Saturdays With the A's - Bash!

In 1979, the Oakland Athletics were a 108-loss team with no resemblance to the dynasty Charlie Finley had built just a few years prior. Attendance at the 50,000-seat Coliseum was Cape Cod League-level.

Ten years later, the Athletics were once again the best team in baseball. Today we'll take a look at how the Athletics pushed speed and power to new heights in Part IV -- Bash!

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One of the few highlights from the Athletics' Kansas City era was the base-stealing exploits of Bert Campaneris. "Campy" led the American League in steals six times in eight seasons from 1965-1972. He would conclude his career in 1983, with an all-time top ten total of 649 stolen bases.

Bill North took the baton and led the league in 1974 and 1976, two of his four 50-steal seasons. North's career ended in 1981 with a total of 395 steals.

In June of '79, the Athletics called up a 20 year-old outfielder who swiped a total of 249 bases in 384 minor league games and hit well above .300 at every level. He made his debut against the Rangers in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader. Less than 5,000 fans witnessed Rickey Henderson's first two major league hits - and the first of many, many, many stolen bases.

Henderson swiped 33 bags in 89 games as a rookie, then tripled that total in his first full season a year later. His league-leading 100 steals in 1980 was an American League record, and the third-highest single-season mark in the modern era.

Manager Billy Martin made an immediate impact on the rebuilding club, leading the A's to a 29-win improvement over their disastrous '79 season and a second place finish in the AL West. Center fielder Dwayne Murphy rapped a career-high 157 hits and earned the first of his six consecutive Gold Gloves in '80, while Tony Armas finished fourth in the A.L. with 35 home runs - more than he totaled in his first three seasons combined.

The pitching staff in particular experienced a significant renaissance. Oakland's team ERA of 4.75 was second-worst in the American League in 1979; their ERA+ was a league-low 85. A year later, with the same five starters, A's pitchers posted the A.L.'s best team ERA at 3.46.

Oakland's team ERA was even better in 1981, improving to 3.30. Rick Langford had led the league in losses with 19 for the '77 A's. The workhorse reversed that in '80, earning 19 wins while pacing the majors with 28 complete games. Mike Norris emerged as the staff ace, finishing second in Cy Young voting with a 22-9 record, 180 strikeouts, and a 2.53 ERA. Matt Keough, the A's lone All-Star in 1978, had his best season in '80. 

Under new ownership and new management, the A's were ready to contend with the Royals and Rangers for the Western crown. A year after winning 83 games, Oakland improved to 64 wins in '81...

...in a season cut short by the mid-season player's strike. The convoluted decision to crown first half / second half division champions led to an extra round of playoffs - which meant the first half champion A's, owners of the A.L.'s best record in '81, would play Kansas City in the Division Series. The Royals, pennant winners a season prior, had finished the 1981 season below .500 and in fourth place - but won the second half by one game over the A's and punched their ticket to the postseason. 

Oakland's aces held K.C. to just two total runs in the three-game sweep, earning a berth in the ALCS against... aww hell..

The Yankees swept away the A's, preventing another all-California World Series; New York lost to the Dodgers in six games. Despite winning the most regular-season games of any team in the 1980s, the Yanks would end the decade without adding another championship to their trophy case.

As for the A's, they would end the 1982 season with four more victories than they posted the previous year... and 49 more losses. Oakland's anemic offense batted a league-low .237. Their pitching - a point of pride a year prior - allowed over 5 runs a game and posted a league-low 85 ERA+. Billy Martin's magic had run out; he was fired after the '82 season and hired by... the Yankees. Of course.

Meanwhile, Rickey Henderson kept on running. Despite their lowly 68-94 record, Oakland's attendance was sixth in the 14-team American League. A franchise record 1,735,000+ showed up to see Rickey Run.

Lou Brock had stolen a single-season record 118 bases in 1974. Rickey stole his 119th bag of the '82 season in August; he finished the year with a practically unbreakable record 130 steals. The "Man of Steal" led the American League in stolen bases every season from 1980 to 1991 - with one exception.

In today's Manfred-ized game, teams start every extra inning with a "ghost runner" in scoring position. Thanks to Henderson's legendary lead-off prowess, the A's were starting nearly half their games with a runner on second - though Rickey had to put in the work of earning a base hit or walk, and then stealing second(and/or third).

While Rickey ran... and ran.. and ran... the rest of the Athletics were stuck in mud, finishing the 1983 season in fourth place with a 74-88 record. In 1984 the A's finished fourth in the AL West with a 77-85 record. Ditto for the '85 season. In '86, Oakland finished in third place with a record of... 76-86.

