OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 03: Former Oakland Athletics Rickey Henderson (L) and Dave Stewart (R) stands together after Henderson threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the start of the opening night game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. The Athletics renamed the field 'Rickey Henderson Field'. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
On Monday the Oakland Athletics unveiled their fan-voted 50th anniversary team as part of their season-long celebration of the A’s 50th season in “The Town.”
The fans voted on the top 50 players in Oakland Athletics history. That this is a fan voted team makes it fun.
As you may or may not remember Thomas was a member of the 2006 Oakland Athletics team that went to the American League Championship Series and he also spent time with the team in 2008.
Then you have the guys who the fans have emotional ties to. Scott Hatteberg is a prime example of this. He hit the walk-off home run that won the A’s 20th game during their 20-game win streak in 2002.
Coco Crisp invented the Bernie Lean during the A’s magical 2012 season in which they won the AL Western Division crown by defeating the Texas Rangers on the final day of the season, it was the only day the team was ever in first place that season. He was a long-time Athletic who was a clubhouse leader.
Eric Byrnes is another. A’s fans loved his hustle. Did these players always post the best numbers or win an MVP award? No, but they tug on the heartstrings of the Oakland Athletics fans.
Now we’re going to go through the top 50 Oakland Athletics one by one, alphabetically, beginning next with Sal Bando.
Sal Bando
Salvatore Leonard Bando, also known simply as Sal Bando, came with the team from Kansas City to Oakland. He was drafted in the sixth round of the first ever MLB Amateur Draft in 1965 and made his MLB debut in September of 1966.
A full-time third baseman for the Oakland Athletics, Bando led the league in games played four times and was a four-time All-Star. He was a top three finalist for the AL MVP Award and played for the A’s from 1966-1977.
Bando led the team in RBI three times over that span. He became just the second third baseman to hit 200 home runs, joining Brooks Robinson.
He was the leader of the Athletics’ championship teams from 1971-1974 in which the won four consecutive American League Championships and three straight World Series Titles from 1972-1974.
In the postseason Bando didn’t disappoint, hitting five home runs over 17 total games, including a solo shot in Game 3 of the 1974 World Series. The Athletics won that game by the score of 1-0.
He was famously thrown out at home plate by Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Joe Ferguson in Game 4 of the 1974 World Series. It was an excellent play and can be seen in the video above. The A’s still went on to be victorious in the 1974 World Series, which was their third consecutive World Series Title.
He later when on to play for the Milwaukee Brewers but over the nine years he played with the team in the City of Oakland, Bando hit .256/.360/.422 with 192 home runs and 789 RBI.
Vida Blue
Vida Blue was another key member of the A’s early 1970’s championship teams.
Drafted out of high school by the Kansas City A’s in the 1967 MLB Amateur Draft, Blue debuted in the big leagues in 1969 in Oakland playing in just 12 games, starting four of them and getting a save in one.
He spent most of the 1970 season in Triple-A but when called up he started each of the six games he played in, posting a 2.09 ERA and throwing two complete game shutouts.
In 1971 he dominated the league winning BOTH the American League Cy Young Award and MVP Award (he would not be the last Athletic to do so). He led the league in almost every statistical category except wins, but he helped lead the Athletics to their first ALCS in Oakland.
Unfortunately that postseason Blue literally blew his only start, allowing 5 runs on seven hits, against the Baltimore Orioles. The A’s went on to lose the ALCS that season but it was, as noted, not their last trip to the ALCS during that decade.
Blue pitched in 17 postseason games with the A’s suffering only two losses. They came in the first and the last postseason games of his career.
Although Blue would go on to play eight more seasons with the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals and make three more All-Star appearances (he made three with the A’s) he never made it back to the postseason.
Still, Blue was an integral part of the A’s three World Championship teams.
Dallas Braden
Dallas Braden played just five seasons in the majors but in the course of that time he made some serious history. He also incurred some serious injuries that eventually led to early retirement.
Not many thought the soft-throwing left-hander would be more than another reliever in the A’s bullpen however, the A’s 24th round draft pick in the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft dominated the minor leagues just after signing with the club.
He began his professional career with short-season Vancouver and became one of the only players to move onto pitch a full-season with Kane County that same year. While with Kane County, Braden struck out 33 batters in just 23 innings, mostly due to the use of his screwball.
He spent the first part of 2005 playing in his hometown for the A’s High-A affiliate Stockton Ports but quickly advanced to Double-A Midland at the young age of just 21 and was named the A’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Unfortunately the year ended poorly for Braden who suffered from shoulder soreness and ended up having to have surgery to repair it in February 2006, causing him to miss the majority of the season. He returned in 2007 and made his MLB debut on April 24. However, he didn’t look like the same pitcher he once was going 1-8 with a 6.72 ERA in 20 starts for the Oakland Athletics.
