1996 Oakland Athletics season

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1996 Oakland Athletics
File:OaklandAthletics 100.png
DivisionWestern Division
BallparkCashman Field (16 games, temporary)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
CityOakland, California
Record78–84 (.481)
OwnersStephen Schott
Ken Hofmann
ManagersArt Howe
TelevisionKRON-TV
Sports Channel Pacific
(Ray Fosse, Greg Papa)
RadioKFRC
(Bill King, Ken Korach, Ray Fosse)
← 1995 Seasons 1997 →

The Oakland Athletics' 1996 season was the team's 29th in Oakland, California. It was also the 96th season in franchise history. The team finished third in the American League West with a record of 78-84.

The 1996 season was the Athletics' first under manager Art Howe. It was also the team's fourth consecutive losing season. The reasons behind Oakland's mediocrity remained the same; a below-average offense failed to offset an awful pitching staff. The Athletics' starting rotation, once again, was in shambles; none of the Athletics' six primary starters (Don Wengert, Doug Johns, John Wasdin, Ariel Prieto, Steve Wojciechowski, and Dave Telgheder) managed to win more than eight games. Oakland's bullpen also ranked among the league's worst. Reliever Carlos Reyes lead all pitchers in Strikeouts with 78. All told, the A's boasted a team ERA of 5.20; this was the 10th best total in the 14-team American League.

The Athletics' offense was only slightly better. As had been the case in prior years, slugger Mark McGwire was the main draw; he crushed a league-high (and Oakland franchise record) 52 home runs in 1996. Designated hitter Gerónimo Berroa and catcher Terry Steinbach belted 36 and 35 home runs, respectively; secondary hitters Scott Brosius, Jason Giambi, and Ernie Young contributed 22, 20, and 19. The Athletics, as a team, hit 243 home runs (the American League's third-most); a low team batting average, however, ensured that they would finish the season with only 861 runs (the American League's 10th best total).

The Athletics hovered around the .500-mark for almost all of the season. They were not expected to contend in 1996, and indeed did not; they ultimately finished 12 games behind the first-time AL West Champion Texas Rangers.

Offseason

  • November 27, 1995: Buddy Groom was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.[1]
  • December 5, 1995: Torey Lovullo was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.[2]
  • January 22, 1996: Danny Tartabull was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Chicago White Sox for Andrew Lorraine and Charles Poe (minors).[3]
  • January 22, 1996: Rafael Bournigal was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.[4]
  • January 29, 1996: Aaron Small was selected off waivers by the Oakland Athletics from the Seattle Mariners.[5]
  • January 29, 1996: Pedro Munoz was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.[6]
  • February 13, 1996: Dennis Eckersley was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Montgomery.
  • March 10, 1996: Webster Garrison was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.[7]

Regular season

Season standings

AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Texas Rangers 90 72 0.556 50–31 40–41
Seattle Mariners 85 76 0.528 43–38 42–38
Oakland Athletics 78 84 0.481 12 40–41 38–43
California Angels 70 91 0.435 19½ 43–38 27–53