Minor and major changes to the roster did little to change the results. Power-hitting outfielder Tony Armas was swapped out for contact-hitting third baseman Carney Lansford. Longtime Dodger Davey Lopes was acquired in '82, then replaced by another aging second baseman in 1984.

40 year-old Joe Morgan stole six bases with the A's, concluding his career with an all-time top ten total of 689. Rickey would surpass him well before turning 30 years old - but it wouldn't be in Oakland.

In December of 1984, general manager Sandy Alderson made a blockbuster trade. Rickey Henderson was approaching free agency. Oakland could not build so much as a .500 ballclub with the generational star in his prime, so Sandy shipped him to the... aww hell.

Trading the game's most electric superstar to the Yankees for a Pu Pu Platter of prospects was already on-brand. If I had to play Devil's advocate (again) I guess you could point to the fact that Oakland's record with Rickey in '84 and without him in '85 was exactly the same. The only established veteran coming to Oakland was reliever Jay Howell, who earned an All-Star selection as Oakland's closer, and..

..one of the prospects the A's received in the deal was pitcher Jose Rijo. Put a pin in that name for a bit.

1986 was a pivotal year for the Athletics. Their place in the AL West standings was largely unchanged, but they were clearly headed in the right direction under new manager Tony LaRussa - who had the A's playing well above .500 in the second half of the year. New acquisitions Dave Stewart and Joaquin Andujar improved the pitching staff. 37 year-old DH Dave Kingman slugged 35 home runs in his final season, and Oakland's offense was super-charged by the first of three consecutive Rookie of the Year winners:

Jose Canseco batted just .240 and struck out 175 times as a rookie. Angels first-year first baseman Wally Joyner bested him in batting average, on-base percentage and WAR, and equaled him in slugging. But a 33-home run season from a 21 year-old slugger was the talk of baseball. A's fans and baseball card collectors* alike were excited over Canseco's potential to be the next Reggie Jackson.

Oh hey... look who's back

[*for more on the Canseco rookie card craze, I highly recommend this post on the Card Boredom blog]


Canseco's rookie season stats would be obliterated the following year by a California native who was drafted 10th overall by the A's in 1984 and debuted as a third baseman in '86.

With a record-shattering 49-homer season from rookie Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco continuing to crush bombs, Reggie Jackson returning as a DH, Terry Steinbach establishing himself as a dependable everyday catcher, Carney Lansford providing steady production at third base, Dave Stewart becoming a bona fide ace, and new closer Dennis Eckersley on board, the 1987 Athletics finished... .500. Finally!

It all came together in 1988.

LaRussa's boys were ready to bash.

This whole post was an excuse to play this banger track. I am not kidding :P

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So here's where I'm going to stop regurgitating easily researchable stats and standings, and recount my personal experiences with this team. I turned 8 years old in 1988, and that year I became obsessed with baseball. My older brother's favorite team was the Yankees so they became my favorite, too.

The Yankees were a middle of the pack team in my first years as a baseball fan: fourth place in 1987, fifth place in '88, fifth (and a far worse W-L record) in '89, flaming hot garbage in 1990.

The titans of baseball, the team every fair-weather fan (including the bully on my block) latched on to... was Oakland. They were the team loaded with stars: Canseco, McGwire, Terry Steinbach, Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley.. shit, they even got Rickey back.

The Yankees were trading superstar players to Oakland!? I hated these ball-bashing bullies. In the first World Series I ever saw, a scrappy underdog Dodgers team pulled off an all-time upset, thanks to an all-time clutch moment from Kirk Gibson.

This season, this series, this swing made me fall in love with the game. I cheered for the Yankees in the summer and in the fall I cheered against the A's. But damn, did they keep appearing on my TV in October.

Looks like I'm rooting for another California team to pull off a World Series shocker. The Giants were playing in their first World Series since 1962. Kevin Mitchell had a monster breakout season (and caught a ball bare-handed!) Will Clark was the west coast's answer to Don Mattingly, and "Big Daddy" Rick Reuschel was still baffling batters....

 

 

...yeah, they didn't stand a chance. Oakland's pitching held the Giants to one run over the first two games.

My nine-year old self was sitting on my mom's bed, watching the broadcast on her little round TV while she watched the nightly news on the good TV in the living room. Mommm! Something's wrong with the---

 

 

---oh crap. Mommmm! There's an earthquake at the World Series!

The A's certain victory was secondary. A year after one of the most exciting moments in World Series history, baseball fans witnessed the most tragic event to take place in World Series history.

