1994 Oakland Athletics season

1994 Oakland Athletics
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 51–63 (.447)
Other information
Owner(s) Walter A. Haas, Jr.
General manager(s) Sandy Alderson
Manager(s) Tony La Russa
Local television KRON-TV
(Dick Stockton, Ray Fosse)
Sports Channel Pacific
(Ray Fosse, Greg Papa)
Local radio KFRC
(Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse)
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The Oakland Athletics' 1994 season was the team's 27th in Oakland, California. It was also the 94th season in franchise history. The team finished second in the American League West with a record of 51-63.

The Athletics' 1994 campaign ranks among the most unusual in franchise history. A disastrous 1993 campaign, attributable mainly to inept pitching, had tempered expectations in Oakland; while several established stars (namely Dennis Eckersley, Bob Welch, Terry Steinbach, Mark McGwire, and a recently re-signed Rickey Henderson) remained with the team in 1994, questions about the starting rotation, bullpen, and infield kept expectations low.

The Athletics belied these low expectations with a respectable 7-5 start. The team's pitching staff continued to hemorrhage runs (allowing 79 in 12 games); the staff was bailed out, however, by their red-hot offense (which scored 93 runs over the same span). On April 17 (the day of Oakland's seventh win), the A's found themselves 1.5 games ahead of the second-place California Angels.

The Athletics' offense soon cooled down, however. This drop in production, combined with continued pitching woes, set the stage for a monumental collapse. Between April 19 and May 29, Oakland lost 31 games in 37 tries; at the end of this span, their record stood at a ghastly 13-36. The A's, now firmly in last place, trailed the division-leading Angels (who also boasted a sub-.500 record) by nine games. Oakland continued to lose ground over the following two weeks; at their absolute nadir, the Athletics' 19-43 record trailed the division-leading Rangers (who had since overtaken the Angels) by 12.5 games. Oakland's season, by all accounts, seemed finished.

The A's, instead, launched themselves back into contention with a stunning turnaround. Over their next 22 games, the Athletics went 19-3; this surge raised their record to a semi-respectable 38-46. Oakland's much-maligned pitching staff powered the resurgence; over the 22-game span, Athletics pitchers allowed a scant 3.27 runs per game (while pitching six shutouts). The rest of the division struggled over the same span; as such, Oakland's 38th victory allowed it to pull within three games of the first-place Rangers. The A's cooled down in subsequent weeks; poor play from the rest of the division, however, allowed them to gain further ground. The team ultimately finished with a 51-63 record; despite being 12 games under .500, the A's were only one game behind the first-place Rangers. Amazingly, all four of the American League West's teams would finish the strike-shortened season with losing records. This is the only such instance in MLB history.

The 1994 Players' Strike ended the season (and the A's postseason hopes) entirely. While the Rangers would win their first-ever division title in 1996, the A's would have to wait until 2000 to return to the postseason.

Offseason

Regular season

Despite compiling a record of only 51-63 by Friday, August 12, the Athletics were only one game behind the Texas Rangers for the lead in the AL West Division. They had scored 549 runs (4.82 per game) and allowed 589 runs (5.17 per game).[6]

The Athletics finished the strike-shortened season 28th in triples, with just 13, but they led the Majors in sacrifice flies, with 51.[7]

Despite walking an MLB-high 510 batters, the Athletics tied the Chicago White Sox for the most shutouts pitched, with 9.[7]

Transactions

Season standings

AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Texas Rangers 52 62 0.456 — 31–32 21–30
Oakland Athletics 51 63 0.447 1 24–32 27–31
Seattle Mariners 49 63 0.438 2 22–22 27–41
California Angels 47 68 0.409 5½ 23–40 24–28
Division leaders W L Pct.
New York Yankees 70 43 0.619
Chicago White Sox 67 46 0.593
Texas Rangers 52 62 0.456
W L Pct.
Cleveland Indians 66 47 0.584
Baltimore Orioles 63 49 0.562
Kansas City Royals 64 51 0.557
Toronto Blue Jays 55 60 0.478
Boston Red Sox 54 61 0.470
Minnesota Twins 53 60 0.469
Detroit Tigers 53 62 0.461
Milwaukee Brewers 53 62 0.461
Oakland Athletics 51 63 0.447
Seattle Mariners 49 63 0.438
California Angels 47 68 0.409

Record vs. opponents

1994 American League Records

Sources:

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

Roster

1994 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
SS Mike Bordick 114 391 99 .253 2 37

Other batters

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Mark McGwire 47 135 34 .252 9 25
Steve Sax 7 24 6 .250 0 1
Jeff Schaefer 6 8 1 .125 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO

Other pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO

Relief pitchers

Player G W L SV ERA SO

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Tacoma Tigers Pacific Coast League Casey Parsons
AA Huntsville Stars Southern League Gary Jones
A Modesto A's California League Dick Scott
A West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League Jim Colborn
A-Short Season Southern Oregon A's Northwest League Tom Dunton
Rookie AZL Athletics Arizona League Tony DeFrancesco

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Huntsville

References

  1. ↑ Mike Aldrete page at Baseball Reference
  2. ↑ Billy Taylor page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Rickey Henderson page at Baseball Reference
  4. ↑ Kerwin Moore page at Baseball Reference
  5. 1 2 Dave Righetti page at Baseball Reference
  6. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1994.shtml
  7. 1 2 http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1994.shtml
  8. ↑ Steve Sax page at Baseball Reference
  9. ↑ Jeff Schaefer page at Baseball Reference
  10. ↑ Jason Beverlin page at Baseball Reference
  11. ↑ Tim Hudson page at Baseball Reference
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