Record vs. opponents


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore 7–6 6–6 4–8 5–7 11–2 9–3 9–3 7–5 3–10 9–4 7–5 3–10–1 8–5
Boston 6–7 8–4 6–6 1–11 12–1 3–9 7–5 6–6 7–6 8–5 7–6 6–6 8–5
California 6–6 4–8 6–6 4–9 6–6 4–8 7–5 4–8 7–6 6–7 5–8 4–9 7–5
Chicago 8–4 6–6 6–6 5–8 10–3 7–6 6–7 6–7 6–7 5–7 5–7 8–4 7–5
Cleveland 7–5 11–1 9–4 8–5 12–0 7–6 7–6 10–3 3–9 6–6 8–4 4–8 7–5
Detroit 2–11 1–12 6–6 3–10 0–12 6–6 4–8 6–6 5–8 4–8 6–6 4–9 6–7
Kansas City 3–9 9–3 8–4 6–7 6–7 6–6 4–9 6–7 4–8 5–7 7–5 6–6 5–8
Milwaukee 3–9 5–7 5–7 7–6 6–7 8–4 9–4 9–4 6–6 7–5 4–9 6–7 5–7
Minnesota 5–7 6–6 8–4 7–6 3–10 6–6 7–6 4–9 5–7 6–7 6–6 7–5 8–5
New York 10–3 6–7 6–7 7–6 9–3 8–5 8–4 6–6 7–5 9–3 3–9 5–7 8–5
Oakland 4–9 5–8 7–6 7–5 6–6 8–4 7–5 5–7 7–6 3–9 8–5 7–6 4–8
Seattle 5–7 6–7 8–5 7–5 4–8 6–6 5–7 9–4 6–6 9–3 5–8 10–3 5–7
Texas 10–3–1 6–6 9–4 4–8 8–4 9–4 6–6 7–6 5–7 7–5 6–7 3–10 10–2
Toronto 5–8 5–8 5–7 5–7 5–7 7–6 8–5 7–5 5–8 5–8 8–4 7–5 2–10


Game log

1996 Game Log: 78–84 (Home: 40–41; Away: 38–43)
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Athletics team member

Detailed records

Transactions

  • June 4, 1996: Eric Chavez was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round (10th overall) of the 1996 amateur draft. Signed August 27, 1996.[8]
  • June 4, 1996: A. J. Hinch was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 3rd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Signed June 22, 1996.[9]

Roster

1996 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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 Terry Steinbach 145 514 140 .272 35 100
1B Mark McGwire 130 423 132 .312 52 113
2B Brent Gates 64 247 65 .263 2 30
3B Scott Brosius 114 428 130 .304 22 71
SS Mike Bordick 155 525 126 .240 5 54
LF Phil Plantier 73 231 49 .212 7 31
CF Ernie Young 141 462 112 .242 19 64
RF Jose Herrera 108 320 86 .269 6 30
DH Gerónimo Berroa 153 586 170 .290 36 106

[10]

Other batters

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
Jason Giambi 140 536 156 .291 20 79
Rafael Bournigal 88 252 61 .242 0 18
Tony Batista 74 238 71 .298 6 25
Matt Stairs 61 137 38 .277 10 23
George Williams 56 132 20 .152 3 10
Allen Battle 47 130 25 .192 1 5
Pedro Munoz 34 121 31 .256 6 18
Damon Mashore 50 105 28 .267 3 12
Brian Lesher 26 82 19 .232 5 16
Torey Lovullo 65 82 18 .220 3 9
Scott Spiezio 9 29 9 .310 2 8
Izzy Molina 14 25 5 .200 0 1
Kerwin Moore 22 16 1 .063 0 0
Webster Garrison 5 9 0 .000 0 0

[10]

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Steve Wojciechowski 16 79.2 5 5 5.65 30

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO

Awards and records

  • Mark McGwire, Silver Slugger Award
  • Mark McGwire, Major League record, 1st player to reach 50 Home Runs in one season before reaching 400 at-bats in a season[11]

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Edmonton Trappers Pacific Coast League Gary Jones
AA Huntsville Stars Southern League Dick Scott
A Modesto A's California League Jim Colborn
A West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League Mike Quade
A-Short Season Southern Oregon Timberjacks Northwest League Tony DeFrancesco
Rookie AZL Athletics Arizona League Juan Navarrette

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Edmonton, West Michigan

References

  1. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/g/groombu01.shtml
  2. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lovulto01.shtml
  3. ^ Danny Tartabull Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  4. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bournra01.shtml
  5. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smallaa01.shtml
  6. ^ Pedro Munoz Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  7. ^ Webster Garrison Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  8. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chaveer01.shtml
  9. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hincha.01.shtml
  10. ^ a b 1996 Oakland Athletics Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.371, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0