Lame-Duck Oakland Athletics Are Worse Than Their Philly, Kansas City Predecessors

It’s not 100% certain that the Oakland Athletics are playing their final season in the Bay Area, but that certainly appears to be club ownership’s intention. The club is buying land in the Las Vegas area in hopes of moving there as soon as next season. Any new ballpark would obviously not be ready just yet, but their days in possum-occupied RingCentral Coliseum would certainly be at their end.

While many are focused on the inglorious end to the franchise’s tenure in Oakland, it must be emphasized that this is not the first time this has happened – this would be the third city that the Athletics’ franchise has abandoned since its birth in 1901.

The A’s actually won more World Series (5) in Philadelphia, where it they resided from 1901-1954, than they have since 1968 in Oakland (4). In between, they finished at .500 or better exactly zero times in their 13 seasons in Kansas City.

The A’s have been both historically good (3 World Series titles in 4 appearances from 1910-14, 2 World Series titles and 3 straight appearances from 1929-31, 3 straight World Series titles from 1972-74, averaged 102 wins, won a World Series, appeared in 3 straight from 1988-90) and historically bad (3 straight 100-loss seasons from 1919-21, 100 losses in 3 of 5 seasons from 1961-65, 108 losses in 1979) – but they’ve likely never been as bad as they are right now.

They lost 102 games last year, and are off to a 4-18 start through Sunday’s games, with a ghastly -103 run differential. How historically bad is that? Well, the 1962 Mets were really bad, right? They started 5-17, and their run differential was only -49 over that span. From Game 32-53 of that season, they went 3-19, and their run differential was only -51. From Game 55-76 of that season, they went 5-17, and their run differential was only -53. From Game 76-97 of that season, they went 3-20, and their run differential was only -77. From Game 110-131 of that season, they went 4-18, and their run differential was only -62. And keep it right on rolling, from Game 132-153 they went 3-18-1, and their run differential was only -37. The 1962 Mets were -99 in a 7-36-1 44-game span, while the 2023 A’s are -103 in half as many games. Sure, Marvelous Marv and friends piled up a lot of really bad streaks, but none were as awful as the A’s ongoing start to the 2023 season. The 1962 Mets were outscored by 331 runs (617-948) – the 2023 A’s are almost up to a third of that shortfall in less than an eighth of the games.

So how do today’s A’s match up to the groups that fled Philadelphia and Kansas City back in the day? Let’s take a look.

2023 OAKLAND ATHLETICS

They’re 13th in the AL in runs scored (75) and dead last in runs allowed (178). There are an awful lot of component stats that support those telling numbers, but the ones that truly jump out to me are on the pitching side. Their walk total (116 BB in just 193 IP) is truly astounding. In fact, take out lefty starter JP Sears (4 BB in 21 2/3 IP) and the rest of the staff has walked 112 batters in 171 1/3 IP. Crazy. Oh, and we’re 18 games into the season, and A’s starters haven’t won a game yet. They’re a “perfect” 0-11. Reliever Jeurys Familia’s 6.4 career WAR is a staff high.

While lefties Sears, Kyle Muller and Ken Waldichuk are young and relatively inexperienced, they are all somewhat talented and offer some hope for the future. One can only hope that they can survive an almost total lack of support of any kind. In the field, catcher Shea Langeliers has pedigree and some pop at the plate. CF Esteury Ruiz can fly, and looks to be a beneficiary of the rule changes that kickstart the running game. And most bad teams give opportunity to at least one longtime power prospect who just needed a chance, and this club’s version just might be Brent Rooker. Recent callups Jordan Diaz at bat and Mason Miller on the mound also offer reasons to watch.

But that’s about it. This is a bad team’s bad team. They’re dead last in the AL in attendance, and deservedly so.

1967 KANSAS CITY ATHLETICS

The A’s didn’t reach historic depths while in Kansas City, but they never once got over .500. They were only outscored by 127 runs (533-660) in their final season there, with their Pythagorean record (65-96) slightly outpacing their actual one (62-99).

What must have been exceptionally frustrating to any real fans they left behind (they finished 9th of 10 AL clubs in attendance at 726,639 in 1967) in K.C. was the realization that this team was going to get really good once they got to Oakland. The 1967 team gave exactly 74 plate appearances (all to 3B Ed Charles) to position players and 32 2/3 IP (to Jack Sanford, Wes Stock and Bob Duliba) to pitchers aged 30 and over. This was an exciting young team ready to kick it up several notches.

SS Bert Campaneris, 2B Dick Green and OF Rick Monday were already everyday players. Catfish Hunter, Chuck Dobson, Blue Moon Odom, Paul Lindblad and Diego Segui were fixtures on the pitching staff. Position players Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson, Dave Duncan and Joe Rudi were all added by season’s end. The club finished over .500 in their first year in Oakland under new manager Bob Kennedy. This is NOT going to be the case in the club’s first season in Las Vegas.

1954 PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS

In 1954, the seeds of MLB’s westward expansion had been planted. Boston no longer had two teams with the departure of the Braves to Milwaukee. There were already rumblings regarding the Brooklyn Dodgers’ and New York Giants’ dissatisfaction with Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, respectively. And New York’s poor cousin, Philadelphia, was having trouble supporting two clubs.

The Phillies and A’s both had recent cellar-dwelling histories at this time, but in the late-40s/early 50s the Phillies began to separate themselves with an exciting young nucleus. But just when they appeared set to emerge as the next NL “it” team, the lily-whiteness of that nucleus limited them. The Dodgers, Giants and Braves snapped all of the exciting young Negro League talent, and the Phils struggled to keep pace. They were still easily clear of the A’s, however, and laid claim to the city’s fans.

The 1954 A’s drew only 304,666 fans in their last season in Philadelphia. They scored only 542 (7th of 8 clubs) while allowing 875 (8th) runs. Best players? I guess 3B Jim Finigan (119 OPS+) and OF Bill Wilson (17 HR) were OK, but they combined for 4.3 CAREER WAR. Manager Eddie Joost (31.6 career WAR), OF Elmer Valo (28.5 career WAR) and 1952 AL MVP Bobby Shantz (34.6 career WAR) had been and in some cases would be good again. Young 1B Vic Power was set to emerge as a somewhat interesting player. But they were running out a DP combo of Joe DeMaestri and Spook Jacobs on an everyday basis.

After leaving for KC, Gus Zernial broke out as a short-term power source, but the best that can be said for the 1950s A’s is that they became a fertile farm club for the Yankees, with the likes of Roger Maris, Hector Lopez, Art Ditmar (a Philly holdover), Clete Boyer, Ralph Terry and Tom Sturdivant winning hardware in the Big Apple.

The Athletics franchise has soared to the highest of highs and plunged to the lowest of lows in all three of its respective homes. Five championships and two huge sell-offs in Philly. Perhaps the greatest collection of young talent ready to take off in Kansas City, just a few years after serving as little more than a source of scrap metal for the richest organization in pro sports. And most recently, the last three-time consecutive World Champ, as well as the Bash Brothers Juggernaut, and Moneyball Parts I (1999-2006) and II (2018-21). That’s right, just a couple years ago, they had a Matt Chapman/Matt Olson/Marcus Semien/Chris Bassitt/Liam Hendriks, etc., nucleus that appeared capable of making a run at some hardware.

And here they are now, with perhaps the worst team I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a few. It would seem to have to get better from here in Vegas, though watching the current pitching staff trying to record outs in that environment would certainly challenge that assumption.