All-Time Oakland A's team

by DofCT on Feb 6, 2012 10:10 AM PST

Was looking at the Niners nation site today and saw they had an all time 49ers list setup by postion. Did some digging here but was unable to find anything like that(could be i'm not using this internet machine correctly) so i thought it would be fun to put together a list. So Here is my stab at it.

C: Terry Steinbach
1B: Mak McGwire
2B: Mark Ellis
SS: Miquel Tejada
3B: Sal Bando
LF: Rickey
CF:Dwayne Murphy
RF: Reggie Jackson

DH: Dave Kingman

SP1: Catfish Hunter
SP2: Vida Blue
SP3: Rollie Fingers
SP4: Dave Stewart
SP5: Tim Hudson

CL: Eck

Interested in seeing other people's ideas for this list so please chime in. Definitely some debatable positions.

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Comments

Field of Dreams

You could make a case for Jose Canseco and Joe Rudi in the outfield. At third base, one could argue for Carney Lansford. Regarding pitching, Rollie Fingers is a reliever, so he is in the bullpen. I like Mike Norris and Ken Holtzman for consideration as starting pitcher.

by Bubby's Bashers on Feb 6, 2012 11:19 AM PST reply actions

oops....

Should of proofed before i posted. Rookie mistake for this first time poster. may be it would work out better if there were 3 relievers spots on this list up for grabs.

by DofCT on Feb 6, 2012 12:51 PM PST up reply actions

Rollie Fingers is not a SP,

But if you want to give 2 bullpen spots he would certainly claim one of them. Not better than Eck though. I would give that Rollie Fingers SP spot to Zito. I am biased though, that memory of his game against the Twins in the playoffs, besting Santana…that was awesome.

I might have to go Jose Canseco over Reggie Jackson.

by Billy Frijoles on Feb 6, 2012 11:20 AM PST reply actions

Canseco over Reggie!?!?

Are you insane?

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 6, 2012 7:17 PM PST up reply actions

sort of. I have an irrational love for Jose Canseco

They have an identical career OPS with Oakland – .851. That is crazy. Canseco hit HRs at a much higher rate. I also think the 40/40 season was pretty legendary. Neither was great in the field as far as I know although I wasn’t old enough to watch Reggie Jackson play. I do know that opposing pitchers were scared shitless facing Canseco. I am of course ignoring steroids here.

by Billy Frijoles on Feb 6, 2012 7:31 PM PST up reply actions

Reggie said

“The only way I’m getting a gold glove is with a can of spray paint”..Lol..love that guy

"It's like we used to say in practice..first one to cry is a sissy." - Jack Tatum

by The Villain 32 on Feb 7, 2012 4:07 AM PST up reply actions

How about

Tony Armas, he was vastly better defensively, did not put up as many homeruns, but he hit quite a few.

Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969

by billyball1981 on Feb 7, 2012 10:30 AM PST up reply actions

The only one who would beat out Reggie on this team is

Rickey. Reggie is number 2 hands down. jose and tony armas are riding pine.
also, I would have a hard time putting murphy in over dave henderson.
AS far as the outfield goes, rickey, reggie, hendu, murphy, canseco…
the only way rudi makes the team is if you cut murphy or hendu….that is a tough call.
Bob welch is top 5 oakland pitcher. much better than zito or mulder or holtzman or odom.
move rollie to the pen.
Steinbach, really. over world series hero gene tenace or ray fosse, no way steinbach even makes my team.
campy and carney got to be on the team as backup infielders, heck i would throw either of them at second over ellis.

by gratefuldude on Feb 13, 2012 5:21 PM PST up reply actions

Even I wouldn't take Jose Canseco over Reggie Jackson

tko bira, masturbira -- Croatian proverb quoted by elcroata

by WaddellCanseco on Feb 9, 2012 8:38 PM PST up reply actions

I am just talking about Canseco and Reggie's time with Oakland, not their entire careers.

40/40 baby.

by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 1:33 PM PST up reply actions

Baseballin' on a Budget

I believe that Dan Hennessey covered the best A’s by position over a number of articles last year or so. It was a very inclusive list and was one of the reasons I actually started to follow blogs. Dan, is there an archive of those articles. I know the site is no more, but it’d be great to have them here.

by evi1_d on Feb 6, 2012 12:20 PM PST reply actions

I'd take Tenace over Steinbach, and Campy over Tejada, but I think you're pretty spot-on for the most part.

The sentimentalist in me wants to give the SP5 spot to Mike Norris, even if the numbers don’t support this.

Sisko: All right Niners, let's hear some chatter!
Kasidy: Hey batterbatterbatterbatterbatter!
Leeta: Hey batterbatterbatter! Batterbatterbatterbatter!
Worf: DEATH TO THE OPPOSITION!!!

by CmdrKhraanik on Feb 6, 2012 12:42 PM PST reply actions

Norris...

