| 1979 Oakland Athletics | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 54–108 (.333) |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Charles O. Finley |
| Manager(s) | Jim Marshall |
| Local television | KPIX-TV (Monte Moore, Bob Waller) |
| Local radio | KKIS (Hal Ramey, Red Rush) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1979 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing 7th in the American League West with a record of 54 wins and 108 losses. Only 306,763 paying customers showed up to watch the A's in 1979, the team's worst attendance since leaving Philadelphia.
Team owner Charlie Finley nearly sold the team to buyers who would have moved them to New Orleans for 1979. Any deal to relocate fell through when the city of Oakland refused to release the A's from their lease. The city was in the midst of its battle with the Oakland Raiders over their move to Los Angeles and didn't want to lose both teams.
The Athletics' 54-108 finish remains, as of 2013, their worst (by far) since moving to Oakland in 1968. On a brighter note, the season saw the debut of Rickey Henderson. Henderson, a future Hall-of-Famer, would play for the team (in four separate stints) between 1979 and 1998.
Offseason[edit]
- October 3, 1978: Rico Carty was purchased from the Athletics by the Toronto Blue Jays.[1]
- January 9, 1979: Lemmie Miller was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[2]
- February 26, 1979: Darryl Cias was purchased by the Athletics from the Salem Senators.[3]
- February 28, 1979: Jim Todd was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.[4]
Regular season[edit]
On June 24, Rickey Henderson made his major league debut against the Texas Rangers. In four at bats, Henderson had two hits and a stolen base.[5]
Season standings[edit]
| AL West | W | L | GB | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 88 | 74 | -- | .543 |
| Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | 3 | .525 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 5 | .512 |
| Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | 6 | .506 |
| Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | 14 | .456 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | 21 | .414 |
| Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | 34 | .333 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
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1979 American League Records
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
| New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
| Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions[edit]
- June 5, 1979: Ronn Reynolds was drafted by the Athletics in the 5th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[6]
- June 15, 1979: Mark Souza was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.[7]
Roster[edit]
| 1979 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Newman, JeffJeff Newman | 143 | 516 | 119 | .231 | 22 | 71 |
| 1B | Revering, DaveDave Revering | 125 | 472 | 136 | .288 | 19 | 77 |
| 2B | Edwards, MikeMike Edwards | 122 | 400 | 93 | .233 | 1 | 23 |
| LF | Henderson, RickeyRickey Henderson | 89 | 351 | 96 | .274 | 1 | 26 |
| DH | Page, MitchellMitchell Page | 133 | 478 | 118 | .247 | 9 | 42 |
Other batters[edit]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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| Essian, JimJim Essian | 98 | 313 | 76 | .243 | 8 | 40 |
| Murray, LarryLarry Murray | 105 | 226 | 42 | .186 | 2 | 20 |
| Bryant, DerekDerek Bryant | 39 | 106 | 19 | .179 | 0 | 13 |
| Diloné, MiguelMiguel Diloné | 30 | 91 | 17 | .187 | 1 | 6 |
| Burke, GlennGlenn Burke | 23 | 89 | 19 | .213 | 0 | 4 |
| Wallis, JoeJoe Wallis | 23 | 78 | 11 | .141 | 1 | 3 |
| Klutts, MickeyMickey Klutts | 24 | 73 | 14 | .192 | 1 | 4 |
| Ramírez, MiltMilt Ramírez | 28 | 62 | 10 | .161 | 0 | 3 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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| Keough, MattMatt Keough | 30 | 176.2 | 2 | 17 | 5.04 | 95 |
| Johnson, John HenryJohn Henry Johnson | 14 | 84.2 | 2 | 8 | 4.36 | 50 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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| Norris, MikeMike Norris | 29 | 146.1 | 5 | 8 | 4.80 | 96 |
| Minetto, CraigCraig Minetto | 36 | 118.1 | 1 | 5 | 5.55 | 64 |
| Hamilton, DaveDave Hamilton | 40 | 82.2 | 3 | 4 | 3.70 | 52 |
| Wirth, AlanAlan Wirth | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 | 7 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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| Todd, JimJim Todd | 51 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6.56 | 26 |
Farm system[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- 1979 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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