The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1968 to the present, the Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum. The "Athletics" name originates from the late 19th century "athletic clubs", specifically the Athletic of Philadelphia. They are most prominently nicknamed "the A's ", in reference to the blackletter "A", a trademark of the team and the old Athletic of Philadelphia. This has gained very prominent use, and in some circles is used more frequently than the full "Athletics" name. They are also known as "the White Elephants " or simply "the Elephants ", in reference to then New York Giants' manager John McGraw's calling the team a "white elephant". This was embraced by the team, who then made a white elephant the team's mascot, and often incorporated it into the logo or sleeve patches. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1901. Then the Philadelphia Athletics , the team moved to Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics . It was not until 1968 that the team moved to Oakland.

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Origins

Origin of the team name

The Athletics' name originated in the term "Athletic Club" for local gentlemen's clubs—dates to 1860 when an amateur team, the Athletic (Club) of Philadelphia, was formed. (A famous image from that era, published in Harper's Weekly in 1866, shows the Athletic players dressed in uniforms displaying the familiar blackletter "A" on the front). The team later turned professional through 1875, becoming a charter member of the National League in 1876, but were expelled from the N.L. after one season. A later version of the Athletics played in the American Association from 1882–1891.

The team name is typically pronounced "Ath-LET-ics", but their longtime team owner/manager Connie Mack called them by the old-fashioned colloquial Irish pronunciation "Ath-uh-LET-ics". Newspaper writers also often referred to the team as the Mackmen during their Philadelphia days, in honor of their patriarch.

Uniform Emblem

Over the seasons, the Athletics' uniforms have usually paid homage to their amateur forebears to some extent. Until 1954, when the uniforms had "Athletics" spelled out in script across the front, the team's name never appeared on either home or road uniforms. Furthermore, not once did "Philadelphia" appear on the uniform, nor did the letter "P" appear on the cap or the uniform. The typical Philadelphia uniform had only an "A" on the left front, and likewise the cap usually had the same "A" on it. In the early days of the American League, the standings listed the club as "Athletic" rather than "Philadelphia", in keeping with the old tradition. Eventually, the city name came to be used for the team, as with the other major league clubs.

Though for a time as a Kansas City team, the "A"s wore "Kansas City" on their road jerseys and an interlocking "KC" on the cap, upon moving to Oakland the "A" cap emblem was restored, although in 1970 an "apostrophe-s" was added to the cap and uniform emblem to reflect the fact that then-team owner Charles O. Finley was in the process of officially changing the team's name to the "A's".

Currently, the team wears home uniforms with "Athletics" spelled out in script writing and road uniforms with "Oakland" spelled out in script writing, with the cap logo consisting of the traditional "A" with "apostrophe-s". The home cap is green with a gold bill and white lettering, while the road cap is all green with gold lettering.

The nickname "A's" has long been used interchangeably with "Athletics", dating to the team's early days when headline writers wanted a way to shorten the name. From 1972 through 1980, the team nickname was officially "Oakland A's," although, during that time, the Commissioner's Trophy, given out annually to the winner of baseball's world series, still listed the team's name as the "Oakland Athletics" on the gold-plated pennant representing the Oakland franchise. According to Bill Libby's Book, Charlie O and the Angry A's , owner Charlie O. Finley banned the word "Athletics" from the club's name because he felt that name was too closely associated with former Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack, and he wanted the name "Oakland A's" to become just as closely associated with himself. The name also vaguely suggested the name of the old minor league Oakland Oaks, which were alternatively called the "Acorns". New owner Walter Haas restored the official name to "Athletics" in 1981, but retained the nickname "A's" for marketing purposes. At first, the word "Athletics" was restored only to the club's logo, underneath the much larger stylized-"A" that had come to represent the team since the early days. By 1987, however, the word returned, in script lettering, to the front of the team's jerseys.

The A's are the only MLB team to wear white cleats, both at home and on the road, another tradition dating back to the Finley ownership. They are also the only team to wear yellow socks.

Elephant Mascot

After New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the new team, had a "white elephant on his hands," Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, and presented McGraw with a stuffed toy elephant at the start of the 1905 World Series. McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously. By 1909, the A's were wearing an elephant logo on their sweaters, and in 1918 it turned up on the regular uniform jersey for the first time. Over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colors. It is currently forest green. The A’s are still sometimes, though infrequently, referred to as the "Elephants" or "White Elephants".

