#1 The Dawn of a New Era

“The bigger the game, the better he pitched.”

That’s the first sentence on Jim “Catfish” Hunter’s Hall of Fame plaque. And I know, we’ve already written a lot about Catfish but this series should illustrate the importance Catfish was to the franchise in transforming the once trouble Kansas City A’s into a dynasty-filled Oakland A’s team in a matter of a few years.

We finish our countdown of the 25 Greatest Oakland A's Wins, and return to October 22, 1972 for game 7 of the 1972 World Series. Another game 7 in this blog series and yet another big crowd, this time, it would be 56,000 in Cincinnati filling Riverfront Stadium cheering on the home team Reds. Win, and you’ve added a big ring to your jewelry box, while a loss brings nothing but thoughts of what could’ve been.

In a time of transition for the entire culture of the country, baseball was going through something similar at that time. The 60’s had come and gone, now with the 70s in full view, a crossroads for the country was in store. And a perfect representation of that struggle was occurring in this World Series. The Reds represented the old guard, their management dictated a uniform attitude and swagger for the ball club to follow and the players followed it without any complaint. The Big Red Machine was the classic team, with the usual black shoes and clean cut look. While the A’s were the rebellious teenagers with colorful uniforms and wild facial hair.

The series had already been a wonderful one for the neutrals, while the fans of the respective teams had gone through an emotional roller coaster. All but one of the first 6 games was decided by one run and there were plenty of pivotal moments that seemed to swing momentum on a dime. The battle of the two managers: Dick Williams and Sparky Anderson was worth the price of admission. Williams’ genius was on display in game 4 when in extra innings, Williams used three pinch hitters, and all three singled to get the winning run in and give the A’s the win(first time in World Series history that such a thing ever happened). Even in defeat, Dick Williams still seemed to make brilliant moves, including famously fooling NL MVP, Johnny Bench seen HERE.

To get the Reds back into the series being down 3-1, Sparky Anderson turned up the heat with plenty of steals that exposed A’s catcher, Gene Tenace. Tenace was having an epic series at the plate, and was really a lock to win World Series MVP by the end of game 4, but his struggles behind the plate brought the Reds back and allowed for a game 7.

The pitching matchup for game 7 would be a rematch of the one from game 3 which was a 1-0 Reds win. It would be Blue Moon Odom for the A’s and Jack Billingham for the Reds. Both pitchers dominated in their starts in game 3 with them combining for 18 strikeouts in that game. And with the struggles of Gene Tenace, Dick Williams took no chances and decided to move Tenace to first and give Dave Duncan the start at catcher.

The action for the game started fast, after Bert Campaneris started off by flying out, the part-time player, Angel Mangual hit a liner at Reds centerfielder, Bobby Tolan. The result was catastrophic for Tolan who completely misplayed the ball, but somehow nearly recovered by timing his jump but that wasn’t enough, the ball popped off his glove and the ball rolled all the way to the outfield wall. Mangual reached third easily and just like that, the A’s were now in business. Joe Rudi gave Billingham some hope to get out of the inning unscathed after Rudi flied out to shallow left. The next at bat would put the Reds on the backfoot and once again, it was Gene Tenace who was the quintessential catalyst. Tenace would hit a high chopper to third and it would bounce over the head of Denis Menke which allowed Mangual to walk home and give the A’s a 1-0 early lead.

Blue Moon Odom would face the minimum in his first action of the game, thanks to the negating of a Joe Morgan leadoff single with a double play.

Billingham would struggle in the second, but would get out of it with no further damage. By then, it appeared that both pitchers had settled in and looked rather comfortable.

In the bottom of the 4th, with one out in the inning, Joe Morgan would walk to give himself another appearance on base. And with the stealing strategy of Sparky Anderson being so successful in the previous two games, Anderson sent the speedy Joe Morgan but this time, it would be Dick Williams’ change of putting in Dave Duncan at catcher that would look genius. Dave Duncan would gun down Morgan to once again stifle the Big Red Machine.

The trouble that Odom faced in the 4th would only foreshadow a little of what he’d face in the 5th, Tony Perez would double just inside the chalk down the line in left to leadoff the inning. Odom would blow away the next batter, Denis Menke but a walk to Cesar Geronimo and then falling behind Dave Concepcion would spell the end of Odom’s day with Dick Williams not wanting to take any chances in this deciding game. Williams would turn to arguably his best pitcher, Catfish Hunter on just a single day’s rest. It was a gamble, but a manager is not supposed to have regrets leaving these types of games and bringing in Catfish was just such a move. As Don Zimmer always told Joe Torre, “Trust me, you don’t want to risk leaving Mariano on the bench to rot.”

With the bases loaded and one out, Catfish was put in a difficult situation. And it got tougher when Sparky Anderson decided that this opportunity was too important to leave in the hands of a pitcher batting, so he brought in Hal McCrae to pinch hit for the starting pitcher, Jack Billingham thus ending his day. McCrae provided a professional at bat against Catfish and the at bat ended with McCrae hitting a deep drive to center that would be plenty deep enough to plate Perez from third to tie the game up at 1. Next up came Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle actually threw a couple jabs at Catfish through the press earlier in the series, after game 2 Rose said that he wasn’t too impressed with Catfish and vowed to get him next time he saw him. Rose kept his promise by hitting a leadoff home run off Catfish in game 5. Rose might’ve given Catfish a scare in this particular at bat, but instead this fly ball landed in the glove of Angel Mangual to end the inning with both teams level.