The 1990 World Series was... refreshingly normal. Yes, the A's were back to defend their title. I still couldn't stand 'em. Rickey Henderson had his best all-around season, leading the majors with a .439 on-base percentage and 119 runs scored, swiping his usual league-leading amount of bases while also slugging a career high .577. The league's MVP was on the cusp of breaking Lou Brock's all-time record for career steals. 

McGwire and Canseco both bashed over 35 home runs; Rickey was third on the team with 28. Their pitching staff was boosted by an outlier season from 33 year-old Bob Welch. The 1990 Cy Young award winner won 27 games, still the highest single-season total in my lifetime. Of course the A's were favored to beat the N.L. Champion Cincinnati Reds.

 

Barry Larkin and Eric Davis were exciting young stars with power and speed. Chris Sabo was an underrated(at least by me) all-around third baseman. The "Nasty Boys" bullpen had an eccentric, flame throwing setup guy from my home state, giving me an additional reason to root for the Reds. But would they even get to use that great bullpen? How were they going to shut down the Oakland offense?

Oh hey, it's Jose Rijo. Oakland sent him to Cincinnati after the 1987 season in a trade for aging outfielder Dave Parker. "Cobra" gave the A's two above-average seasons, particularly in '89 when he earned MVP votes while Jose Canseco missed nearly 100 games due to a broken wrist.

Despite Parker's production, this trade still backfired on GM Sandy Alderson and the A's. Cincy's shocking four-game sweep was anchored by series MVP Rijo, who won the first and last games while allowing just one earned run.

The Athletics have not returned to the World Series since.

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By the mid 1990s, the A's and Yankees resumed their traditional places in American League hierarchy: New York made regular trips to the postseason while Oakland rebuilt on a budget. The 1994 baseball strike was a fork in the road - was a salary cap necessary to ensure competitive balance, or would penny-pinching owners of the A's always find an excuse to tighten the budget and sell off their stars?


We'll discuss that mess, along with record-setting pursuits from Rickey Henderson and Mark McGwire, in the next edition of Saturdays With the A's. (Hopefully it won't me take a whole month to write it!)

Thanks for reading!



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Johnny

 

He was college hockey's player of the year around the same time Johnny Manziel won the equivalent award in football, but "Johnny Hockey" was nothing like "Johnny Football". 

He fell all the way to the fourth round of the NHL draft largely due to his small stature, where he was drafted by the Calgary Flames. He was a Calder(rookie of the year) finalist and won a Lady Byng trophy(clean play) two years later after taking just two minor penalties in 72 games.

He led the Flames in scoring six times, led them to the playoffs five times, and finished fourth in MVP voting twice. In 2021-22 he scored a career-high 115 points and led the NHL with a +64 rating. Flames fans had hopes of seeing Gaudreau and fellow American Matthew Tkachuk bring a Cup to Calgary. 

The Flames wanted keep Gaudreau in Calgary. They were able to offer the most money and term. But he wanted to play closer to his home in New Jersey.

 

The Flyers were interested but did not have the cap space to sign a top-tier free agent. The Devils had the money, the proximity to his family, and a roster of young, talented stars on the rise, notably American center Jack Hughes. The Devils made their pitch and thought they had a good chance at Gaudreau.

He chose Columbus. No one chooses Columbus. The Blue Jackets have rarely developed or attracted star players, never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs, and never signed a superstar of Johnny's caliber. He wanted to change that. He and his wife felt the city and community was the right fit for them. 

He struggled in his first year with the Jackets. His point totals dropped by 41 points, and his plus/minus rating dropped by nearly a hundred. Columbus finished 6th in the Metro division the year before Gaudreau arrived. They finished last in both of his seasons with the team. 

His point totals dropped even further in 2023-24, to 60 points and a career-low 12 goals. But there was optimism in buckeye country. Top draft pick Adam Fantilli was expected to improve in his second full season. Old Flame Sean Monahan was signed to center Gaudreau's line. Former Devils defenseman Damon Severson had signed as a top-tier free agent last summer. Columbus was becoming a desirable destination for top-tier talent, thanks in large part to Johnny.

The Blue Jackets have had more than their share of off-ice tragedy. Starting goalie Elvis Merzlikins has struggled since the death of his net mate and countryman Matiss Kivlenieks three summers ago. Finnish winger Patrik Laine - a 40-goal scorer in Winnipeg - was acquired by Columbus a year before signing Gaudreau. Though he averaged a point a game from 2021-23, Laine struggled with personal issues that clearly affected his on-ice production. At Laine's request, he was traded to Montreal earlier this month. 

