The Athletics were formed in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. The club moved to Oakland in 1968 and are still there as of 2020. The club has won nine World Series titles ranging from 1910-1989. They also have six retired numbers including Jackie Robinson‘s number 42. Here is an all-time starting lineup for the Oakland Athletics including a designated hitter, starting pitcher and relief pitcher.
1. Ricky Henderson, Left Field (1979-1984, 1989-1993, 1998)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2009
Uniform Number 24 Retired in 2009
Of course Henderson’s most notable feature is being the all-time MLB leader for swiping bags. The Hall of Famer has 1,406 of them in his career. He reached 100 in three of four seasons from 1980-1983 with 130 being his single-season best in 1982. In 14 seasons played with Oakland, Henderson accumulated 1,270 runs scored with a slash line of .288/.409/.430.
2. Eddie Collins, Second Base (1906-1914, 1927-1930)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1939
Collins spent 25 seasons in the big leagues in which 13 were with the Athletics. He excelled at finding his way on base as his career OBP was .424. He accumulated 534 base on balls in his time with the Athletics. The second basemen won an MVP in 1914 when he had a .904 OPS with 122 runs scored and 181 hits. Collins won three World Series with the A’s in 1910, 1911 and 1913.
3. Jimmie Foxx, First Base (1925-1935)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1951
Foxx played for four big-league clubs in his 20-year career. He spent 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. In his time there, he played in 1,256 regular-season games, slashing .339/.440/.640. He won MVP in back-to-back seasons in 1932 and 1933. In 1932, Foxx led the league with 58 homers, 169 RBIs and a 207 OPS+. Foxx won two World Series with the Athletics in 1929 and 1930.
4. Reggie Jackson, Right Field (1968-1975, 1987)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1993
Uniform Number 9 Retired by Athletics in 2004
In the 10 seasons Jackson spent with Oakland, he finished in the top five of the AL MVP voting four times. He won the award in 1973. That year, Jackson hit 32 long balls, 28 doubles and 117 RBIs. Jackson also won the World Series MVP that year. He had five extra-base hits and six RBIs in seven games that series. Jackson and the Athletics also won the Fall Classic the year in 1972 and 1974.
5. Khris Davis, Designated Hitter (2016-Present)
A fun fact that gained some popularity was when Davis had a .247 batting average each season from 2015-2018. His OBP was around .320 each of those seasons with a slugging percentage between .505 and .549. Davis has clearly shown consistency at the plate. The DH reached 48 home runs in 2018 and finished in eighth for AL MVP that year.
6. Eric Chavez, Third Base (1998-2010)
Chavez spent parts of 13 seasons in the hot corner with the Athletics. He won six Gold Glove awards in that span. In fact, they came in consecutive seasons from 2001-2006. He also won a Silver Slugger award in 2002 when he hit a career best 34 home runs. Chavez never played in the World Series, but he made the playoffs with Oakland five times.
7. Mickey Cochrane, Catcher (1925-1933)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1947
Cochrane was in the top 10 of the MVP voting in four of his nine seasons with the A’s. The catcher won the award in 1928 when he slashed .293/.395/.464. He went on to have a batting average well over .300 and an OBP over .400 in each of the next three seasons. The Athletics also made the World Series in those three years, winning it in both 1929 and 1930. Cochrane had an OPS over 1.000 in each of those World Series.
8. Bert Campaneris, Shortstop (1968-1976)
Campaneris played in 1,795 regular season games with the Athletics. He made six All-Star games and won three World Series during his 19 season career. Campaneris had a career high OPS of .769 in 1970. The shortstop had 28 doubles, and a career high in both RBIs (64) and home runs (22) that season. He is currently the all-time leader in hits with the Athletics with 1,882.
9. Dwayne Murphy, Center Field (1978-1987)
Just like Chavez, Murphy has six Gold Glove awards from consecutive seasons, except his were years earlier from 1980-1985. His highest finish in the MVP voting was 11 in 1981. One of his best seasons at the plate was in 1984. That year he had 143 hits, 88 RBIs and a single-season best 33 homers. Murphy made the playoffs in just one season where he had a 1.184 OPS in six games played.
Starting Pitching- Lefty Grove (1925-1933)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1947
There are multiple options for this spot, including Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue. However, it’s Lefty Grove getting the nod here. Grove pitched on the Athletics for parts of nine seasons. In that time, he had a 2.88 ERA with 1,523 strikeouts in 2,401 innings pitched. Grove also pitched in three World Series. He threw 51 1/3 innings with a low 1.75 ERA in his Postseason career.
Relief Pitcher- Dennis Eckersley (1987-1995)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2004
Uniform Number 43 Retired in 2005
Eckersley spent nine seasons with the Athletics. In 637 innings pitched, he had a 2.74 ERA with 658 strikeouts. In 1992, Eckersley won both AL MVP and Cy Young. That season, Eckersley had a 1.91 ERA in 80 innings pitched with 51 saves. Eckersley was on the World Series winning team in 1989. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in that series.
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