With his starter out of the game, Sparky Anderson turned to his reliever, Pedro Borbon. Earlier on in the series, Borbon had famously ignored advice from his manager which got him pulled midway through an at bat. Here he was again, in a critical situation. Right away, the A’s showed signs of life against Borbon. Campaneris would start it off with a sharp single up the middle. Williams didn’t even bother sending Campaneris against Johnny Bench’s arm, so he ordered Mangual to bunt and he got it down to allow Campy to scoot over to second with one out. Then Rudi would hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield to allow Campy to move to third with some real station to station baseball. And with two outs in the inning, the A’s hottest hitter was up at the plate. Gene Tenace had already had a sensational World Series, and that would only continue in this clutch at bat, Tenace crushed a ball over the head of Pete Rose up against the wall which was more than enough to score Campaneris and give the lead back to the A’s. Dick Williams took the opportunity to pull Tenace out of the game and bring in the speedy Allan Lewis, especially with the more defensive Mike Hegen primed to play first for the rest of the ballgame. And Sal Bando would come up and give the A’s a critical captain’s moment by lining a ball towards the warning track in center, it appeared that Tolan had a chance to run this one down, then suddenly, Tolan’s already disastrous day in the field became catastrophic as his hamstring went out as he stepped on the warning track, this allowed the ball to bounce up against the wall, allowing Lewis to score and now it was 3-1 A’s on Bando’s double. It had been a disastrous outing for Borbon, and he was promptly pulled after Bando’s double.

Catfish would stay in the game, and facing the top of the order, Catfish would see a little bit of trouble. With two outs in the inning, Bert Campaneris would make a rare error that allowed Johnny Bench to reach base. Catfish would then walk Tony Perez to make it first and second with two outs, he’d then make it more interesting by throwing a wild pitch but then Denis Menke would fly out to short right to end the inning with a shutdown inning at a tremendously critical time.

Catfish would throw a perfect inning in the 7th, tallying a couple strikeouts to boot. Catfish had already pitched brilliantly on one day of rest, but the question was how long Dick Williams would stay with him, Williams had already shown earlier on in the game that he had a tight leash on all his pitchers in this top stakes game.

The answer would be made in the 8th, Pete Rose would get the better of Catfish by singling to leadoff the inning and sure enough, Dick Williams came out to take the ball from his ace. He would bring in another starting pitcher and this time it was Ken Holtzman. Holtzman would last all of one batter after Joe Morgan would double down the line in right that somehow wasn't able to score Pete Rose from first. 

Once again, Williams took no chances and made yet another pitching change.  This time it would be Rollie Fingers coming in to try and slam the door on the Reds once and for all. Rollie would get the first batter to pop out for the second out, he’d then walk Johnny Bench and take his chances with Tony Perez who promptly hit a deep fly ball to the outfield that would give the Reds their second run on yet another sac fly. With Morgan representing the tying run at third, it was imperative that Fingers weathered the storm. Anderson would call for Johnny Bench to steal second to try and force a throw to second which would allow Morgan to race home and tie the game but the A’s would not bite and Fingers focused on the batter. And just like the 6th inning ended, Denis Menke would once again fail to come through with runners on second and third with two out: Menke would sky one to Joe Rudi which would end the inning and send it to the 9th.

With the A’s failing to add on in the top of the 9th, it was all up to Rollie Fingers to close the Reds’ coffin and bring Oakland their first world championship in any sport. Fingers showed signs that his pitches were on today, Cesar Geronimo would pop out to Bert Campaneris for the first out of the inning and then Dave Concepcion would weakly groundout to Dick Green at second to make the A’s one out away from achieving greatness. They would have to wait one batter longer though, as Fingers hit the next batter to keep the Reds alive and bring Pete Rose to the plate.

With the game on the line, Williams came out to the mound to think about pulling Fingers but then Dave Duncan lobbied with Williams to let Fingers finish it off, and I’d like to think this is the moment that would foreshadow Duncan’s great career as a pitching coach several years later. Pete Rose would get a lot of the ball that Fingers threw but after the initial look off the bat, it was clear that it was going to stay in the park. And then Joe Rudi glided under it, put this glove up, and once he caught it, he started jumping up and down repeatedly in celebration. The A’s had won the 1972 World Series! The new era in baseball had begun and it was a green and gold era that would awaken the baseball world to new rivers in innovation in more ways than just new uniforms.

A’s owner Charlie Finley jumped onto the dugout with his wife. Then Dick Williams would go up to join him with his own wife. All four of them embraced each other, Williams kissed Finley’s wife, Finley kissed Williams’ wife and it seemed as though they were the unbreakable tandem. In only a year later, Williams would quit due to disagreements with Charlie Finley, it’s amazing how much a year makes.

Some may question why this game is number 1 in our countdown, and it’s real simple: the stakes of this game were through the roof, and it really was a tight contest that kept you on the edge of your seat. Most importantly though, this game gave the A’s the confidence to know how to win. Without winning this game, who knows what becomes of the 1970s A’s teams? Maybe they never get over the hump because they never learn how to win? Either way, we all are thankful for what that first title did for the Oakland A’s as a franchise.

Gene Tenace was given the World Series MVP after the game in unanimous fashion, and I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted that result.

On the other side, Reds manager, Sparky Anderson had this quote from his autobiography on this series, “Everybody says the Cincinnati-Boston World Series in 1975 was the best in history, I don’t. I’ll always maintain that the best Series I was ever involved in was the 1972 World Series against Oakland. That’s because those were two of the finest ball clubs go against each other that you’ll ever see in I don’t know how long.” Talk about a class act. Historians now are starting to realize how great this World Series was, after all, these two teams shared the decade as the team of the 70s.

Well, this concludes our series, it’s been a wonderful pleasure to write this entire collection. I sure hope many of you learned new things about the team you love so much and hopefully, upcoming games will take their rightful place on this list! 

Now’s time for the debate, which ones did we miss? Dallas Braden’s perfect game? Stephen Vogt’s walk-off in 2013 ALDS? Please share your thoughts and let us know.