He was back home in Jersey, riding a bicycle with his brother. In town for his sister's wedding. 

From USA Today:

Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were both killed while biking Thursday night in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Sean Higgins, 43, was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol and brought to Salem County Correctional Facility. State police said it charged Higgins, from Woodstown, New Jersey, with two counts of vehicular homicide in connection to the brothers' death.

The Gaudreau brothers were riding their bikes on County Route 551 North when they were allegedly struck by Higgins from behind, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Higgins was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound behind a sedan, SUV and the Gaudreau brothers around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday evening, police said. According to state troopers, Higgins initially moved into the southbound lanes and passed the slower-moving sedan. The SUV in front of Higgins then moved to the middle of the road to safely pass the biking Gaudreau brothers on the right side of the road. However, Higgins then attempted to pass the SUV on the right, hitting Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau from behind and fatally injuring both brothers, according to the highway patrol.

As a fan, it's natural to think of these guys as players on a team. How does the loss of Johnny Gaudreau affect the Blue Jackets' power play... is not something on anyone's mind today. 

You know what's on my mind today? How the loss of Johnny and Matthew affects Katie Gaudreau. This was supposed to be her wedding day, the "happiest day", the day every girl dreams about. 

Instead she has to bury her brothers. All because some asshole got liquored up, got behind the wheel, and got impatient with the slow moving traffic around him. 

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Quick Pics

Haven't done a semi-random picture post in a while, so... here's a few pictures I've taken recently:

Happy 10th birthday, Chris. Lol, I got a steal of deal with this Orioles SLU lot. I'd been looking for some plastic protectors for the figures already in my collection (my rare figures are in old, dusty, yellowing bubbles) and one seller wanted $35 for five brand new protectors. I bought a lot of five figures as shown - with the (used) protectors for $35 instead. The Pro Set boxes were $55 total for the pair.

My 666th post recently reached an appropriate comment/view count:

I'm really struggling with this latest Athletics post. Not because I don't know what to write, but because I'm writing too much! I'm a thousand words in and 900 of them have been about Rickey Henderson. I'm not even close to discussing the Bash Brothers. Sigh... I need an editor...

Dennis will appreciate this... I saw this at a sports store in the mall back home this weekend:

First of all, who in their right mind is paying $80 for Alexei Ponikarovsky's autograph? And second.. um.. why is Stevie Y signing Devils pucks?

Jon came across an old postcard from my home town on eBay (not this one) and thought I'd be interested. I showed it to my mom as I happened to be visiting said home town and she told me that Babe Ruth once played on this field. I knew that.. but there was more I didn't know that might interest someone reading this. It was converted to a racetrack, which my mom worked at as a teenager. But in between that time, the field was named after Tigers pitcher "Wild" Bill Donovan - who is credited as "popular Yankees manager" in this article 🙄

It took us five hours to get home from Connecticut because of a major accident (and a flash flood).

Don't know how we could have gone any slower

But when I got home, there was a flat rate box of cards waiting for me.

Anyone building the 2024 Topps Chrome baseball set? Let me know what numbers you need.

Thanks for reading!



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The Devils Post

This is the New Jersey Devils square of my card album bookshelf. It's full.
 

I only keep base cards in these binders, and the Devils are the first of my four team collections to reach 100% capacity. Which is a bummer because I still need hundreds of NJ base cards. 

Here's a list of cards I need from just the first ten years of the Devils:

1984-85 O-Pee-Chee #116, 361(upgrade)
1984-85 Topps #87(upgrade)
1985-86 O-Pee-Chee #30, 36, 66, 84, 127, 163, 249
1985-86 Topps #66, 84, 127, 139, 163
1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #10, 37, 208
1986-87 Topps #37, 85
1987-88 O-Pee-Chee #101, 135, 140, 157, 191
1987-88 Topps #58
1988-89 O-Pee-Chee #84, 94
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #27, 73, 172, 178, 224, 245, 284, 306, 334, 358, 457
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier #8, 15, 67, 113
1990-91 Score Canadian #19, 34, 62, 109, 209, 239, 278, 389, 401, 406, 439
1990-91 Score Traded #43T, 63T, 74T, #82T
1990-91 Topps #30
1990-91 Upper Deck French #66, 88, 161, 267, 288, 290, 311, 441
1991-92 Bowman #271, 279, 284-289, 408
1991-92 Parkhurst #98, 317-324, 444, 453
1991-92 Parkhurst French #98, 99, 100, 102, 103, 316, 318, 320, 324
1991-92 Pinnacle - need most
1991-92 Pinnacle French - need most
1991-92 Pro Set #132
1991-92 Pro Set French - need most
1991-92 Pro Set Platinum #260, 288
1991-92 Score #151
1991-92 Score Canadian need most
1991-92 Score Canadian Bilingual #342, 595
1991-92 Stadium Club #24, 47
1991-92 Upper Deck French - need most
1992-93 Bowman #46, 102, 191, 242
1992-93 Topps #513, 516

But... I have a solution. You see, the fourth binder on the shelf is full - just not with Devils cards.