The elephant was retired as team mascot in 1963 by then-owner Charles O. Finley in favor of a Missouri mule. In 1988, the elephant was restored as the symbol of the Athletics and currently adorns the left sleeve of home and road uniforms. The Elephant Mascot returned briefly in the mid eighties, under the name Harry Elephante. In 1997, the elephant returned, taking its current form: Stomper.

Franchise history

Stadium Issue

Issues with current stadium

The Oakland Coliseum was originally built as a multi-purpose facility and team owners have been faced for several years with problems at the venue. Louisiana Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Athletics officials during the 1978-1979 baseball off-season about moving the Athletics to the Superdome. The Athletics were unable to break their lease at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and remained in Oakland. ^[1] After the Oakland Raiders football team moved to Los Angeles in 1982, many improvements were made to what was suddenly a baseball-only facility. The 1994 movie Angels in the Outfield was filmed in part at the Oakland Coliseum.

Then, in 1995, a deal was struck whereby the Raiders would move back to Oakland for the 1995 season. The agreement called for the expansion of the Coliseum to 63,026 seats. The bucolic view of the Oakland foothills that baseball spectators enjoyed was replaced with a jarring view of an outfield grandstand contemptuously referred to as "Mount Davis" after Raiders' owner Al Davis. Because construction was not finished by the start of the 1996 season, the Athletics were forced to play their first six-game homestand at 9,300-seat Cashman Field in Las Vegas.

Although "official" capacity was stated to be 43,662 for baseball, seats were sometimes sold in Mount Davis as well, pushing "real" capacity to the area of 60,000. The ready availability of tickets on game day made season tickets a tough sell, while crowds as high as 30,000 often seemed sparse in such a venue. On December 21, 2005, the Athletics announced that seats in the Coliseum's third deck would not be sold for the 2006 season, but would instead be covered with a tarp, and that tickets would no longer be sold in Mount Davis under any circumstances. That effectively reduced capacity to 34,077, making the Coliseum the smallest stadium in Major League Baseball.

Before the 2008 season began, the organization announced the reopening of the section of upper deck behind home plate in an "All You Can Eat" offer. Tickets are sold at $35 each, in which fans can enjoy as much as food as they like.

The Athletics are one of three MLB teams still sharing a stadium with an NFL team. At the end of the year, the A's and Florida Marlins (who use LandShark Stadium) will be the only two left, as the Minnesota Twins will leave the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for their own ballpark, Target Field. By 2012 the A's will be the only team left still sharing due to the Florida Marlins moving into Marlins Stadium at the former site of the Orange Bowl. This does not include Toronto's Rogers Centre, which the Blue Jays share with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts, and is also used by the Buffalo Bills on occasion.

Oakland stadium proposal

Since the expansion of Coliseum seating, ownership has stated that a new and smaller baseball-only facility is necessary to ensure the economic viability of the Athletics. In 2005, owner Wolff made public his plans to build a 35,000-seat baseball-only stadium not far from the present facility, as part of a larger commercial and residential development. However, those plans never moved past the nascent stage, in part because the cost of the football-related renovations to the Coliseum made public funding for a new baseball-only stadium too politically risky.

Cisco Field

After the city of Oakland failed to make any progress toward a stadium, the A's began contemplating a move to the Warm Springs district of suburban Fremont. Fremont is about 25 miles south of Oakland; many nearby residents are already a part of the current Athletics fanbase.

On November 7, 2006, many media sources announced the Athletics would be leaving Oakland as early as 2010 for a new stadium in Fremont, confirmed the next day by the Fremont City Council. The team would have played in what was planned to be called Cisco Field, a 32,000 seat, baseball-only facility. ^[2] The proposed ballpark would have been part of a larger "ballpark village" which would have included retail and residential development. On February 24, 2009, however, Lew Wolff released an open letter regarding the end of his efforts to relocate the A's to Fremont. ^[3]

Possible San Jose stadium

As of February 26, 2009 the city of San Jose is expected to open negotiations with the team. Although parcels of land south of Diridon Station are being acquired by the city as a stadium site, the San Francisco Giants' claim on Santa Clara County as part of their home territory would have to be dealt with before any agreement could be made.

Sacramento and Portland

If negotiations within the Bay Area fail, Portland and Sacramento are considered possible destinations for the team. Sacramento is the home of the team's AAA affiliate, the River Cats, and their stadium was built specifically with the ability to add additional sections in the future to increase seating capacity.