-- Wes

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#2. 162

Pure euphoria. When it comes, you never forget that moment. On an early October afternoon, A’s fans everywhere experienced that phenomenon.

We now return to October 3, 2012 for the final game of the 2012 regular season. A game that would decide the American League West. The A’s were taking on the Rangers, with their records tied at 93-68.

To really tell the full story of 162, I must start from the beginning of the season and then work back to the end.

After a disappointing 2011 season which saw an A’s team collapse under then manager Bob Geren, A’s GM Billy Beane fired his former best man, who clearly did not have what it takes to be a manager. Beane made Bob Melvin the interim manager for the rest of the year, and Melvin did enough to get the job outright. 

Then the offseason came, and Billy Beane decided to tear down the team and start over, once again. First came the Trevor Cahill trade, Beane sent Cahill to the Diamondbacks for three guys who at the time we had never heard of: Ryan Cook, Jarrod Parker, and Collin Cowgill.

Then came the Gio Gonzalez trade, Gio was traded for more guys that we had never heard of: Derek Norris, AJ Cole, Tommy Milone, and Brad Peacock were sent to Oakland. And lastly, the A’s sent their closer, Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney to the Red Sox for Josh Reddick, Raul Alcantara, and Miles Head.

With all these moves, to go along with every single free agent leaving the A’s (except for Coco Crisp), experts from around the league were predicting that the A’s were going to lose 100 games in 2012.

Right on the edge of Spring Training, news came in that shocked the baseball world, the A’s had signed Cuban defector, Yoenis Cespedes which was a surprise to just about everyone. Still, no one in their right mind was giving the A’s a chance to do much of anything in 2012.

And as the season began, the team at times looked dull and hard to watch. Though somehow, these guys were hanging in there. And right after the All-Star Break, the A’s had the best month of July in franchise history, and now the playoffs didn’t at all seem crazy. Experts continued to expect the A’s to collapse down the stretch, and that collapse never came. Even with the suspension of Bartolo Colon and the horrifying injury to Brandon McCarthy, the team just wouldn’t die.

With 10 games to play, the A’s had just left New York after losing two out of three to the Yankees. They were in the second wildcard spot, two and a half games ahead of the Angels, while being one game back of the Orioles who owned the first wildcard spot. In the division race, the A’s trailed the Rangers by 4 games. With the A’s headed to Arlington to face the Rangers in a pivotal four game series, it seemed that the A’s had to at least get 3 out of 4 to have any chance of winning the American League West. The first game of that series turned out to include one of Bob Melvin’s biggest head scratchers of the year, in a tie game in the 9th inning, Melvin brought Tyson Ross in to pitch the 9th inning. Ross did not pitch many meaningful innings in 2012, so this move was beyond puzzling. And the way the inning went on, Melvin was not rewarded for bizarre faith in Tyson Ross, as this is what happened to the batters he faced: single, single, sac bunt, intentional walk, single (game over). Adrian Beltre had appeared to give the Rangers the win that nearly put the A’s division hopes out of sight. As the standings read that the A’s were 5 games out of the division lead, with 9 games left to play.

The next night provided the A’s a pivotal win, George Kottaras broke a 2-2 tie in the 10th inning with a home run off Mike Lowe to give the A’s a 3-2 victory and bring them closer to a playoff spot. The next night saw the A’s win again, this time no dramatics were needed as the A’s teed off Martin Perez to win the game 9-3 and almost put that first game of the series out of their minds. The final game of that series provided no such relief, as the Rangers blitzed Travis Blackley and beat the A’s 9-7 to push the division lead back to 4.

After that game, many thought the division race was over. And with 6 games left, and the division deficit at 4 games back, it was hard to see a scenario where the A’s could possibly pull this off. Travis Blackley posted this apology tweet after that horrible start in Texas.

Then the A’s seemed to have caught fire, the A’s swept the Mariners in a 3 game weekend series at the Coliseum to create a simple scenario for the final series of the 2012 Regular Season: 3 games against the Texas Rangers, win one and you’ve clinched a playoff spot, win all three and you’re the division champs.

The first game of that series, the A’s got the job done and ended the Angels season in the process. A celebration on the field ensued.

One win down, I attended the second to last game of the season. It would be rematch of that last game in Texas, it would be Travis Blackley on the mound for the A’s vs Matt Harrison of the Rangers. Many of us, including myself expected this game to be the one that ended the division race. And I was so happy that I was wrong, Travis Blackley dominated the Rangers with 6 strong innings, and only giving up one run. Then he turned it over to Doolittle, Cook, and Balfour to seal the win and make game 162 a winner take all for the division title. Travis Blackley became a folk hero for A’s fans on that night, and I consider that game one of the best regular season night games ever played at the Coliseum.

The game would start at 12:35, the decision was made that I had to skip class for this game. Just like the night before, the heat continued to roll into the Coliseum making it a scorcher for all in attendance, ironically, the heat seemed to will the A’s on in an odd way, the A’s seemed to feed off that heat and the crowd did as well.

Another sellout crowd piled into the Coliseum during work hours on a Wednesday afternoon. It would be AJ Griffin vs Ryan Dempster in front of a raucous crowd in Oakland.

The top of the first would end with no Rangers runs, but the alarm bells were starting to sound about AJ Griffin. It took him 26 pitches to finish the inning, and he seemed to be living dangerously with a lot of his pitches. It was clear from the first time an A’s hitter got into a 2 ball count how restless the crowd was going to be this afternoon, hanging on every pitch, the crowd was like a bomb about to be detonated. After Coco Crisp made the first out of the game, the A’s got three consecutive hits, Stephen Drew would single, Cespedes would single, and then Brandon Moss would double down the line to give the A’s an early 1-0 lead. The inning would end however with the A’s stranding Moss and Cespedes at second and third, so there were groans in the crowd about missing a huge early opportunity.