This album holds my complete sets of 1993 SP Baseball and Football. So if I wanted to add more Devils to my collection, all I have to do is buy another hockey card album and move this one.

That would make room for 560+ new Devils cards. And even if I added the pages from the small binder resting on top, I'd still have room for about 380 Devils cards. The small binder holds my 2020s Devils, and I filled the very last page thanks to my most recent order from Sportlots.

Ugh.. I can't wait to be able to scan again.

Picked up some extended series base for 20 cents each, a fantastic deal considering my LCS sells 12-card packs for $14. I even threw in a couple parallels even though my Devils 'hits' box is nearly full.

These red border parallels were also 20 cents each; I had to have the Zacha in particular because, well...

There's absolutely no reason UD should have made a Devils Zacha card in 2023. He played for the Boston Bruins the prior year - as shown on the back of the card.

Maybe he was traded back to Jersey after the 2022-23 season? That happens once in a while, right?

Nope! Pavel played for Boston last year, too. And he'll do so again this year as he's still on their roster today. Upper Deck just doesn't care anymore.

Anyway, I've got room for about five or six more Devils in the parallels/inserts/relics box (fewer if the cards are thicker) Two in particular that I'm trying to secure are Young Guns rookie cards of NJ's top young defensemen, Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec:

These should set me back about $45-50 for the pair, which isn't bad considering their pedigree. Hughes was the #4 overall pick in 2021 and was a Calder (Rookie of the Year) finalist last year at age 20. Nemec was the #2 overall pick in 2022 and had a solid rookie season last year at age 19.

The Devils drafted another defenseman with the 10th overall pick this summer, and have 1st overall picks Jack Hughes(2019) and Nico Hischier(2017) centering their top two lines. If we don't won the effing Cup by 2028, I swear to Satan...

It shouldn't be hard to find a thick card or two on COMC to fill out the box, if and when I do acquire these. However, there's a third section of Devils cards in my collection -- oddballs. I have a box of team-issued sets, ePack exclusives, Tim Horton's singles, and other things that won't fit in the inserts/parallels box:

If I buy another binder and put these in, then push every mainstream base card back.. I'll have room for about 75 Devils cards. That's a much more manageable total, and would give me room to add newer base cards like these:

2006-07 UD Sweet Shot #63
2006-07 UD Trilogy #60
2007-08 UD Ovation #18, 72, 168, 169
2008-09 UD Ovation #31
2009-10 Upper Deck Ice #9
2010-11 Panini All Goalies #48-51
2010-11 Score #300, 302
2011-12 O-Pee-Chee #112, 337, 389
2011-12 Panini Contenders #66
2011-12 UD Artifacts #9, 59, 78
2012-13 Black Diamond #150
2012-13 Score #291
2013-14 O-Pee-Chee #96, 194, 447
2013-14 Panini Prizm #259, 261, 308, 309, 368, 369
2013-14 Panini Titanium #45
2013-14 Score #669
2014-15 O-Pee-Chee #221, 247, 440
2015-16 O-Pee-Chee #140, 248
2015-16 UD Full Force #39
2015-16 Upper Deck Ice #91
2015-16 Upper Deck Trilogy #95
2016-17 O-Pee-Chee #115, 397
2017-18 Upper Deck Ice #91
2018-19 O-Pee-Chee #262, 329, 431, 466
2019-20 O-Pee-Chee #568
2019-20 Upper Deck Allure #85
2019-20 UD Credentials #35, 45
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #568
2020-21 SP Signature Legends #128, 290
2021-22 UD Artifacts #91
2021-22 UD Credentials #40
2022-23 O-Pee-Chee Platinum #24, 114, 178
2022-23 Parkhurst Champions #55, 70, 281
2022-23 UD Credentials #49, 50

My consolation prize for missing out on the East Coast National this coming weekend could be driving down the Jersey Shore near Asbury Park to check out a new(to me) card shop. I'll be on the lookout for the above listed cards in particular (I'm posting these lists so I can refer to them later.)


Why am I focusing on Devils cards in the middle of August? Oh... no reason...

Thanks for reading!

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