As the Oakland Athletics prepare to face the Texas Rangers this Thursday afternoon, a poignant chapter draws to a close for baseball fans in the Bay Area. This marks the final occasion the Athletics will take to the field as representatives of Oakland, as the team is set to relocate to Sacramento once the season concludes. This move precedes yet another significant transition to a new ballpark located off the famed Las Vegas Strip, ushering in a new era for the franchise.
The Athletics have a storied history that includes some of the most prominent names in baseball. Among them stands Rickey Henderson, whose electrifying career saw him don the green and gold in 1,700 games, where he achieved a batting line of .288/.409/.430, hit 167 home runs, and stole an astonishing 867 bases. Henderson’s contributions to the team are monumental; his 72.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) lead the franchise by a considerable margin of 20 WAR over any other player in the team's history.
With career honors that include the 1990 American League Most Valuable Player Award and six All-Star selections, Henderson truly epitomized excellence in every facet of his game. So much so, that Bill James once remarked, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."
The Athletics’ legacy isn't confined to the bane of Henderson alone. Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson, and Mark McGwire have all made indelible marks on the franchise. The early 2000s saw the rise of Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, and Mark Mulder—pitchers who played pivotal roles in the team's success during that period.
The Legacy of Dominance
In their storied past, the Athletics have captured four World Series titles and six American League pennants. One cannot recount the history of the A’s without mentioning Jim "Catfish" Hunter, who became baseball’s first modern free agent in 1974. Hunter's subsequent five-year, $3.2 million signing with the New York Yankees was a landmark moment in the sport’s history.
Dennis Eckersley also added to the Athletics' illustrious history with his incredible 51 saves and Cy Young Award win in 1992. The team’s innovations didn't stop on the field, as the "Moneyball" philosophy, popularized by Michael Lewis, offered a groundbreaking approach to team-building. Leveraging insights from Bill James' yearly abstracts and Eric Walker’s "The Sinister First Baseman," Sandy Alderson and later Billy Beane adopted strategies that forever altered how teams approach roster construction.
Moneyball: A New Era
Michael Lewis, in his celebrated book "Moneyball," included an astute observation that has become a cornerstone of modern baseball strategy: "It was more efficient to create a closer than to buy one." This approach underscored the pragmatic, efficiency-driven methods that have since been emulated across Major League Baseball.
Tom Verducci captured the mythic status of Rickey Henderson with poetic eloquence, saying, "There are certain figures in American history who have passed into the realm of cultural mythology, as if reality could no longer contain their stories: Johnny Appleseed. Wild Bill Hickok. Davy Crockett. Rickey Henderson." It’s fitting to place Henderson among such legendary figures, as his influence on the game transcends the mere statistics.
A New Chapter
As the Athletics bid farewell to Oakland, they carry with them a profound history and a legacy of resilience and innovation. Longtime fans will recall the words of former owner Charles Finley, "I bought the team in Kansas City. I have brought it to Oakland. There is a difference. Bringing it to Oakland was my choice. Once I make a decision, I stand by it. I give my word of that." Now, as the venue changes, the unwavering spirit of the Athletics remains.
This Thursday’s game against the Rangers will be a moment of reflection and a salute to the numerous heroes who have donned the Athletics' uniform. From Henderson’s unparalleled baserunning to Eckersley’s dominant saves, the collective memories will continue to inspire, regardless of where the team calls home next.