1994 Oakland Athletics season

1994 Oakland Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Oakland, California (since 1968)
Results
Record	51–63 (.447)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter A. Haas, Jr.
General manager(s)	Sandy Alderson
Manager(s)	Tony La Russa
Local television	KRON-TV (Dick Stockton, Ray Fosse) Sports Channel Pacific (Ray Fosse, Greg Papa)
Local radio	KFRC (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse)
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The Oakland Athletics' 1994 season was the team's 27th in Oakland, California. It was also the 94th season in franchise history. The team finished second in the American League West with a record of 51-63.

The Athletics' 1994 campaign ranks among the most unusual in franchise history. A disastrous 1993 campaign, attributable mainly to inept pitching, had tempered expectations in Oakland; while several established stars (namely Dennis Eckersley, Bob Welch, Terry Steinbach, Mark McGwire, and a recently re-signed Rickey Henderson) remained with the team in 1994, questions about the starting rotation, bullpen, and infield kept expectations low.

The Athletics belied these low expectations with a respectable 7-5 start. The team's pitching staff continued to hemorrhage runs (allowing 79 in 12 games); the staff was bailed out, however, by their red-hot offense (which scored 93 runs over the same span). On April 17 (the day of Oakland's seventh win), the A's found themselves 1.5 games ahead of the second-place California Angels.

The Athletics' offense soon cooled down, however. This drop in production, combined with continued pitching woes, set the stage for a monumental collapse. Between April 19 and May 29, Oakland lost 31 games in 37 tries; at the end of this span, their record stood at a ghastly 13-36. The A's, now firmly in last place, trailed the division-leading Angels (who also boasted a sub-.500 record) by nine games. Oakland continued to lose ground over the following two weeks; at their absolute nadir, the Athletics' 19-43 record trailed the division-leading Rangers (who had since overtaken the Angels) by 12.5 games. Oakland's season, by all accounts, seemed finished.

The A's, instead, launched themselves back into contention with a stunning turnaround. Over their next 22 games, the Athletics went 19-3; this surge raised their record to a semi-respectable 38-46. Oakland's much-maligned pitching staff powered the resurgence; over the 22-game span, Athletics pitchers allowed a scant 3.27 runs per game (while pitching six shutouts). The rest of the division struggled over the same span; as such, Oakland's 38th victory allowed it to pull within three games of the first-place Rangers. The A's cooled down in subsequent weeks; poor play from the rest of the division, however, allowed them to gain further ground. The team ultimately finished with a 51-63 record; despite being 12 games under .500, the A's were only one game behind the first-place Rangers. Amazingly, all four of the American League West's teams would finish the strike-shortened season with losing records. This is the only such instance in MLB history.

The 1994 Players' Strike ended the season (and the A's postseason hopes) entirely. While the Rangers would win their first-ever division title in 1996, the A's would have to wait until 2000 to return to the postseason.

Offseason

• November 16, 1993: Mike Aldrete was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 13, 1993: Billy Taylor was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 17, 1993: Rickey Henderson was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 20, 1993: Kurt Abbott was traded by the Athletics to the Florida Marlins for Kerwin Moore.
• December 23, 1993: Dave Righetti was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.

Regular season

Despite compiling a record of only 51-63 by Friday, August 12, the Athletics were only one game behind the Texas Rangers for the lead in the AL West Division. They had scored 549 runs (4.82 per game) and allowed 589 runs (5.17 per game).

The Athletics finished the strike-shortened season 28th in triples, with just 13, but they led the Majors in sacrifice flies, with 51.

Despite walking an MLB-high 510 batters, the Athletics tied the Chicago White Sox for the most shutouts pitched, with 9.

Transactions

• April 27, 1994: Dave Righetti was released by the Athletics.
• April 30, 1994: Steve Sax was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• May 10, 1994: Jeff Schaefer was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• June 2, 1994: 1994 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Jason Beverlin was drafted by the Athletics in the 4th round.
  • Tim Hudson was drafted by the Athletics in the 35th round, but did not sign.