Griffin and Dempster would both face little trouble in the second, but the action wouldn’t rest for very long. The inning started with a leadoff bloop single from Ian Kinsler, and that situation would get even more concerning when Josh Hamilton would single with one out to bring Kinsler to third with the ever dangerous, Adrian Beltre coming to the plate. Beltre would deliver with a single right past Josh Donaldson at third and that would tie the game at 1. Then came Nelson Cruz who continued to struggle, and the A’s had a chance get out of the inning with no more damage, Cruz hit a cue shot to short right field but Cliff Pennington couldn’t make the catch and all he could do was throw out Beltre at second for the second out of the inning with Hamilton advancing to third. With how far Hamilton was off the bag, it would’ve been an easy inning ending double play, instead the inning continued for the Rangers. And it would be Michael Young who’d make the A’s pay by lining a two strike pitch down the line that would bounce off the chalk and allow the Rangers to take a 2-1 lead with runners now at second and third. The damage would not let up, David Murphy would then bloop one between Reddick and Crisp that made it 4-1, when would it end? The Rangers must’ve finally felt calm after losing 6 of the last 8 and that wouldn’t be the end of it. At that point, Evan Scribner, the A’s long reliever started to warmup in the bullpen. The next at bat provided an “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” moment on what appeared to be harmless pop fly turned into a nightmare, A’s catcher, George Kottaras couldn’t make the play and as a result, everyone was safe. What on earth was going on? Then on the first pitch to Geovany Soto, it was now 5-1 Rangers after Soto singled in Daniel Murphy. And after that, AJ Griffin’s day was over.

Luckily for the A’s, Scribner would only need one pitch to end the inning as Kinsler grounded out but the damage was already done. 

For some reason, it didn’t feel at all as if the A’s were down 5-1. Everyone sitting around me just looked around and said, “Alright, we’re just gonna come right back.” Those thoughts started to go away when the A’s had a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the third.

Out came Scribner for the fourth, and more trouble was about to come the A’s way. The inning would start with Elvis Andrus grounding out and Josh Hamilton striking out, but then Adrian Beltre hit a sharp single, which would then be followed by a Nelson Cruz double which would make the alarm bells sound off once again. Next up was Michael Young, who already provided one devastating hit today, but he wouldn’t do it again, and on the second pitch of the at bat, Young hit a screamer to the right side of the infield, but Brandon Moss reached up and ended the threat and gave the Coliseum a huge sigh of relief.

It was clear that if the A’s were going to come back in this game, it was gonna have to start soon. And what would happen next in this half inning is still something that many have had difficulty believing. Brandon Moss would start the inning by walking on four pitches, and now the belief in the team would strike up again with just that. I know it sounds crazy, but with all the factors swirling around, you felt like that was all they needed. Sure enough, I was right. Reddick would then crush a pitch to the gap in left-center and it would crash off the wall, Moss would race around third and now it was 5-2 and all of a sudden, that deficit didn’t seem so daunting. The crowd rose to their feet, and the chants of “Let’s Go Oakland” started to echo throughout the Coliseum. Then Donaldson came up, he didn’t waste any time, he chased the first pitch and lined it into centerfield for a base hit, Gallego would hold Reddick at third and now with first and third and nobody out, the crowd got even louder.

Rangers manager, Ron Washington then told the bullpen to start warming up Derek Holland, who’s usually one of the Rangers’ best starting pitchers but today, he was available in the bullpen. Seth Smith was the next man up, and with two strikes, Seth Smith would continue the rally by lining one to center that would get down and allow Reddick to walk home and make it 5-3. The crowd was now at a frenzied level, it was unbelievable, and it just wouldn’t stop there. With Too $hort’s “Blow The Whistle” blaring across the Coliseum PA, Ron Washington would walk out of the dugout and make the move for Derek Holland, ending Ryan Dempster’s day.

Everyone around me started to say one thing, “They’re desperate, if this move doesn’t pay off, they’re screwed. Not just today, but in the wildcard game as well.” With a lefty now in the game, Bob Melvin brought in Derek Norris to pinch hit and face Derek Holland. Norris would swing at the first pitch and hit in the hole on the right side of the infield, but Ian Kinsler would make a great play and throw Norris out for the first out of the inning with both runners moving up a base. Holland must’ve felt very confident after the next at bat, as he’d get Cliff Pennington to pop out for the second out of the inning. The confidence wouldn’t last long, one pitch to Coco Crisp and it would leave the body completely. Coco Crisp lined one down the right field line and once it hit inside the chalk, the stadium erupted, both runners scored easily and Coco ended up at second. The comeback was on, 5-5. The A’s had come all the way back, and now the feeling in the stadium was that there was now way the A’s could lose. Stephen Drew would then work Holland for a walk to set up the single craziest play I’ve ever witnessed. Two outs, two on, with Yoenis Cespedes coming to the plate. On a 3-1 pitch, Cespedes hit what looked like a can of corn to shallow centerfield, everyone thought it would end the inning but then Josh Hamilton appeared to have gotten under it and then… THIS HAPPENED

If you weren’t in the building, you were shortchanged by how loud the crowd was the moment Hamilton dropped the baseball. As a result, Coco scored and Stephen Drew would score as well thanks to running on contact and now the A’s were ahead 7-5 in a ridiculous turn of events.

Brandon Moss would groundout in the next at bat, but the A’s had all the momentum going their way, and a frenzied crowd at their backs to support them.