That 1980 season alone makes him worthy of discussion. Should’ve won the Cy… I hate Steve Stone!!!

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 6, 2012 7:20 PM PST up reply actions

22-9

If he had the Orioles behind him he may have won near 30 that year, yes he should have won the Cy Young that year, but he was on a west coast team, and he was playing for Finley.

Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969

by billyball1981 on Feb 7, 2012 10:32 AM PST up reply actions

I'd like to see the other Henderson - Hendu

- in place of Murphy in CF. And probably Holtzman in place of Fingers, who belongs in the ’pen right behind Eck.

Feel free to visit my blog focused on the future A’s down on the farm: http://athleticsfarm.com

by wcmori on Feb 6, 2012 4:02 PM PST reply actions

Hendu over Murphy!?!?

Are you insane?

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 6, 2012 7:21 PM PST up reply actions

I love me some Dave Henderson,

but no way does he get the nod over Murph!

Sisko: All right Niners, let's hear some chatter!
Kasidy: Hey batterbatterbatterbatterbatter!
Leeta: Hey batterbatterbatter! Batterbatterbatterbatter!
Worf: DEATH TO THE OPPOSITION!!!

by CmdrKhraanik on Feb 6, 2012 8:58 PM PST up reply actions

Yep, Hendu over Murphy - look at the numbers

Over their careers, Murphy had a slash line of .246/.356/.402 while Hendu’s was .258/.320/.436 – pretty comparable there. In Hendu’s best year with the A’s (‘88), it was .304/.363/.525, while in Murphy’s best year (‘84), it was .256/.342/.472. Over his 10 years with the A’s, Murphy averaged 3.15 WAR per season while Hendu averaged 3.33 WAR over his 6 seasons with the A’s. Also in their time with the A’s, Murphy averaged 13 doubles and 15 home runs per season, while Hendu averaged 24 doubles and 17 home runs. Murphy only played on one playoff team while Hendu played on three World Series teams. And in my memory, Hendu was always a lot tougher in the clutch and was much more of a big-game player and a more consistent game-changer.

Feel free to visit my blog focused on the future A’s down on the farm: http://athleticsfarm.com

by wcmori on Feb 7, 2012 12:06 AM PST up reply actions

Murphy

Played MUCH better outfield.

by ChuckBudd on Feb 7, 2012 4:04 AM PST up reply actions

Agreed, but don't think it offsets everything else

Even with defense factored in, Hendu averaged a slightly higher annual WAR in his time with the A’s. Given the choice of having Hendu or Murphy in my lineup, I’d gladly take Hendu – I think he had the ability to change more games.

Feel free to visit my blog focused on the future A’s down on the farm: http://athleticsfarm.com

by wcmori on Feb 7, 2012 4:43 AM PST up reply actions

But did Hendu wear his cap like this? No. Murphy wins.

from distantreplay.org

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 7, 2012 8:56 AM PST up reply actions

Oops. Image fail.

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 7, 2012 8:56 AM PST up reply actions

You make a compelling argument, and I'd be happy with either guy.

In my mind, I’m weighting defense a little heavier because it’s CF. I’m also giving Murphy a couple of brownie points for being the Captain during his tenure with the A’s. Still love Hendu, though.

Sisko: All right Niners, let's hear some chatter!
Kasidy: Hey batterbatterbatterbatterbatter!
Leeta: Hey batterbatterbatter! Batterbatterbatterbatter!
Worf: DEATH TO THE OPPOSITION!!!

by CmdrKhraanik on Feb 7, 2012 10:14 AM PST up reply actions

Murphy

Also batted behind Henderson and had to give up many AB’s so Henderson could run wild. Henderson credited Murphy for his early success.

Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969

by billyball1981 on Feb 7, 2012 10:34 AM PST up reply actions

Changes

Holtzman starting pitcher. Fingers to pen. He and Eck both in the pen, both Hall of Famers.
Maybe Jaha as DH. Most DHs with the A’s don’t last long since they are near the end of their careers.

by coachmmm on Feb 6, 2012 7:18 PM PST reply actions

Matt Stairs disagrees with you...

At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was an idiot.

by the_rozeboom on Feb 6, 2012 7:21 PM PST up reply actions

I'd put Canseco in right...

take 1969 Reggie (who played 10 games in center that year) and slide him into center, and figure his 47 dingers and high walk rate would offset the defensive bleeding.

I don’t have a strong attachment to the defensive values of either of them, but I’d add 2001 Jason Giambi and let him and Big Mac share the 1B/DH duties.

by sarchasmic on Feb 6, 2012 8:16 PM PST reply actions