Attempting an Oakland Athletics Mount Rushmore
An IBWAA writer attempts to put together the top four A's of all time
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . Rickey Henderson’s franchise high of 867 stolen bases in an Athletics uniform would rank fifth all-time. His is one of the multiple team career records held by players who played exclusively in Oakland, including home runs (Mark McGwire, 363), runs (Henderson, 1,270), walks (Henderson, 1,227), saves (Dennis Eckersley, 320), and WHIP (Eckersley, 0.95).
. . . Bert Campaneris holds the franchise hits mark, with 1,882, while playing nine of this 13 seasons for the franchise in Oakland.
Leading Off
By Rich Campbell
Former Oakland Athletics pitcher and current broadcaster Dallas Braden recently brought up the topic of an A’s Mount Rushmore on X, which, as you might expect, led to many opinions being shared.
In the spirit of that lively online banter, here are multiple A’s Mount Rushmores, explaining each grouping. Which one do you think is best? Let’s get started:
The A’s WAR Mount Rushmore
A simple perusal of the Athletics’ Baseball Reference page is an excellent starting point for figuring out the four greatest A’s. This grouping of the players with the highest WAR whilst playing for the franchise is Eddie Plank (77.2 bWAR with A’s), Rickey Henderson (72.7), Lefty Grove (64.8) and Jimmie Foxx (61.2).
The Oakland WAR Mount Rushmore
For many Oakland A’s fans, the all-time WAR list may be a bit unsatisfying, as it contains only Rickey Henderson from the Oakland era. The foursome with the highest WAR who played in Oakland is Henderson, Sal Bando (52.1 bWAR with A’s), Bert “Campy” Campenaris (49.0) and Reggie Jackson (48.0).
Moneyball Mount Rushmore for Fans under 30
Even Rickey, Captain Sal, Campy and Reggie are names from the past to younger fans. These fans know the Moneyball teams, even if they are not quite old enough to see them play in person: Eric Chavez (35 WAR in Oakland), Tim Hudson (31.0), Barry Zito (30.3) and Jason Giambi (28.8).
Oakland Starting Pitching Mount Rushmore
Topping the list, based on WAR is Catfish Hunter (31.0 WAR in Oakland), followed by Hudson and Zito. Vida Blue rounds out the list with 29.0 WAR in the Green and Gold, where he won the Cy Young/MVP double in 1971.
Oakland Relievers Mount Rushmore
Starting with this category we move away from WAR as the arbiter of inclusion. The first slot is for Dennis Eckersley who compiled a team record 320 saves and in 1992 won the MVP and Cy Young awards in Oakland. The second slot belongs to Rollie Fingers who is second in saves in Oakland (136) and won 67 games in the Green and Gold. He made four All-Star teams in Oakland and later pulled the MVP/Cy Young double in Milwaukee in 1981, costing Henderson an MVP that should have been his.
The other two spots are open to debate, but I would go with 2005 Rookie of the Year Huston Street, fourth on the Oakland saves list with 94, and Grant Balfour who anchored the bullpen in 2012-13 and has an entrance song that is etched in A’s fans’ collective memories:
Oakland Outfielders Mount Rushmore
It has to start with Rickey and Reggie – each won an MVP in Oakland. They are joined by Jose Canseco, who won a Rookie of the Year and an MVP in Oakland (and collected 27.2 WAR), and Joe Rudi (25.4 WAR in Oakland), who twice finished second in MVP voting in 1972 and 1974.
Oakland Infielders Mount Rushmore
Giambi (2000) and Miguel Tejada (2002) each won MVPs while in Oakland, securing spots on this list. Sal Bando had second, third, and fourth-place MVP finishes on the 1970’s squad. The final spot goes to Gene Tenace, who accumulated 23.6 WAR while catching and playing first for the A’s, on his way to a career WAR of 46.8 – higher than Buster Posey, Thurman Munson, Jorge Posada, or Yadier Molina, you can look it up – and lands him on this writer’s infield Rushmore, bumping Campy from the last spot.
Bet You Forgot They Played for the A’s Mount Rushmore
Just for fun, do you remember these Hall of Famers in Green and Gold? Ty Cobb (1927-28), Joe Morgan (1984), Tim Raines (1999) and Mike Piazza (2007). Those names may help you in a future Immaculate Grid).
My Mount Rushmore
Having watched the team for 50 years and writing about its history for the last ten in this space and at Forbes, my Oakland A’s Mount Rushmore is Reggie, Rickey, Eck, and Stew (Dave Stewart). All have single-name monikers in the parlance of A’s fans. The first three are Hall of Famers whose legacies are secure in baseball lore.
Stew was the backbone of the 1989 World Series team and the last MLB pitcher to win 20 games four seasons in a row (1987-90), a feat not likely to be replicated. He was not appreciated in his own time – just one All-Star selection seems unbelievable – and I fear he will not be remembered outside of his hometown of Oakland for his amazing accomplishments. But Dave Stewart will always be on my A’s Mount Rushmore.
Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.
Extra Innings
One player who holds multiple Athletics franchise marks while not appearing in the top 10 of hitters’ bWAR is Jimmy Dykes. Dykes is the franchise leader in doubles (365), sacrifice hits (188), and hit by pitch (93).
Dykes was an infielder for Philadelphia, primarily playing second and third base, from 1918-1932. He posted a .283/.365/.411 slash line in 6,995 plate appearances, good for a 99 OPS+.
The right-handed hitter was originally born in Philadelphia and had the chance to play in three World Series for his hometown club, winning two titles, in 1929 and 1930.