Evan Scribner then threw a one-two-three inning to give the A’s a huge shutdown inning to keep the momentum flowing. And with a two run lead, it would keep flowing in the next half inning. It would start with a one out single from Josh Donaldson, and after Seth Smith grounded out, Donaldson would move to second with two outs with Derek Norris coming to the plate. Norris would cue one up the middle but Elvis Andrus couldn’t get to it and he deflected the ball into centerfield, and that deflection allowed Donaldson to score easily and make it 8-5 A’s which must’ve seemed like a mountain to climb for the Rangers with all the momentum in the A’s sails.

From this moment on, there are certain flashes from the rest of the game that need to be detailed before it is all said it done. They are moments that fire me up to this day, and I’m sure they do the same for you too.

We flash forward to the top of the 6th with two outs, Josh Hamilton is at the plate, and Bob Melvin as brought in Jerry Blevins to face him. And on a 3-2 pitch, Blevins snuck a high fastball by Hamilton to strike him out and end the inning, another moment where the crowd went wild.

Then there was the top of the 7th, after Blevins gave up a single to Beltre, Melvin brought in Ryan Cook who once said that he couldn’t think straight coming into that game. And that was clear when Nelson Cruz doubled off the wall. As Cook described it, “The crowd carried me through that inning.” With runners at second and third, Cook got Michael Young to chop one to third and Donaldson looked Beltre back and fired to third for the first out. Then, Cook would fool David Murphy and Mike Napoli with sliders to end the inning and once he walked off the mound, Cook yelled into the air and the camera caught this tremendous outburst of emotion. The A’s were now 6 outs away from winning the AL West.

Poor Josh Hamilton. This next flash occurs in the bottom of the 8th, and once again comes at Josh Hamilton’s expense. With two outs in the inning, Sean Doolittle was in the game. Doolittle’s pitches were simple, three straight fastballs and Hamilton swung through all of them and struck out, and then Sean Doolittle added a yelling outburst of his own which echoed what everyone in the stadium was doing.

To be honest, the game never felt safe until of the bottom of the 8th, then it just felt like the biggest party on the planet. And this moment started after the first at bat of the bottom of the 8th, with Grant Balfour preparing to rage in the bullpen, Alexi Ogando hung a breaking ball out over the plate and Derek Norris reached down and got it and the ball just kept carrying and carrying until it landed on the well of the out out of town scoreboard for a solo home run to make the game 9-5 and continue the insane sound of the crowd. The crowd that day was different, it was something that so intimidating that you were just happy to be apart of it.

And the party was just beginning, the wheels would clearly start to come off Alexi Ogando to go along with the Rangers as he walked Crisp and Cespedes to load the bases for Brandon Moss. Ron Washington would bring Robbie Ross in to face Moss, and that would do no good for the Rangers. Moss wasted no time, he swung at the first pitched and lined it over the head of Kinsler into the gap in right-center, it would easily score two but then Nelson Cruz booted the ball and that allowed Cespedes to race around third and make it 12-5 A’s. TWELVE! The door had just been blown off.

Alright, time to get to the moment of the clinch. First, we must show footage of the greatest RAGE ever. Seen HERE. I’ll let that speak for itself, it was beyond insane, that’s all you need to know. Three outs away. Grant Balfour barking after every pitch got the first out by making Adrian Beltre fly out. Then came Nelson Cruz, and Balfour threw two fastballs by him, and then made him look silly by throwing him a slider, strike three. One out away, and here comes Michael Young. And four pitches later, Michael Young skied one to center, the crowd actually went silent for a split second, then once the ball fell into Coco Crisp’s glove, the crowd went back into complete pandemonium. AL WEST CHAMPS. For the first time since 2006. What a team.

As Coco caught that ball, I got up on my chair and fell into my friends as beer was sprayed all over everyone around me. It was a wonderful feeling, I was so happy to be there, and once I could think for a second, I started thinking about where we were in 2011 when we fired Bob Geren, and how far we had come.

I’ve talked to people who had been going to games since the late 80s, and they said that the crowd that day was the best they had ever seen. And I believe it, I can’t imagine a better crowd than that one.

Some of you may disagree with where this game is on this list, but I want to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Thank you, for allowing me to reminisce on this wonderful game. See the full game HERE.

Stay tuned, the conclusion of our 25 Greatest Oakland A's Wins countdown comes next week with #1!

-- Wes

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#3 Joe Rudi’s Finest Hour

There are just some moments that baseball fans remember vividly, and they always seem to pass the test of the time. We now return to October 15, 1972 for game 2 of the 1972 World Series. The A’s were coming off a surprising win in game 1 and they looked to really put the Cincinnati Reds against the wall with a win. Before the game, Jackie Robinson would make his last public appearance of his life in throwing out the first pitch. He’d express his hopes that one day he’d look into a dugout and see a black face managing the ball club. Nine days later, Robinson would pass away.

The question going into the series was simply, how are the A’s going to score without Reggie Jackson? And that was answered in game 1 with Gene Tenace’s heroics. Though I’m sure the pundits were thinking that it was all beginner’s luck. On the mound for the A’s would be their trusty ace, Catfish Hunter. They had to feel good with Catfish on the mound.

The Reds would be sending out the 22 year old, Ross Grimsley. Pete Rose would be leading off for the Reds with Joe Morgan following him and Johnny Bench hitting cleanup, it was up to Catfish Hunter to keep the Big Red Machine in check just like Ken Holtzman had done the day before.

The first inning was relatively uneventful with Joe Rudi providing the only hit among the two teams. The scoring would start in the top of the second for the A’s and like it always seemed to happen for the A’s throughout history, it would come from the most unlikely part of the order. Sal Bando would start off the inning with a single, before getting retired from a George Hendrick fielder’s choice, Gene Tenace would then fly out for the second out and then Dick Green would get a ground ball to squirt through the infield and that allowed Hendrick to get into scoring position with two outs for Catfish Hunter and the pitcher’s spot.

