| 1977 Oakland Athletics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | |||
| City | Oakland, California | |||
| Record | 63–98 (.391) | |||
| Divisional place | 7th | |||
| Owners | Charles O. Finley | |||
| Managers | Jack McKeon,Bobby Winkles | |||
| Television | KPIX-TV | |||
| Radio | KNBR (Monte Moore, Bob Waller) | |||
| ||||
The1977 Oakland Athletics season was the 77th season for theOakland Athletics franchise, all as members of theAmerican League, and their 10th season inOakland. The team finished seventh in theAmerican League West with a record of 63 wins and 98 losses. Paid attendance for the season was 495,578, one of the worst attendance figures for the franchise during the 1970s.[1]
After the1976 season, most of the Athletics' veteran players who had become eligible for free agency left. In 1977, only three years after winning theWorld Series, the A's finished with the worst record in the American League West, behind even the expansionSeattle Mariners (though by only 1/2 game, as one game with theMinnesota Twins was canceled by weather and never made up).
On June 10,Jack McKeon was fired as manager and replaced by former Arizona State University coachBobby Winkles.[11]
After the season, ownerCharlie Finley attempted to tradeVida Blue to theCincinnati Reds for a player of lesser stature and cash, but CommissionerBowie Kuhn vetoed the deal. The commissioner claimed that it was tantamount to the sale of the star pitcher to theNew York Yankees that the commissioner voided in 1976. The commissioner claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make a mockery of theNational League West race. Instead, Blue was traded across the bay to theSan Francisco Giants in a multi-player trade that received the Commissioner's blessing.
Kuhn and other owners thought that the Athletics relocating would alleviate baseball's problems in the Bay Area regarding poor attendance. Kuhn attempted to get an ownership group to purchase the Athletics and relocate to Washington, D.C., with the intention of moving them to theNational League.[11]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 55–26 | 47–34 |
| Texas Rangers | 94 | 68 | .580 | 8 | 44–37 | 50–31 |
| Chicago White Sox | 90 | 72 | .556 | 12 | 48–33 | 42–39 |
| Minnesota Twins | 84 | 77 | .522 | 17½ | 48–32 | 36–45 |
| California Angels | 74 | 88 | .457 | 28 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
| Seattle Mariners | 64 | 98 | .395 | 38 | 29–52 | 35–46 |
| Oakland Athletics | 63 | 98 | .391 | 38½ | 35–46 | 28–52 |
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 | — | 6–8 | 5–6 | 5–5 | 11–4 | 12–3 | 4–7 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 |
| Boston | 8–6 | — | 7–3 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 8–3 | 10–1 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
| California | 6–5 | 3–7 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 4–7 | 5–10 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 6–4 |
| Chicago | 5–5 | 7–3 | 7–8 | — | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 3–7 | 10–5 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 8–3 |
| Cleveland | 4–11 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–6 | — | 8–7 | 3–7 | 11–4 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 2–9 | 9–5 |
| Detroit | 3–12 | 6–9 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7–8 | — | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 2–8 | 10–5 |
| Kansas City | 7–4 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 7–3 | 8–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 |
| Milwaukee | 4–11 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 4–11 | 5–10 | 2–8 | — | 3–8 | 8–7 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 8–7 |
| Minnesota | 4–6 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 5–10 | 9–2 | 5–5 | 5–10 | 8–3 | — | 2–8 | 8–6 | 7–8 | 8–7 | 9–1 |
| New York | 7–8 | 7–8 | 7–4 | 7–3 | 12–3 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 8–2 | — | 9–2 | 6–4 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
| Oakland | 2–8 | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 6–8 | 2–9 | — | 7–8 | 2–13 | 7–3 |
| Seattle | 3–7 | 1–10 | 6–9 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 8–7 | — | 9–6 | 4–6 |
| Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–6 | 9–2 | 8–2 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 3–7 | 13–2 | 6–9 | — | 7–4 |
| Toronto | 5–10 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 3–8 | 5–9 | 5–10 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | — |
| 1977 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Manny Sanguillén | 152 | 571 | 157 | .275 | 6 | 58 |
| 1B | Dick Allen | 54 | 171 | 41 | .240 | 5 | 31 |
| 2B | Marty Perez | 115 | 373 | 86 | .231 | 2 | 23 |
| 3B | Wayne Gross | 146 | 485 | 113 | .233 | 22 | 63 |
| SS | Rob Picciolo | 148 | 419 | 84 | .200 | 2 | 22 |
| LF | Mitchell Page | 145 | 501 | 154 | .307 | 21 | 75 |
| CF | Tony Armas | 118 | 363 | 87 | .240 | 13 | 53 |
| RF | Jim Tyrone | 96 | 294 | 72 | .245 | 5 | 26 |
| DH | Earl Williams | 100 | 348 | 84 | .241 | 13 | 38 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodney Scott | 133 | 364 | 95 | .261 | 0 | 20 |
| Mike Jorgensen | 66 | 203 | 50 | .246 | 8 | 32 |
| Rich McKinney | 86 | 198 | 35 | .177 | 6 | 21 |
| Billy North | 56 | 184 | 48 | .261 | 1 | 9 |
| Larry Murray | 90 | 162 | 29 | .179 | 1 | 9 |
| Jeff Newman | 94 | 162 | 36 | .222 | 4 | 15 |
| Jerry Tabb | 51 | 144 | 32 | .222 | 6 | 19 |
| Willie Crawford | 59 | 136 | 25 | .184 | 1 | 16 |
| Sheldon Mallory | 64 | 126 | 27 | .214 | 0 | 5 |
| Tim Hosley | 39 | 78 | 15 | .192 | 1 | 10 |
| Matt Alexander | 90 | 42 | 10 | .238 | 0 | 2 |
| Larry Lintz | 41 | 30 | 4 | .133 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Williams | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vida Blue | 38 | 279.2 | 14 | 19 | 3.83 | 157 |
| Rick Langford | 37 | 208.1 | 8 | 19 | 4.02 | 141 |
| Doc Medich | 26 | 147.2 | 10 | 6 | 4.69 | 74 |
| Mike Norris | 16 | 77.1 | 2 | 7 | 4.77 | 35 |
| Matt Keough | 7 | 42.2 | 1 | 3 | 4.85 | 23 |
| Dock Ellis | 7 | 26.0 | 1 | 5 | 9.69 | 11 |
| Mike Torrez | 4 | 26.1 | 3 | 1 | 4.44 | 12 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Coleman | 43 | 127.2 | 4 | 4 | 2.96 | 55 |
| Pablo Torrealba | 41 | 116.2 | 4 | 6 | 2.62 | 51 |
| Jim Umbarger | 12 | 44.0 | 1 | 5 | 6.55 | 24 |
| Stan Bahnsen | 11 | 22.0 | 1 | 2 | 6.14 | 21 |
| Paul Mitchell | 5 | 13.2 | 0 | 3 | 10.54 | 5 |
| Steve McCatty | 4 | 14.1 | 0 | 0 | 5.02 | 9 |
| Craig Mitchell | 3 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 7.94 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Bair | 45 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3.46 | 68 |
| Bob Lacey | 64 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3.03 | 69 |
| Dave Giusti | 40 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2.98 | 28 |
| Steve Dunning | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.93 | 4 |
| Jeff Newman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |