Oakland Athletics History: Remembering Herb Washington
By David Hill
The Oakland Athletics always looked for an edge during their run of success in the 1970s. One of those attempts involved world class sprinter Herb Washington, who was born on this day in 1951.
Of all the faults that Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley may have had, one could not say he was afraid to explore new concepts. he was continually looking to tweak the game, including his attempt to have orange baseballs instead of the traditional white. His thought was the brightly colored balls would lead to more offense, but with the red laces, it was difficult to pick up the spin.
However, Finley was not opposed to experimenting. One such experiment came about when manager Alvin Dark was watching a track meet after the 1973 World Series. There, he saw Herb Washington, a world class sprinter, dominating the competition. Dark was determined to sign Washington at that point, hoping that he could be a key weapon late in the game.
While Washington signed with the A’s, there were a few flaws in Dark’s plan. The biggest problem was that Washington barely had any baseball experience, having never played in college or professionally. His lack of baseball knowledge was evident on the diamond, despite his tremendous speed.
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Even then, Dark continued to back Washington, considering him a secret weapon. He added him to the 1974 roster, intent on using him as a pinch runner. Washington showed some flashes on the basepaths, stealing 29 bases and scoring 29 runs, but he was also thrown out 16 times. He even made five appearances in the 1974 postseason, but failed to score a run and was thrown out in both stolen base attempts.
Back for the 1975 campaign, Washington again reprised his pinch runner role. This time, he stole two bases in three attempts, and scored four runs. However, he was released on May 5, with the A’s signing Dan Hopkins to fill that role. While Hopkins may have been a strict speedster, he was, at least, a baseball player.
To this day, echos of Washington still persist. Teams have traded for those speedsters at the deadline, or called up young players to get those key runs in the postseason. Players like Terrance Gore, Dave Roberts, and Quintin Berry have had a role in their team’s playoff success.
Herb Washington was an interesting experiment for the Oakland Athletics. In some ways, his legacy lives on when it comes to playoff rosters.