | 0.321 |
| SS | Daniel | LaRocco | L | 19 | 25 | 38 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.237 | 0.286 | 0.395 |
| SS | Killian | Bychyk | L | 32 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.071 | 0.071 | 0.071 |
| SS | Ryan | Addington | S | 28 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.182 | 0.286 | 0.182 |
| SS | Angelo | Serrano | L | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Alex Cardenas is the A's lifetime leader in batting average (.326 over 7838 at-bats) and HRs (279) and ranks 2nd to Ryan Colvin in most other stats. He was still very effective in 1969 but the Yankees came calling, offering Chase Jones, and they just could not turn that offer down. Jones is actually projected to start at third base, which he played in the minors, so I'll talk about him at that position. The odds-on favorite to take the 1B job is yet another Pilots cast-off, Jordan Henricks, who the A's just picked up in a big trade in January. Henricks was roughly league average and is mostly just filler until the A's find a long-term replacement. He'll be challenged by Brent Dennie, whom they also acquired in that deal, and Raul Bueno, who hit .308 in 1968 but lost 45 points of average last season.
Rich Potter was having a decent enough rookie campaign in 1969 before he was sidelined for the year with back spasms at the end of August. Somehow he made the All Star Game, although by the eye test he was average at best last year. He's still young enough to maybe improve, possibly. His primary backup is Preston Beall, still another former Pilot who the team acquired in exchange for the similarly underperforming Jeff Oetting.
Third base was manned for the last 20 years by Ryan Colvin, going back to the Philadelphia team, but in a very controversial move the A's shipped him off to Seattle last month. The writing was on the wall for Colvin when the team acquired Chase Jones. Colvin, as noted the A's lifetime leader in most major offensive stats, has "future Hall of Famer" written all over him when he finally does decide to retire. ANYWAY though, getting the 27 year old Chase Jones into this slot is a practical coup. Jones's 1969 season was only a disappointment if you look at him as a 1st baseman and the A's are properly slotting him in at the hot corner. He has the soft hands and gun for an arm of a potential Gold Glove award winner at the position.
Kellen Owen has solid pop for a shortstop, although he was pushed into playing way too high up in the lineup for an A's team without a lot of good options on offense. He finished 2nd on the team in RBIs with 74; even if the club improves on offense that number will almost certainly go down.
Outfield
Code:
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| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| LF | Raul | Bueno | L | 31 | 127 | 354 | 45 | 93 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 16 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 0.263 | 0.289 | 0.342 |
| LF | Mike | Starratt | R | 33 | 83 | 243 | 27 | 58 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0.239 | 0.325 | 0.313 |
| LF | Mike | Schurke | S | 22 | 48 | 192 | 24 | 61 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0.318 | 0.370 | 0.427 |
| LF | Evan | Johnson | R | 19 | 60 | 148 | 14 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 18 | 1 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.230 | 0.333 | 0.358 |
| LF | Juan | Laton | L | 31 | 43 | 72 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.222 | 0.278 | 0.292 |
| LF | Danny | Jimenez | L | 32 | 27 | 54 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.167 | 0.347 | 0.204 |
| LF | Hector | Ibarra | R | 33 | 30 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.167 | 0.250 | 0.214 |
| LF | Chris | Maleski | L | 20 | 17 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.286 | 0.286 | 0.333 |
| CF | Dylan | Dockery | L | 26 | 140 | 555 | 56 | 119 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 47 | 1 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0.214 | 0.278 | 0.314 |
| CF | Adam | Pelletier | L | 19 | 60 | 194 | 25 | 52 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0.268 | 0.311 | 0.412 |
| CF | David | Vazquez | L | 22 | 43 | 106 | 17 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0.217 | 0.323 | 0.283 |
| CF | Antonio | Arredondo | L | 27 | 26 | 70 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.186 | 0.230 | 0.357 |
| CF | Bryan | Sanders | R | 27 | 32 | 59 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.220 | 0.246 | 0.237 |
| CF | Jon | Moffett | L | 19 | 26 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.125 | 0.176 | 0.344 |
| CF | Greg | Hurley | R | 22 | 6 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.625 |
| CF | Bill | Santiago | R | 22 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.091 | 0.231 | 0.364 |
| RF | Jon | Fath | R | 32 | 117 | 402 | 49 | 93 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 48 | 25 | 1 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0.231 | 0.276 | 0.351 |
| RF | Jesus | Cornejo | R | 19 | 61 | 223 | 26 | 78 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0.350 | 0.391 | 0.422 |
| RF | John | Marsden | R | 26 | 40 | 158 | 20 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.342 | 0.403 | 0.411 |
| RF | Jeff | Phillips | R | 21 | 48 | 51 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.176 | 0.377 | 0.294 |
| RF | Kelsey | van Velthoven | L | 33 | 13 | 44 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.136 | 0.250 | 0.159 |
| RF | Bobby | Malcolm | R | 22 | 32 | 40 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.423 | 0.625 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
The A's took advantage of the Atlanta Braves' situation with an overly packed outfield and a dearth of starting pitching, sending them 19 game loser Vinny Sanchez in exchange for 9 time All Star Matthew Levario. Levario started the year as a backup but got back into the lineup after the Braves came to their senses and still wound up with 28 HR after getting his lowest at-bat total since 1957. The A's will count on him to continue to belt homeruns as their brand new cleanup hitter.
John Marsden is at least penciled in as the starting center fielder in 1970, supplanting last year's starter Dylan Dockery. Schurke had a 20 game hitting streak last season and, although he's not projected to stick at this position, actually won a minor league Gold Glove in his first professional season. Dockery is a better fielder but not actually by that much and he was very, very bad as a hitter last year.
Right fielder is another former member of that stacked Atlanta Braves outfield. The A's purchased him from Atlanta last August and he looked kind of great in 40 games with the team. I realize the Braves have (or at least had) an embarrassment of riches in the corner outfield but it really looks like they cut bait on Marsden, the 19th overall pick in 1966, too soon. He looks to turn what was a huge weakness in 1969 into a strength. Speaking of, I wanted to point out that Kelsey van Velthoven demanded a trade from this team in September because he wanted a chance to start. Instead, he got a dose of what I like to call "reality therapy" and was cut. As of this writing he remains a free agent.