| 1998 Oakland Athletics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Network Associates Coliseum | |||
| City | Oakland, California | |||
| Record | 74–88 (.457) | |||
| Divisional place | 4th | |||
| Owners | Stephen Schott Ken Hofmann | |||
| General managers | Billy Beane | |||
| Managers | Art Howe | |||
| Television | KRON-TV Fox Sports Bay Area (Ray Fosse,Greg Papa,Ken Wilson) | |||
| Radio | KNEW (Bill King,Ken Korach,Ray Fosse) | |||
| ||||
The1998 Oakland Athletics season was the 98th season for theOakland Athletics franchise, all as members of theAmerican League, and their 31st season inOakland. The Athletics finished the season with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The campaign was the first of theBilly Beane era. While the Athletics finished a distant fourth in theAmerican League West, they improved upon the prior year's dismal output of 65–97.
The strong play ofJason Giambi,Matt Stairs andKenny Rogers highlighted an otherwise forgettable campaign. Rogers' performance was particularly impressive; in arguably the finest season of his career, he won 16 games and posted a 3.17 earned run average (both were the best full-season marks by an Athletics starter since 1992). Additionally, the 1998 season markedRickey Henderson's fourth (and final) stint with the Athletics. Henderson, at the age of 39, stole a total 66 bases; this total lead the league in that category. Lastly, rookieBen Grieve collected a Rookie of the Year (ROY) award for his solid debut season. The award was the Athletics' first sinceWalt Weiss received one in 1988.
The Athletics posted a winning record in 1999. The organization, under Beane, would not post another losing season until2007.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 48–33 | 40–41 |
| Anaheim Angels | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3 | 42–39 | 43–38 |
| Seattle Mariners | 76 | 85 | .472 | 11½ | 42–39 | 34–46 |
| Oakland Athletics | 74 | 88 | .457 | 14 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | — | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 10–6 | ||
| Baltimore | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–9 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 5–6 | 7–3 | 3–9 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 5–11 | ||
| Boston | 5–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–6 | 8–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–7 | ||
| Chicago | 6–5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 4–6–1 | 7–9 | ||
| Cleveland | 7–4 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 9–2 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 10–6 | ||
| Detroit | 3–8 | 1–10 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 7–9 | ||
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 0–10 | 7–4 | 4–6 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 6–5 | 9–7 | ||
| Minnesota | 5–6 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–9 | ||
| New York | 5–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 10–0 | 7–4 | — | 8–3 | 8–3 | 11–1 | 8–3 | 6–6 | 13–3 | ||
| Oakland | 7–5 | 3–8 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 8–8 | ||
| Seattle | 3–9 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 6–4 | 9–2 | 3–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 7–9 | ||
| Tampa Bay | 5–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 1–11 | 6–5 | 5–6 | — | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–11 | ||
| Texas | 7–5 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | — | 7–4 | 8–8 | ||
| Toronto | 7–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–4–1 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 4–7 | — | 9–7 | ||
| 1998 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager
Coaches
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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; Slg. =Slugging average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | Slg. | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | A. J. Hinch | 120 | 337 | 34 | 78 | 9 | 35 | .231 | .341 | 3 |
| 1B | Jason Giambi | 153 | 562 | 92 | 166 | 27 | 110 | .295 | .489 | 2 |
| 2B | Scott Spiezio | 114 | 406 | 54 | 105 | 9 | 50 | .259 | .377 | 1 |
| 3B | Mike Blowers | 129 | 409 | 56 | 97 | 11 | 71 | .237 | .386 | 1 |
| SS | Miguel Tejada | 105 | 365 | 53 | 85 | 11 | 45 | .233 | .384 | 5 |
| LF | Rickey Henderson | 152 | 542 | 101 | 128 | 14 | 57 | .236 | .347 | 66 |
| CF | Ryan Christenson | 117 | 370 | 56 | 95 | 5 | 50 | .257 | .368 | 5 |
| RF | Ben Grieve | 155 | 583 | 94 | 168 | 18 | 89 | .288 | .458 | 2 |
| DH | Matt Stairs | 149 | 523 | 88 | 154 | 26 | 106 | .294 | .511 | 8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Bournigal | 85 | 209 | 47 | .225 | 1 | 19 |
| Mike Macfarlane | 78 | 207 | 52 | .251 | 7 | 34 |
| Bip Roberts | 61 | 182 | 51 | .280 | 1 | 15 |
| Jason McDonald | 70 | 175 | 44 | .251 | 1 | 16 |
| Kevin Mitchell | 51 | 127 | 29 | .228 | 2 | 21 |
| Kurt Abbott | 35 | 123 | 33 | .268 | 2 | 9 |
| Dave Magadan | 35 | 109 | 35 | .321 | 1 | 13 |
| Ed Sprague Jr. | 27 | 87 | 13 | .149 | 3 | 7 |
| Jack Voigt | 57 | 72 | 10 | .139 | 1 | 10 |
| Eric Chavez | 16 | 45 | 14 | .311 | 0 | 6 |
| Mike Neill | 6 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Bellhorn | 11 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Lesher | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Jorge Velandia | 8 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Izzy Molina | 6 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Shane Mack | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Wood | 3 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Rogers | 34 | 238.2 | 16 | 8 | 3.17 | 138 |
| Tom Candiotti | 33 | 201.0 | 11 | 16 | 4.84 | 98 |
| Jimmy Haynes | 33 | 194.1 | 11 | 9 | 5.09 | 134 |
| Mike Oquist | 31 | 175.0 | 7 | 11 | 6.22 | 112 |
| Blake Stein | 24 | 117.1 | 5 | 9 | 6.37 | 89 |
| Gil Heredia | 8 | 42.2 | 3 | 3 | 2.74 | 27 |
| Ariel Prieto | 2 | 8.1 | 0 | 1 | 11.88 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Witasick | 7 | 27.0 | 1 | 3 | 6.33 | 29 |
| Dave Telgheder | 8 | 20.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.60 | 5 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Taylor | 70 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 3.58 | 58 |
| Buddy Groom | 75 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.24 | 36 |
| T.J. Mathews | 66 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4.58 | 53 |
| Mike Mohler | 57 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5.16 | 42 |
| Mike Fetters | 48 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3.99 | 34 |
| Tim Worrell | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.00 | 33 |
| Aaron Small | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.25 | 19 |
| Mark Holzemer | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.59 | 3 |
| Jim Doughtery | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8.25 | 3 |
| Steve Connelly | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.93 | 1 |