| 1995 Oakland Athletics | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum |
| City | Oakland, California |
| Record | 67–77 (.465) |
| Divisional place | 4th |
| Owners | Stephen Schott Kenneth Hofmann |
| General managers | Sandy Alderson |
| Managers | Tony La Russa |
| Television | KRON-TV/KBHK-TV (Dick Stockton,Joe Morgan) Sports Channel Pacific (Ray Fosse,Greg Papa) |
| Radio | KNEW (Bill King,Lon Simmons,Ray Fosse) |
TheOakland Athletics' 1995 season was the team's 28th inOakland,California. It was also the 95th season in franchise history. The team finished fourth in theAmerican League West with a record of 67–77.
The Athletics, for a third consecutive year, found themselves mired in mediocrity. As had been the case in both 1993 and 1994, an average-to-poor offense (headlined byMark McGwire,Rickey Henderson, andRubén Sierra) was sabotaged by one of the league's worst pitching staffs. For a third consecutive season, no Athletics starter posted anearned run average (ERA) of less than 4.50; only one such starter,Todd Stottlemyre, managed to record double-digit wins in the strike-shortened campaign.
The Athletics, despite their weak pitching, managed to contend in the first half of the season. On July 1, a win over the division-leadingCalifornia Angels brought them within 1.5 games of first place; it also ran their record to a surprising 34–28. As had been the case in1994, the A's followed their surprising start with a prolonged slump; between July 2 and August 15, the team went only 13–28. The collapse, along with an Angels surge (the Angels went 30–11 over the same span) left the A's 17.5 games out of first place. As had also been the case in 1994, Oakland mounted a dramatic comeback; an Angels collapse, combined with a surge of their own, allowed them to pull within five games of first place on September 20. The September 20th victory would be their last, as Oakland lost each of the regular season's final nine games. They finished the campaign eleven games behind the AL West championSeattle Mariners.
The Athletics' on-field mediocrity, however, contained a few bright spots. Mark McGwire clubbed 39 home runs in a mere 104 games; he would hit at least 50 in each of the four subsequent seasons. The 1995 season also saw the debut of future superstarJason Giambi. Giambi, in his first major league season, batted .256 with six home runs in 54 games. Lastly, the season wasTony La Russa's last as Oakland's manager. He, along with most of the Athletics' assistant coaches, would join theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1996.
 Walter A. Haas Owner: 1981-95(OAK) Honored 1995 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 79 | 66 | .545 | — | 46–27 | 33–39 |
| California Angels | 78 | 67 | .538 | 1 | 39–33 | 39–34 |
| Texas Rangers | 74 | 70 | .514 | 4½ | 41–31 | 33–39 |
| Oakland Athletics | 67 | 77 | .465 | 11½ | 38–34 | 29–43 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 9–4 | 6–1 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–1 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 11–3 | 5–3 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 8–5 |
| California | 4–9 | 3–11 | — | 10–2 | 3–2 | 6–2 | 5–7 | 5–2 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 8–2 |
| Chicago | 1–6 | 3–5 | 2–10 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 10–3 | 3–2–1 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–5 |
| Cleveland | 10–2 | 7–6 | 2–3 | 8–5 | — | 10–3 | 11–1 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 10–3 |
| Detroit | 5–8 | 5–8 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 3–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 2–3 | 5–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Kansas City | 5–4 | 2–3 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 4–3 | — | 10–2 | 6–7 | 3–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–6 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 5–7 | 4–8 | 2–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 2–10 | — | 9–4 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 3–2 | 5–7 | 7–5 |
| Minnesota | 6–3 | 4–5 | 5–8 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 3–4 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 1–4 |
| New York | 7–6 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–3–1 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–3 | 6–5 | 4–3 | — | 4–9 | 4–9 | 6–3 | 12–1 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 0–7 | 3–2 | 8–5 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | — | 7–6 | 5–8 | 3–7 |
| Seattle | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 9–4 | 4–5 | 5–5 | 5–7 | 2–3 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–7 | — | 10–3 | 3–4 |
| Texas | 1–4 | 4–3 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 8–4 | 6–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 3–6 | 8–5 | 3–10 | — | 9–3 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 5–8 | 2–8 | 5–6 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–1 | 1–12 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 3–9 | — |
| 1995 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
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 | 114 | 406 | 113 | .278 | 15 | 65 |
| 1B | Mark McGwire | 104 | 317 | 87 | .274 | 39 | 90 |
| 2B | Brent Gates | 136 | 524 | 133 | .254 | 5 | 56 |
| SS | Mike Bordick | 126 | 428 | 113 | .264 | 8 | 44 |
| 3B | Craig Paquette | 105 | 283 | 64 | .226 | 13 | 49 |
| LF | Rickey Henderson | 112 | 407 | 122 | .300 | 9 | 54 |
| CF | Stan Javier | 130 | 442 | 123 | .278 | 8 | 56 |
| RF | Rubén Sierra | 70 | 264 | 70 | .265 | 12 | 42 |
| DH | Gerónimo Berroa | 141 | 546 | 152 | .278 | 22 | 88 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Brosius | 123 | 389 | 102 | .262 | 17 | 46 |
| Jason Giambi | 54 | 176 | 45 | .256 | 6 | 25 |
| Mike Aldrete | 60 | 125 | 34 | .272 | 4 | 21 |
| Mike Gallego | 43 | 120 | 28 | .233 | 0 | 8 |
| Danny Tartabull | 24 | 88 | 23 | .261 | 2 | 7 |
| Eric Helfand | 38 | 86 | 14 | .163 | 0 | 7 |
| Andy Tomberlin | 46 | 85 | 18 | .212 | 4 | 10 |
| George Williams | 29 | 79 | 23 | .291 | 3 | 14 |
| José Herrera | 33 | 70 | 17 | .243 | 0 | 2 |
| Ernie Young | 26 | 50 | 10 | .200 | 2 | 5 |
| Fausto Cruz | 8 | 23 | 5 | .217 | 0 | 5 |
| Brian Harper | 2 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Stottlemyre | 31 | 209.2 | 14 | 7 | 4.55 | 205 |
| Steve Ontiveros | 22 | 129.2 | 9 | 6 | 4.37 | 77 |
| Ron Darling | 21 | 104.0 | 4 | 7 | 6.23 | 69 |
| Dave Stewart | 16 | 81.0 | 3 | 7 | 6.89 | 58 |
| Mike Harkey | 14 | 66.0 | 4 | 6 | 6.27 | 28 |
| Doug Johns | 11 | 54.2 | 5 | 3 | 4.61 | 25 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Van Poppel | 36 | 138.1 | 4 | 8 | 4.88 | 122 |
| Ariel Prieto | 14 | 58.0 | 2 | 6 | 4.97 | 37 |
| Steve Wojciechowski | 14 | 48.2 | 2 | 3 | 5.18 | 13 |
| John Wasdin | 5 | 17.1 | 1 | 1 | 4.67 | 6 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Eckersley | 52 | 4 | 6 | 29 | 4.83 | 40 |
| Rick Honeycutt | 49 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2.42 | 21 |
| Mark Acre | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.71 | 47 |
| Carlos Reyes | 40 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5.09 | 48 |
| Jim Corsi | 38 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2.20 | 26 |
| Mike Mohler | 28 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.04 | 15 |
| Dave Leiper | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.57 | 10 |
| Don Wengert | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.34 | 16 |
| John Briscoe | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.35 | 19 |
| Chris Eddy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.36 | 2 |
| Scott Baker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 3 |
| Steve Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.40 | 3 |
| Ramón Fermín | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Athletics