He missed more significant amounts of time again in both 2008 and 2009 with the same shoulder injury that had already threatened his career. Still, he managed to make 41 appearances (32 starts) over those two seasons while posting a combined ERA of 3.97.
The following season was Braden’s time to shine. He was the Opening Day starter for Oakland but two instances that happened later in the season truly defined his career as both historic and entertaining. Braden showed personality and perseverance.
In mid-April 2010 he got into a shouting match with the New York Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez who apparently walked across the mound while Braden was still standing on it after ending the inning with a double play, telling A-Rod to “get off my mound.”
Rodriguez found it funny, but Braden replied, ” I don’t care if I’m Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I’ve got the ball in my hand and I’m on that mound, that’s my mound.”
Just a couple weeks later Braden had THE moment of his career. On May 9, 2010 Braden pitched a MLB’s 19th perfect game at home in Oakland against the Tampa Bay Rays.
To make the moment even more incredible, it was mother’s day and he was able to celebrate his historic achievement with his grandmother Peggy Lindsey. Lindsey raised Braden after he lost his mother to cancer as a teenager.
The 2010 season was by far the best in his five big league seasons. Besides pitching two complete game shutouts (including the perfecto), he posted a 3.50 ERA and finished the season having thrown a total of five complete games.
He started only three games for the A’s in 2011 before being sidelined again with the same shoulder injury. It required more surgery and although Braden had wanted to attempt a comeback, he admitted that his shoulder was “just shredded,” when he formally announced his retirement from baseball at the age of 30 in 2014.
He currently works as a broadcaster on the A’s pre-game and post-game shows and is a staple character at Stockton Ports games at Banner Island Ballpark.
Eric Byrnes
If you know baseball, then you know that Eric Byrnes was not one of the most elite Oakland Athletics players ever. However, he was quite endearing to the fans. Byrnes had hustle.
He’d make amazing diving catches or body slam into the outfield wall and the catches always looked great and you could tell how much heart Byrnes put into the game. However, a lot of those barely making it, diving catches were simply because he’d misread the ball in the first place.
But that never stopped the fans from loving the charismatic, friendly and lovable guy that everyone simply called “Byrnesy.” His presence even helped the crowd sing and disco dance to the 1970’s song “Disco Inferno,” which was played often during the five and half seasons he was with the Oakland Athletics.
Byrnes was also quick stealing 17 bases in his last full season with Oakland. It’s not a Billy Hamilton-like number but it would have put him in the top 40 players in the league in 2017, higher than any Oakland player was last season.
Definitely a fan favorite, it’s really no surprise that Byrnes made the 50th Anniversary team. And as his body did take a beating at times, he always got the ball and was entertaining to watch.
Over parts four seasons (2000-2004) with the Oakland Athletics Byrnes batted .271/.336/.460 with 38 home runs and 140 RBI. In the first half of 2005, prior to being traded to the Colorado Rockies and later from the Rockies to the Baltimore Orioles, Byrnes hit .266/.336/.474 with seven home runs and 24 RBI.
It was one of his better seasons with the A’s until he was traded. He went on to have trouble at the plate with his new teams, ending the season batting just .226.
Byrnes was also a part of the 2002 A’s who won 20-straight ballgames which was, at the time, the American League Record for consecutive wins. That team will always be a special one for A’s fans.
Now retired, Byrnes works as an analyst for MLB Network.
Bert Campaneris
Bert Campaneris, better known as “Campy,” played for the Oakland Athletics for 12 seasons out of his 19 year MLB career.
He began his tenure with the franchise when the team still resided in Kansas City. He debuted as the team’s shortstop in July of 1964.
In 1965, in order to draw fans to the ballpark, owner Charley O. Finley had Campy become the first MLB player to ever play all nine positions in a single game. It is not something you see very often.
It’s a feat, an odd one but still a feat, that has been accomplished by four other players since: Cesar Tovar of the Minnesota Twins (1968), Scott Sheldon of the Texas Rangers (September 2000), Shane Halter of the Detroit Tigers (October 2000) and Andrew Romine also accomplished the feat for the Tigers this past season.
Campaneris moved with the team to Oakland in 1968 and he thrived even more than he had in Kansas City. Campy led the league in triples and stolen bases in 1965 and did for four straight seasons and again in 1970 and 1972.
A six-time All-Star, Campaneris also led the league in hits in 1968 (177), the A’s first season in their new city.
He went on to help lead the team to their three World Series Championships and hit .263/.316/.332 collectively over his nine seasons playing in the City of Oakland.
Yet his real strengths were his speed and defense. He couldn’t steal like Rickey Henderson but he was definitely fast.
He continued his career playing for the Texas Rangers and spent one season with the California Angels but he spent his prime playing and winning with the Athletics.
Check back next week for the next five players on the list of the Oakland Athletics’ fan-voted 50th anniversary team!