And once again, an A’s pitcher would deliver, Catfish’s line drive would drop in front of Pete Rose and Hendrick would easily score because he was running on contact with with outs. It was 1-0 A’s, and they felt comfortable with the type of game that was being played. Bert Campaneris actually singled in the next at bat, but sadly Dick Green would get thrown out at home by Pete Rose to end the inning.

With Catfish back on the mound, he continued to hit the corners striking out the side after getting into a second and third with nobody out situation. Catfish would continue to get more of a cushion, after Matty Alou grounded out to start the inning, Joe Rudi and his weird closed stance expanded the lead with one swing of the bat. Rudi crushed a pitch from Grimsley and it soared over the head of Charlie Hustle for a solo home run and that seemed to quiet the Cincinnati fans.

It didn’t matter if the Reds got any hits, Catfish would just find sneaky ways to make them entirely meaningless. Pete Rose led off the third with a single, but he’d go no further than first, thanks to Joe Morgan fouling out, Bobby Tolan popping out, and Johnny Bench flying out to center. 

In the fourth, the Reds would once again start the inning with a leadoff single and once again, he’d go no further. Tony Perez singled to start the inning, then Catfish induced a groundball by Denis Menke which rolled over to Bert Campaneris who flipped the ball to Dick Green at second, who relayed it to Mike Epstein for the 6-4-3 double play.

Catfish Hunter wouldn’t get a one-two-three inning until the 7th inning, in the 5th, he really had to grind out of a jam. With one out, Ted Uhlaender came in to pinch hit for the starting pitcher, Ross Grimsley, who’s day was done after 5 innings. Uhlaender would double to create the flame that could ignite the Big Red Machine. Pete Rose this time would fail to get on base by flying out to right. With two outs, Joe Morgan would reach on an error by Catfish Hunter thanks to Morgan’s tremendous speed. This allowed Uhlaender to advance to third and with runners at the corners and two outs, Bobby Tolan came to the plate in a critical spot. Reds Manager, Sparky Anderson sent the speedy Joe Morgan and he stole second base to leave first base open. It was a no-brainer for Anderson, Tenace’s arm can be tested, Joe Morgan’s a great base stealer, and who knows, maybe Catfish will be more willing to walk Tolan to load the bases and bring up Johnny Bench.

Once again, Catfish would prevail by forcing Tolan to pop out to Bert Campaneris to end the inning with no damage done. Sparky Anderson brought in Pedro Bourbon in relief of Grimsley and he’d do his job against the A’s in the 6th and 7th. Catfish must’ve felt like he had found new life, and if he hadn’t, after the bottom of the 6th, he certainly did. He wanted nothing to do with the dangerous, Johnny Bench, so he walked him. And after that, it was smooth sailing for Catfish, he’d get Perez and Menke to groundout and then he’d get Cesar Geronimo to fly out and end the threat.

Catfish would toss one-two-three innings in the 7th and 8th innings which must’ve really buried the Reds in their frustration. Here was a team that was getting base runners, yet none of them were crossing the plate thanks to Catfish’s determination and craftiness. Now that they were late in the ballgame, Catfish seemed to be getting stronger, adding to the struggles of the Reds. In the 7th and 8th inning, 5 out of the 6 outs were fly ball outs with the only exception being a rare strikeout of the man they liked to call Charlie Hustle (Pete Rose). And I’m sure Pete Rose was the most frustrated out of all the Reds, since he’s one of the most competitive athletes ever.

The A’s would nearly add onto the lead in both the 8th and 9th, with Borbon out of the game and Tom Hall into replace him. They’d strand Matty Alou at second and Joe Rudi at first in the 8th, and in the 9th, Bert Campaneris would strikeout with the bases loaded, this seemed to be one of the few times where Campy didn’t come through in the World Series.

Now it was time for the bottom of the 9th, and to no one’s surprise, A’s manager, Dick Williams stuck with his ace for the 9th inning. It would get pretty scary for the A’s in this inning, Tony Perez would single to left, but luckily one of the greatest plays in World Series history was about to happen.

With Denis Menke at the plate, Catfish would toss one right down the heart of the plate that Denis Menke didn’t miss. It was clearly hit well, just a matter of how well. Joe Rudi was in left, and he started racing toward the wall, once he got there, dusk had fallen upon Cincinnati, and fighting the sun, Rudi took two steps to his right while he was against the wall, then, in full extension, Rudi jumped up and caught the ball against the wall in unbelievable fashion. Rudi then took the ball out of his glove, and reached up as if to show how surprised he was that he caught it while also signaling to the umpires, he then fired it back into Campy who nearly doubled off Tony Perez at first. This was one of the greatest catches in World Series history, see it HERE.

The year 1972 had been Joe Rudi’s best. It had been the first season where he had played over 140 games and his numbers were brilliant. He’d finish the year with 19 home runs, 94 RBIs. And his slashline read .305/.345/.486 to go along with a wRC+ of 151 (100 is average) which matched the more heralded, Reggie Jackson. He had an fWAR of 5.3 which was the best of his career and it was good enough to lead the 1972 A’s. His fWAR was higher than a few Hall of Famers that year, Rudi’s fWAR was higher than Willie Stargell (4.8), Reggie Jackson (4.8), Rod Carew (4.3), and Hank Aaron (4.3). And for all that, it was only fitting that Joe Rudi would make the biggest play of the World Series while on the same day hitting what ended up being the game-winning home run.

With one out in the 9th, Cesar Geronimo would hit a ground ball to Mike Hegan at first, Hegan would take no chances and he’d take it to the bag at first to get the second out of the inning. Just in case, Dick Williams made sure that Rollie Fingers was warming up in the bullpen in case Catfish faced any sort of trouble. Hal McCrae would be the next man up as a pinch hitter. And after 26 outs, the Reds finally scored. McCrae would single to left and Tony Perez would race around third to make it 2-1 A’s. Dick Williams raced out of the bullpen, like he had done so many times already in the series (most of the time, not even to make pitching changes) to take out Catfish Hunter and bring in his insurance policy, Rollie Fingers.