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Texas Rangers	52	62	0.456	—	31–32	21–30
Oakland Athletics	51	63	0.447	1	24–32	27–31
Seattle Mariners	49	63	0.438	2	22–22	27–41
California Angels	47	68	0.409	5½	23–40	24–28

Division leaders	W	L	Pct.
New York Yankees	70	43	0.619
Chicago White Sox	67	46	0.593
Texas Rangers	52	62	0.456

	W	L	Pct.
Cleveland Indians	66	47	0.584
Baltimore Orioles	63	49	0.562
Kansas City Royals	64	51	0.557
Toronto Blue Jays	55	60	0.478
Boston Red Sox	54	61	0.470
Minnesota Twins	53	60	0.469
Detroit Tigers	53	62	0.461
Milwaukee Brewers	53	62	0.461
Oakland Athletics	51	63	0.447
Seattle Mariners	49	63	0.438
California Angels	47	68	0.409

Record vs. opponents

1994 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–2	8–4	2–4	4–6	3–4	4–1	7–3	4–5	4–6	7–5	4–6	3–3	7–2
Boston	2–4	—	7–5	2–4	3–7	4–2	4–2	5–5	1–8	3–7	9–3	6–6	1–5	7–3
California	4–8	5–7	—	5–5	0–5	3–4	6–4	3–3	3–3	4–8	3–6	2–7	6–4	3–4
Chicago	4–2	4–2	5–5	—	7–5	8–4	3–7	9–3	2–4	4–2	6–3	9–1	4–5	2–3
Cleveland	6–4	7–3	5–0	5–7	—	8–2	1–4	5–2	9–3	0–9	6–0	3–2	5–7	6–4
Detroit	4–3	2–4	4–3	4–8	2–8	—	4–8	6–4	3–3	3–3	5–4	6–3	5–7	5–4
Kansas City	1–4	2–4	4–6	7–3	4–1	8–4	—	5–7	6–4	4–2	7–3	6–4	4–3	6–6
Milwaukee	3–7	5–5	3–3	3–9	2–5	4–6	7–5	—	6–6	2–7	4–1	4–2	3–3	7–3
Minnesota	5–4	8–1	3–3	4–2	3–9	3–3	4–6	6–6	—	4–5	2–5	3–3	4–5	4–8
New York	6–4	7–3	8–4	2–4	9–0	3–3	2–4	7–2	5–4	—	7–5	8–4	3–2	3–4
Oakland	5–7	3–9	6–3	3–6	0–6	4–5	3–7	1–4	5–2	5–7	—	4–3	7–3	5–1
Seattle	4–6	6–6	7–2	1–9	2–3	3–6	4–6	2–4	3–3	4–8	3–4	—	9–1	1–5
Texas	3–3	5–1	4–6	5–4	7–5	7–5	3–4	3–3	5–4	2–3	3–7	1–9	—	4–8
Toronto	2–7	3–7	4–3	3–2	4–6	4–5	6–6	3–7	8–4	4–3	1–5	5–1	8–4	—

Roster

1994 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 55 Mark Acre 53 John Briscoe 17 Ron Darling 43 Dennis Eckersley 26 Vince Horsman 47 Miguel Jimenez 50 Steve Karsay 52 Dave Leiper 58 Mike Mohler 52 Edwin Núñez 50 Steve Ontiveros 38 Steve Phoenix 40 Carlos Reyes 19 Dave Righetti 51 Roger Smithberg 22 Billy Taylor 59 Todd Van Poppel 57 Ed Vosberg 35 Bob Welch 32 Bobby Witt		Catchers 48 Eric Helfand  2 Scott Hemond 36 Terry Steinbach Infielders 14 Mike Bordick 19 Jim Bowie  7 Scott Brosius 31 Mike Brumley 41 Fausto Cruz 13 Brent Gates 37 Francisco Matos 25 Mark McGwire 16 Troy Neel  9 Junior Noboa  3 Craig Paquette  6 Steve Sax 42 Jeff Schaefer		Outfielders 23 Mike Aldrete 29 Gerónimo Berroa 31 Eric Fox 24 Rickey Henderson 28 Stan Javier 29 Rubén Sierra  9 Ernie Young		Manager 10 Tony La Russa Coaches 18 Dave Duncan (Pitching)  5 Art Kusnyer (Bullpen)  4 Carney Lansford (Bench)  6 Jim Lefebvre (Hitting)  8 Dave McKay (First Base) 47 Tommie Reynolds (Third Base)

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
SS	Mike Bordick	114	391	99	.253	2	37

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Mark McGwire	47	135	34	.252	9	25
Steve Sax	7	24	6	.250	0	1
Jeff Schaefer	6	8	1	.125	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Tigers	Pacific Coast League	Casey Parsons
AA	Huntsville Stars	Southern League	Gary Jones
A	Modesto A's	California League	Dick Scott
A	West Michigan Whitecaps	Midwest League	Jim Colborn
A-Short Season	Southern Oregon A's	Northwest League	Tom Dunton
Rookie	AZL Athletics	Arizona League	Tony DeFrancesco

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Huntsville

References

• 1994 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1994 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com