Call to the pen
Fansided

Oakland Athletics: The franchise all-time bracket

By Bill Felber

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 28: Robbie Grossman #8 of the Oakland Athletics waits during a pitching change as he rests his helmet beside his sock showing the team logo in the eleventh inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 28, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 28: Robbie Grossman #8 of the Oakland Athletics waits during a pitching change as he rests his helmet beside his sock showing the team logo in the eleventh inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 28, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 7
Next
Jason Giambi, star of the 2001 Oakland Athletics (JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Jason Giambi, star of the 2001 Oakland Athletics (JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP via Getty Images) /

Oakland Athletics: The Franchise All-Time Bracket

No. 1 vs. 8 seed

How good were the 1929 Oakland Athletics? Good enough to bury the three-time defending champion Ruth-Gehrig Yankees by 18 games in the pennant race.  Good enough to win the head-to-head series 14-8. Good enough to allow opponents 97  fewer runs than any other team, and 157  fewer than the Yankees allowed.

Begin with Lefty Grove. In 1929 Grove went 20-6 with a league-leading 2.81 ERA…this in a season when the average ERA was a point and a half higher. He also led in strikeouts with 170.

George Earnshaw added a 24-8 record and 3.29 ERA.

At the plate, the Athletics presented a star-studded lineup. Five A’s batted over .300, led by outfielder Al Simmons (.365), first baseman Jimmie Foxx (.354) and catcher Mickey Cochrane (.331), Simmons hit 34 home runs, Foxx 33 and they combined to drive in 275 runs.

The 2001 Athletics draw the unenviable task of taking on such a powerhouse. These A’s won 102 games and failed to win the AL West only because the Seattle Mariners rolled to 116  victories. It was a balanced ballclub led by first baseman Jason Giambi (.342 38 home runs, 120 RBIs).

On the mound, the trio of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito combined for a 56-25 record in 104 starts embracing 680 innings.

Related Story. Detroit Tigers: The Franchise All-Time Bracket. light

Game 1: At 104-46, the 1929 team’s .693 percentage is too good, even for Beane and Giambi. The 2001 A’s won 102 games, but lost 60, a .630 percentage.

Game 2: The 1929 Athletics dispatched the Chicago Cubs in five World Series games. The 2001 A’s famously lost a five-game ALDS to Derek Jeter’s New York Yankees.

Game 3: Giambi’s 199 personal OPS+ leads the 2001 Athletics to a 107 team total, beating even the 1929 powerhouse’s 105.

Game 4: Behind Grove’s 149 ERA+, the 1929 team puts together a 122 staff ERA+. The 2001 A’s precisely match that. But their best individual performance, Hudson’s 129, is nowhere close to being on a par with Grove.

Game 5: This is a WAR matchup of titans. The 1929 team boasts an exceptional 56.4…but the 2001 A’s have an even more exceptional 57.1 total.

Game 6: The 2001 team fielded .980, but that was one percentage point worse than the American League average. The 1929 A’s fielded .975, and that was a full six percentage points better than the league average.

Result: 1929 A’s in six games

Home/Oakland Athletics