1996 Oakland Athletics season

1996 Oakland Athletics
Major League affiliations
Location
  • Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Results
Record 78–84 (.481)
Other information
Owner(s) Stephen Schott
Ken Hofmann
General manager(s) Sandy Alderson
Manager(s) Art Howe
Local television KRON-TV
Sports Channel Pacific
(Ray Fosse, Greg Papa)
Local radio KFRC
(Bill King, Ken Korach, Ray Fosse)
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The Oakland Athletics' 1996 season was the team's 29th in Oakland, California. It was also the 96th season in franchise history. The team finished third in the American League West with a record of 78-84.

The 1996 season was the Athletics' first under manager Art Howe. It was also the team's fourth consecutive losing season. The reasons behind Oakland's mediocrity remained the same; a below-average offense failed to offset an awful pitching staff. The Athletics' starting rotation, once again, was in shambles; none of the Athletics' six primary starters (Don Wengert, Doug Johns, John Wasdin, Ariel Prieto, Steve Wojciechowski, and Dave Telgheder) managed to win more than eight games. Oakland's bullpen also ranked among the league's worst. All told, the A's boasted a team ERA of 5.20; this was the 10th best total in the 14-team American League.

The Athletics' offense was only slightly better. As had been the case in prior years, slugger Mark McGwire was the main draw; he crushed a league-high (and Oakland franchise record) 52 home runs in 1996. Designated hitter Geronimo Berroa and catcher Terry Steinbach belted 36 and 35 home runs, respectively; secondary hitters Scott Brosius, Jason Giambi, and Ernie Young contributed 22, 20, and 19. The Athletics, as a team, hit 243 home runs (the American League's third-most); a low team batting average, however, ensured that they would finish the season with only 861 runs (the American League's 10th best total).

The Athletics hovered around the .500-mark for almost all of the season. They were not expected to contend in 1996, and indeed did not; they ultimately finished 12 games behind the first-time AL West Champion Texas Rangers.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

AL West W L Pct. GB
Texas Rangers 90 72 .556 --
Seattle Mariners 85 76 .528 4½
Oakland Athletics 78 84 .481 12
California Angels 70 91 .435 19½

Transactions

Roster

1996 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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 Terry Steinbach 145 514 140 .272 35 100
1B Mark McGwire 130 423 132 .312 52 113
2B Brent Gates 64 247 65 .263 2 30
3B Scott Brosius 114 428 130 .304 22 71
SS Mike Bordick 155 525 126 .240 5 54
LF Phil Plantier 73 231 49 .212 7 31
CF Ernie Young 141 462 112 .242 19 64
RF Jose Herrera 108 320 86 .269 6 30
DH Geronimo Berroa 153 586 170 .290 36 106

[10]

Other batters

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
Jason Giambi 140 536 156 .291 20 79
Rafael Bournigal 88 252 61 .242 0 18
Tony Batista 74 238 71 .298 6 25
Matt Stairs 61 137 38 .277 10 23
George Williams 56 132 20 .152 3 10
Allen Battle 47 130 25 .192 1 5
Pedro Munoz 34 121 31 .256 6 18
Damon Mashore 50 105 28 .267 3 12
Brian Lesher 26 82 19 .232 5 16
Torey Lovullo 65 82 18 .220 3 9
Scott Spiezio 9 29 9 .310 2 8
Izzy Molina 14 25 5 .200 0 1
Kerwin Moore 22 16 1 .063 0 0
Webster Garrison 5 9 0 .000 0 0

[10]

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Wojciechowski, SteveSteve Wojciechowski 16 79.2 5 5 5.65 30

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO

Awards and records

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Edmonton Trappers Pacific Coast League Gary Jones
AA Huntsville Stars Southern League Dick Scott
A Modesto A's California League Jim Colborn
A West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League Mike Quade
Short-Season A Southern Oregon Timberjacks Northwest League Tony DeFrancesco
Rookie AZL Athletics Arizona League Juan Navarrette

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Edmonton, West Michigan

References

  1. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/groombu01.shtml
  2. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lovulto01.shtml
  3. ↑ Danny Tartabull Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  4. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bournra01.shtml
  5. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smallaa01.shtml
  6. ↑ Pedro Munoz Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  7. ↑ Webster Garrison Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  8. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chaveer01.shtml
  9. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hincha.01.shtml
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 1996 Oakland Athletics Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.371, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0