Sparky Anderson would bring in Dave Concepcion to pinch run for Hal McCrae thus making the stakes higher with Concepcion’s tremendous speed. Julian Javier would be the next man up in the pitcher’s spot, and Fingers had no issues with Javier as he got him to foul out to Mike Hegan to end the ballgame, and give the A’s a 2-0 series lead heading back to Oakland.

Catfish Hunter’s day ended with a line of 8.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BBs, and 6 K’s to finish with a game score of 71. You wouldn’t know that it was Catfish’s first time pitching in the World Series. Joe Rudi would finish the day 2 for 3, with a home run, a single, and a walk. And defensively, one of the greatest catches in World Series history. Stay tuned, #2 is coming up next week and it’s one of my favorites.

-- Wes

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#4 The Afternoon of Greatness

It's hard to believe that we’re already down to the top 4 wins in our 25 greatest Oakland A's wins, and this is where the debates really begin. My hope is that all A’s fans reading this series have learned a few new things about A’s history. And what an exciting game we have for Win # 4! Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Ken Holtzman, and Bert Campaneris are names that have made many appearances on this list, and this should say a lot about how important these players are to the Oakland A’s and their identity. This particular game showed that importance in so many ways.

We now return to October 21, 1973 for game 7 of the 1973 World Series! In sports, there’s nothing bigger than game 7. It’s win or go home, it’s where the moments that everyone remembers are created and live forever, it’s where mortal individuals become legends. And during the 1973 World Series, the Oakland A’s and the New York Mets played each other out to standstill. The big characters on both sides provided tremendous drama to write an entire novel about which added to the stakes of game 7.

It was in game 1 that Bert Campaneris and Ken Holtzman willed the A’s to a huge victory. In game 2, the longest game in World Series history at the time occurred and with the Oakland sun beaming down, every fly ball was an adventure. One of the most controversial plays in World Series history occurred during this game, and Ray Fosse was in the middle of it. If you don’t know about this play, see it HERE. Whether Fosse tagged Harrelson out is still in question, and the question of whether Mets manager, Yogi Berra ever ran faster is also still up for grabs. The play did not mean much in the outcome as the Mets would win that day and even up the series to 1-1 in the process but it still is worth noting.

Some drama occurred after game 2, the usually sure-handed, Mike Andrews made two critical errors late in the game. After the game, A’s owner, Charlie Finley was so furious with Mike Andrews, that he made Andrews sign a false affidavit saying that he was disabled to make him ineligible for the rest of the World Series. A’s manager Dick Williams and many A’s players were enraged at Finley’s low blow and it came to the point where MLB Commissioner at the time, Bowie Kuhn forced Charlie Finley to reinstate him for game 4. When the game turned into a convincing Mets win, Dick Williams gave Mike Andrews an at bat and Mets fans gave him a standing ovation in a way of mocking Charlie Finley who was in attendance.

Game 6 of the series was a pivotal win for the A’s, with the series at 3-2 in favor of the Mets, Catfish Hunter had to provide a victory to save the A’s. And that he did, Catfish only gave up four hits and Reggie Jackson’s two doubles proved to be massive as the A’s got the huge victory over the National League Cy Young Award Winner, Tom Seaver.

For a little bit of interesting trivia, the Mets bullpen ace was the father of a famous country singer. The name should give it away, his name was Tug McGraw and he was the father of Tim McGraw. McGraw played a pivotal part in this series, pitching 13.2 innings out of the bullpen and appearing in 5 games. He would not, however, appear in game 7.

This set up game 7, and unlike today’s World Series game times, this would be an afternoon game on a Sunday! The pitching matchup was the same matchup as the one in games one and four. It would be Ken Holtzman vs. Jon Matlack. Holtzman got the better of Matlack in game 1.  While both pitchers pitched relatively well in that game and Holtzman would end up getting a split decision victory. In game 4, Holtzman got rocked right from the get go and give up 3 runs in a third of an inning before being taken out for Blue Moon Odom. Matlack on the other hand dominated the A’s lineup and went 8 innings strong only giving up 3 hits. 

In game 7, something had to give. Holtzman and Matlack would just about match each other in the first two innings, with Matlack facing one more batter than Holtzman. It wouldn’t be until the bottom of the third when the action in the game really began. After Sal Bando ended the top of the third with a brilliant play to force a double play off a Matlack bunt attempt, the play erased the only Mets offensive spark thus far. Momentum seemed to be on the A’s side even with the 0-0 scoreline, but Ken Holtzman was tired of his teammates doing nothing at the plate so he took matters into his own hands.

Holtzman jumped on a Matlack pitch down the left field line and with his long hair streaming out of his helmet, Holtzman strolled into second for a double. This play would ignite the A’s offense especially with what happened next. On the first pitch, Bert Campaneris wasted no time in blowing the dynamite on Yogi Berra and the Mets. It was an outside pitch from Matlack and Campaneris went with it and it would land right next to the right field staircase prompting a classic, “There She Goes!” from A’s television play-by-play, Monte Moore. As Holtzman rounded third, he gave a huge fist pump in celebration. The crowd went absolutely insane, they knew how big it was, and with the afternoon sun shining, the Coliseum energy that day was in rare form. It was 2-0 A’s, and it must’ve felt like a green and gold freight train to the Mets.