Rivals

The Angels have emerged as the principal rival of the A's due to the traditional animosity between Northern and Southern California and the great talent and farm systems of both clubs which have led to countless one-run contests. While the A's have been a member of the American League since 1901, the Angels, as well as their other divisional rivals, are of a more recent vintage. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim date from 1961, as do the Texas Rangers (but only since 1972 as a Dallas-Fort Worth team; the Rangers were the second incarnation of the Washington Senators, who played in the nation's capital from 1961-71). The Seattle Mariners were organized in 1977.

During the 1970s, the A's established a strong rivalry with the Kansas City Royals (then an A.L. West team), fueled by the Kansas City fans' resentment of the A's move to Oakland in 1968, and by the rivalry of the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs football teams. Arguably, the Athletics' biggest American League rivals in recent years have been the teams that were their old traditional rivals from decades ago in Philadelphia—the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—if only because of the hard-fought playoff games between the teams.

The A's have also established a strong geographic rivalry with the San Francisco Giants. This rivalry is interesting in that it is generally acceptable in Northern California (unlike in other two-franchise baseball markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) to identify oneself as a fan of both baseball teams. The teams faced each other in the 1989 World Series, which the A's won in a four-game sweep, interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. During that series, caps were sold with both team's insignias on the front, and the respective colors making up half the hat.

After a decade-plus of interleague play, the A's hold a 38-30 edge against the Giants head-to-head through June 29, 2008 ^[4] -- including a 16-8 record against the Giants during the 2005-08 seasons ^[5]. In addition, the A's have played in six World Series (winning four of them) since moving to Oakland in 1968, while the Giants have only been to three World Series (losing all three) since moving to San Francisco in 1958. When factoring in the World Series matchups between the two franchises (dating back to 1905), the A's hold the all-time edge over the Giants in head-to-head play, winning 51 games and losing 37 times—the Giants won the 1905 World Series four games to one, while the A's won the 1911 World Series (4-2), the 1913 World Series (4-1) and the 1989 World Series (4-0).

The A's have a history with the Minnesota Twins as well. Between 1987-92, the A's and Twins combined to win six consecutive American League West titles and reach the World Series five times. Oakland finished second to Minnesota in 1987, while the Twins placed second to the Division champion A's the following year. Recent events that have taken place between the A's and the Minnesota Twins suggest a renewing of an old rivalry. In 2002 the Twins snapped the A's 20-game win streak. The Twins also beat the heavily favored A's that year in the ALDS. The A's got revenge in 2006 when they swept the favored Twins out of the post season, defeating their two-time Cy Young ace Johan Santana in Game One.

City Series Renewed : The Athletics played their former co-occupants of Shibe Park, the Philadelphia Phillies, for the first time in a regular season game in June 2003. Previously they had only played each other in exhibition games, dubbed "The City Series", which was played annually from 1903-1954, with the A's winning 123 games to the Phils' 115, with two ties. Ceremonies were held for the first game of the 3 game series at Veterans Stadium, as former Philadelphia A's players were honored on the field. The Phillies took the series against the A's, 2–1. They played each other again in June 2005 in Oakland, this time the White Elephants defeating their former rivals two games to one. The Phillies returned to Oakland in 2008, losing 2 out of 3 to the home town team.

Season records

This table is a partial list of the seasons completed by the Athletics. For full season records see Oakland Athletics seasons.

Season	Wins	Losses	Win %	Place	Playoffs
2000	91	70	.565	1st in AL West	Lost ALDS to New York Yankees, 2-3.
2001	102	60	.630	2nd in AL West	Lost ALDS to New York Yankees, 2-3.
2002	103	59	.636	1st in AL West	Lost ALDS to Minnesota Twins, 2-3.
2003	96	66	.593	1st in AL West	Lost ALDS to Boston Red Sox, 2-3.
2004	91	71	.562	2nd in AL West
2005	88	74	.543	2nd in AL West
2006	93	69	.574	1st in AL West	Won ALDS vs. Minnesota Twins, 3-0. Lost ALCS vs. Detroit Tigers, 0-4.
2007	76	86	.469	3rd in AL West
2008	75	86	.466	3rd in AL West
All-Time Record	8114	8584	.486

Quick facts

The Spring Training Facility in Phoenix AZ has been the home of the Oakland A's since 1982.

