I was watching a broadcast of the 1974 World Series this weekend on the MLB channel-  a World Series that I remember well. I was twelve years old and had just begun to follow this crazy West Coast team called the Oakland Athletics. With their zany uniforms and unorthodox haircuts, I was hooked on this team and scrambled to get every scrap of information I could on this team  (not an easy task to do since I lived on the East Coast).  Here I am thirty plus years later with Satellite TV and non-stop coverage of every imaginable baseball tidbit a person could possibly want- and I'm still that twelve year old kid,  just as enthralled with this zany team called the Oakland A's.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about the similarities between that team in '74 and the current A's team.  Not that I would dare be bold enough to compare our exciting young pitchers to the arsenal of Hunter, Holtzman, Blue & Fingers-  I think we definitely have a pitching staff that is going to dominate for years to come.  I find more similarities in the style of baseball the 74 A's played and what the 2010 A's can potentially be with the types of players we have.  Even though the A's then were known as the "Swingin A's",  I remember them more for their aggressive base-running- Billy North, Camperneris and Claudell Washington seemed to own the American League base-paths.  I think a combination of Rajai Davis, Michael Taylor and Coco Crisp (if the deal flys) could do the same.   Defensively, that trio along with Sweeney is better than what the A's had in the outfield in 74.  Behind the plate, as much as I like Ray Fosse as a broadcaster and respect him for his toughness as a player, Suzuki is a better player. 

Just like a current A's, the 74 A's were a low average hitting team as well, hitting below .250 as a team and still winning it all.   It just goes to prove that if you dominate pitching and play good defensively,  you can get by with sub-par averages.   What we obviously don't have are the power hitters the A's had then- and with today's salaries it's not likely we'll ever be able to afford a Reggie Jackson type player.   Maybe we can grow one from within, but I don't see it yet.

Do we have another A's dynasty building before us- who knows?   But for the twelve year old within me that still comes alive everytime I see the A's play,  I hope we do.