And Jon Matlack would then throw three straight curveballs to Joe Rudi. An odd array from any pitcher, Rudi was unfazed as he ripped a Matlack pitch to left-center that ended up as a long single. And after Sal Bando popped out, up came Reggie Martinez Jackson, some say this moment was the birth of “Mr. October” but nah, this was just Reggie being the best Reggie he could be. On a fat pitch from Matlack, Reggie Jackson smoked that pitch into right-center, and everyone knew by Reggie’s reaction that it was a no-doubter. He finished his swing and instantaneously tossed the bat down to the ground with authority and now, just like that, it was 4-0 A’s. That green and gold freight train had just turned into a tidal wave. Jackson rounded third with a fast trot and when he got to home plate, he slapped hands with the A’s bat boy while at the same time jumping up in the air and stomping on home plate. This is the Reggie Jackson that Yankees fans have no recollection of, this was OUR Reggie Jackson moment.

Yogi Berra was forced to come out of the game to replace Jon Matlack with Harry Parker. Assumedly, Tug McGraw must’ve been burned out and therefore unavailable because McGraw would’ve been the perfect guy to salvage the situation. It just goes to show how much the Mets really were counting on Matlack to come through.

In the next at bat, Gene Tenace walked for the 11th time in the World Series, this would tie Babe Ruth’s World Series record set in 1926. Gene Tenace I’d say is one of the most underrated World Series performers of all time (coupled with his 1972 World Series heroics).

In the top of the fourth, Ken Holtzman had a little bit of trouble with two outs in the inning after giving up a single and a walk but then he’d force John Milner to groundout to end the inning. Harry Parker would then take care of the A’s bottom of the order incredibly easy but the A’s weren’t gonna scratch any skin over that. Meanwhile, the Mets still were trying to figure out Holtzman and that wasn’t gonna happen in the 5th inning.

And in the bottom of the 5th, the A’s made their lead an incredible mountain for the Mets to climb. Bert Campaneris would single and then thanks to an error from the left fielder, Cleon Jones, Campaneris was able to scramble to second easily. Joe Rudi would then single solidly again, and that would make it 5-0 and every A’s fan in the building was grinning at the possibility of yet another World Series title.

In the top of the 6th, the Mets would finally start to figure out Ken Holtzman thanks to back to back doubles from Felix Millan and Rusty Staub that would plate the Mets first run of the game to cut the lead to 5-1 A’s. The brilliance of Dick Williams would surface in this moment, as he’d walk out of the dugout and bring in Rollie Fingers to replace Ken Holtzman, Williams was taking no chances with this move, and sadly, this was the last big move of his managerial career with the A’s (but more on that later).

Fingers would make sure Rusty Staub would get no further than third to stop the small cut caused by the Mets.

And Rollie Fingers would continue his brilliance into the 7th, 8th, and even a little bit into the 9th. This was classic Rollie Fingers, back when closers were much more flexible with their role. And with the way Rollie was throwing, the A’s offense didn’t have to add on and then it was time for the 9th inning.

Rollie would start the 9th facing the 5-6-7 hitters, he wanted to finish it off. He’d walk Milner to leadoff the inning, then he’d get Jerry Grote to fly out for the first out of the inning. Don Hahn would then provide a single that would move the situation to first and second with one out and a 4 run lead. Bud Harrelson would come up next and he’d hit a comebacker to Fingers who ignored the baserunners and flipped the ball to first for the second out of the 9th. One out away. Ed Kranepool would come in to pinch hit for the pitcher’s spot. And Kranepool would hit a ground ball to Gene Tenace at first and he’d boot the ball and as a result it would give the Mets a run to make it 5-2. This would cost Rollie his chance to clinch the title and Dick Williams would come out to bring in his other trusty reliever, Darold Knowles.

Darold Knowles debuted in 1965 with the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 23, he was then traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1966 season and then the very next season he was traded to the Washington Senators who actually kept him around for 4 years where he made an All-Star appearance in 1969. He was then traded to Oakland midway through the season in 1971, and from then on, Dick Williams made him a pivotal part of the A’s bullpen. In 1973, he’d even start a few games, and there was one in particular where he pitched a complete game, shutout against the Red Sox.

It was from these games that Dick Williams knew he could count on him in any situation. He’d use him as a closer, a long reliever, a bullpen ace, a situational, a garbage time reliever it simply didn’t matter he was that cool. In the World Series, Knowles got the save down in game one, in game two he’d provide critical middle relief that would keep the A’s in the game and allow them to take the game into extras. In game three, Knowles would provide two shutout innings of relief for Catfish Hunter to get the A’s to the 9th inning still tied at 2. In game four, he’d have to throw one inning of garbage time just to help save the bullpen some. In game five, Knowles came in as a situational lefty in relief of Vida Blue. In game 6, Knowles combined with Rollie Figners to help Catfish Hunter get out of an 8th inning jam. And in game 7, Knowles came in to close out the game in the 9th and thus becoming the only pitcher to ever appear in all 7 World Series games.

And he only had to face one batter, and that was Wayne Garrett. And Garrett would hit a pop fly to Dick Green to end the game and give the A’s their second straight World Series title.

Darold Knowles, Ray Fosse, and Sal Bando celebrating.

Reggie Jackson would be named MVP, and in a series where he not only pulled his weight with the bat but also provided tremendous plays in Centerfield which wasn’t even his natural position. He was named the MVP of the American League that year and 1973 was the year of Reggie Jackson.

Reggie Jackson celebrating in 1973 A's World Series Parade.

It wasn’t all happy news though, Dick Williams would resign after the game due to the actions of Charlie Finley in the Mike Andrews situation. Williams stuck his neck out for Andrews in the middle of the season and he was disgusted with Finley and he couldn’t take it anymore.

(From Left to Right) Reggie Jackson, Dick Williams, and Catfish Hunter in the clubhouse after winning the 1973 World Series. This would be the last moment these three guys would be together as teammates.

Watch the full game HERE (minus the last three outs).

-- Wes

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