Current roster

40-man roster				Spring Training non-roster invitees		Coaches/other
Pitchers 13 Jerry Blevins 51 Dallas Braden 59 Andrew Brown (baseball) 44 Santiago Casilla 33 Joey Devine 58 Justin Duchscherer 30 Dana Eveland 36 Sean Gallagher (baseball) 47 Gio Gonzalez 60 Jeff Gray (2000s pitcher) 55 Josh Outman 63 Henry Rodríguez (pitcher) 45 Chris Schroder -- Ryan Webb 31 Brad Ziegler		Catchers 18 Rob Bowen 54 Landon Powell 24 Kurt Suzuki Infielders 52 Jeff Baisley 10 Daric Barton  3 Eric Chavez -- Yung Chi Chen  7 Bobby Crosby -- Joe Dillon 14 Mark Ellis (baseball) 22 Jack Hannahan  4 Eric Patterson 56 Cliff Pennington (baseball)  2 Gregorio Petit Outfielders  6 Travis Buck -- Ben Copeland 57 Aaron Cunningham 32 Jack Cust 38 Rajai Davis 19 Chris Denorfia 65 Javier Herrera  5 Matt Holliday 26 Matt Murton 61 Richie Robnett 15 Ryan Sweeney Designated hitters None specified		Pitchers -- Brett Anderson (baseball) -- Drew Bailey -- Trevor Cahill -- Kevin Cameron (baseball) -- Andrew Carignan -- Brett Hunter -- Jared Lansford -- Arnold Leon -- Vince Mazzaro -- Tyson Ross -- James Simmons (baseball) -- Jerome Williams (baseball) Catchers -- Josh Donaldson -- Joel Galarraga Infielders -- Tagg Bozied -- Adrian Cardenas -- Chris Carter (right-handed hitter) -- Sean Doolittle -- Jemile Weeks Outfielders -- Matt Carson (baseball)		Manager 53 Bob Geren Coaches -- Mike Gallego (third base) 37 Ron Romanick (bullpen) 46 Tye Waller (first base) 48 Curt Young (pitching) -- Vacant (bench) -- Vacant (hitting) * Not on active roster † 15-day disabled list updated 2008-12-11 •

For a list of former A's players/prospects still active in Major League Baseball, see List of former A's players/prospects (active).

Baseball Hall of Famers

Ford C. Frick Award recipients

Retired numbers

The numbers honored are as follows:

95px Reggie Jackson Outfielder: 1967(KC) 1968-75,87(OAK) Retired 2004	95px Rickey Henderson Outfielder: 1979-84, 1989-93,1998(OAK) Retired 2009	95px Catfish Hunter Pitcher: 1965-67(KC) 1968-74(OAK) Retired 1990	95px Rollie Fingers Pitcher: 1968-76(OAK) Retired 1993	95px Dennis Eckersley Pitcher: 1987-95(OAK) Retired 2005	95px Walter A. Haas, Jr. Owner: 1981-95(OAK) Honored 1995	95px Jackie Robinson Retired by all of MLB Retired 1997

No A's player from the Philadelphia era has his number retired by the organization. Though Jackson and Hunter played small portions of their careers in Kansas City, no player that played the majority of his years in the Kansas City era has his number retired either. As of 2009, the A's have retired only the numbers of members of the Hall of Fame that played large portions of their careers in Oakland.

The A's retired Rickey Henderson's #24 jersey on August 1, 2009. ^[6]

Athletics in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

•  4 Sam Chapman, CF, 1938–1941, 1945–1951 (Tiburon native)
•  1 Eddie Joost, SS, 1947–1954, Mgr, 1954 (San Francisco native)
• 43 Dennis Eckersley, P, 1987–1995 (born in Oakland, grew up in Fremont)
• 34 Rollie Fingers, P, 1968–1976
• 27 Catfish Hunter, P, 1968–1974
•  9 Reggie Jackson, OF, 1968–1975, 1987
•  1 Billy Martin, MGR, 1980–1982 (Berkeley native)
•  8 Joe Morgan, 2B, 1984 (grew up in Oakland)
• 34 Dave Stewart, P, 1986–1992, 1995 (Oakland native)

Athletics in the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame

The Athletics have made no public notation at the Oakland Coliseum honoring Philadelphia Athletics players. But from 1978–1982 and 1984–2003, the Philadelphia Phillies inducted one former Athletic (as well as one former Phillie) per year into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame at Veterans Stadium. (The Wall of Fame plaques that once graced the concourse of Veterans Stadium are now located at the , located at 6 North York Road in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, about 16 miles north of Center City Philadelphia.)

•  -- Frank "Home Run" Baker, 3B, 1908–1914
•  -- Charles "Chief" Bender, P, 1903–1914
•  6 Sam Chapman, CF, 1938–1951
•  2 Mickey Cochrane, C, 1925–1933
•  -- Eddie Collins, 2B, 1906–1914, 1927–1930
•  -- Jack Coombs, P, 1906–1914
•  5 Jimmy Dykes, 3B/2B, 1918–1932; Coach, 1940–1950; MGR, 1951–1953 (Philadelphia native)
• 11 George Earnshaw, P, 1928–1933
• 5/8 Ferris Fain, 1B, 1947–1952
•  3 Jimmie Foxx, 1B, 1925–1935
• 10 Lefty Grove, P, 1925–1933
•  4 “Indian Bob” Johnson, LF, 1933–1942
•  1 Eddie Joost, SS, 1947–1954; MGR, 1954
•  -- Connie Mack, MGR, 1901–1950; Team Owner, 1901–1954
•  9 Bing Miller, RF, 1922–1926, 1928–1934
•  1 Wally Moses, RF, 1935–1941, 1949–1951
•  -- Rube Oldring, CF, 1906–1916, 1918
•  -- Eddie Plank, P, 1901–1914 (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania native)
• 14 Eddie Rommel, P, 1920–1932
• 30 Bobby Shantz, P, 1949–1954 (Pottstown, Pennsylvania native)
•  7 Al Simmons, LF, 1924–1932, 1940–1941, 1944; Coach 1940–1945
• 10 Elmer Valo, RF, 1940–1954
•  -- Rube Waddell, P, 1902–1907 (Bradford, Pennsylvania native)
• 12 Rube Walberg, P, 1923–1933
• 19 Gus Zernial, LF, 1951–1954

Mack, Foxx, Grove and Cochrane have also been inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

Franchise records

Season records

• Highest Batting Average: .426, Nap Lajoie (1901)
• Most Runs: 152, Al Simmons (1930)
• Most Hits: 253, Al Simmons (1925)
• Highest Slugging %: .749, Jimmie Foxx (1932)
• Most Doubles: 53, Al Simmons (1926)
• Most Triples: 21, Frank Baker (1912)
• Most Home Runs: 58, Jimmie Foxx (1932)
• Most Grand Slams: 4, Jason Giambi (2000)
• Most RBIs: 169, Jimmie Foxx (1932)
• Most Stolen Bases: 130, Rickey Henderson (1982)
• Most Wins: 31, Jack Coombs (1910) and Lefty Grove (1931)
• Lowest ERA: 1.30, Jack Coombs (1910)
• Strikeouts: 349, Rube Waddell (1904)
• Complete Games: 39, Rube Waddell (1904)

Minor league affiliations

• AAA: Sacramento River Cats, Pacific Coast League
• AA: Midland RockHounds, Texas League
• Advanced A: Stockton Ports, California League
• A: Kane County Cougars, Midwest League
• Short A: Vancouver Canadians, Northwest League
• Rookie: AZL Athletics, Arizona League

Radio and television

As of 2009, the Athletics' flagship radio station is KTRB 860 AM. ^[7] The current announcing team is Ken Korach and Vince Cotroneo.

Television coverage is exclusively on Comcast SportsNet California. Some A's games air on an alternate feed of CSN, called CSN Plus, if the main channel shows a Sacramento Kings game at the same time. On TV, Glen Kuiper and Tim Roye take turns with play-by-play, and Ray Fosse provides color commentary. Fosse also does color commentary on the radio when the A's are not on TV, or the game is on Fox or ESPN. Fosse also does play by play on the radio during Spring training games.

See also

• Athletics award winners and league leaders
• Athletics statistical records and milestone achievements
• Managers and ownership of the Oakland Athletics
• Oakland Athletics all-time roster

References

1. Yankees, Twins still dickering
2. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/athletics/2006-11-09-athletics-fremont-ballpark_x.htm
3. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2009/02/23/daily33.html
4. Head-to-Head Record - Baseball-Reference.com
5. Head-to-Head Record - Baseball-Reference.com
6. Los Angeles Times
7. http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090105&content_id=3732953&vkey=news_oak&fext