2024 Oakland Athletics

2024 Oakland Athletics / Franchise: Oakland Athletics / BR Team Page

Record: 69-93, Finished 4th in AL Western Division (2024 AL)

Managed by Mark Kotsay

Coaches: Mike Aldrete, Darren Bush, Chris Cron, Bobby Crosby, Scott Emerson, Tommy Everidge, Ramon Hernandez, Dan Hubbs, Marcus Jensen and Eric Martins

Ballpark: RingCentral Coliseum

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2024 Oakland Athletics played what was billed as their final season in Oakland, CA, as they were scheduled to move to Sacramento, CA after the season, making the capital of California their temporary home until a new ballpark in Las Vegas, NV was ready for them - at least, that was the plan at the time, but there were still a lot of i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed. Little was expected in terms of on-field performance, after going 50-112 in 2023, given they had made few additions over the off-season. However there was some chance of improvement simply by virtue of the fact this was a very young team and that some talented youngsters were bound to do better due to increased experience. One thing was certain, however, was that attendance would be very poor, even though some sections of the fan base occasionally staged some "reverse boycott" games to express their displeasure over the team's ownership.

The A's ended the first half of the season with a bang as they matched a team record by hitting eight home runs against the team with the best record in the majors at the time, the Philadelphia Phillies, on July 14th, in their last game before the All-Star break. Three players had multi-homer games for a franchise first: Brent Rooker, Seth Brown and Lawrence Butler, the latter with three. Zack Gelof ended the fireworks show with a grand slam in the 9th, the final score being 18 - 3. Surprisingly, it was the third time Oakland had scored 18 runs in a game that season, while no other team has done it. The win gave them a record of 37-61, ahead of only a truly awful Chicago White Sox team in the American League, and with only of couple of National League teams having fewer wins.

The A's had a very good month of July, however, going 15-9 while the White Sox were sinking into the depths, and also were above .500 in August, going 14-12 for the month, and suddenly they were no longer patsies. Their new-found power was no illusion, as by September, they were third in the league in long balls, with four players having hit at least 20, although this improvement was largely under the radar, observers having written them off long ago. However, it was an unusual display of small ball acumen that gathered them some coverage on September 10th. In the top of the 12th inning of a game against the Houston Astros, they manage to lay down three successful bunts in the span of four pitches. The party started with the score tied at 2, nobody out and Gelof on second base as the ghost runner. Daz Cameron got things started by laying down a perfect bunt down the third base line for a single against Hector Neris, with Gelof advancing. Max Schuemann followed with a bunt back to Neris, who spiked his throw to the plate, allowing Gelof to score, Schuemann to be safe at first, and Cameron to advance to third. On the next pitch, Nick Allen bunted the ball into the air, but 1B Yainer Diaz was unable to catch it and Cameron scored. The A's had not executed three bunts in an inning since way back in 1975, and they held on for a 4-3 win.

The A's played their final home game at the Coliseum on September 26th, and they defeated the Texas Rangers, 3-2, in front of a huge crowd of 46,889 who came out to bid farewell to their team after 57 years in Oakland. Journalists were quick to point out that this was a record for a team's last game in its home city, there were circumstances that worked in the A's favor, as fans had known for a full year that this would be the last game and had been able to plan to be there (in contrast, fans of the Montréal Expos had only learned the afternoon of their final game that the team was moving for certain, even if rumors of such an outcome had been percolating for years). It was an afternoon game, and fans began to gather in the parking lots surrounding the ballpark early in the morning in order to give the team a proper send-off. A number of former team greats were present for the occasion, including Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart, who threw the ceremonial first pitch, and Barry Zito, who sang the National Anthem.

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Mason Miller
• MLB All-Rookie Team: Mason Miller (RP)
• AL Silver Slugger Award: Brent Rooker (DH)

Further Reading

• Paul Casella: "A’s slug EIGHT home runs, hang 18 runs on baseball's top team", mlb.com, July 14, 2024. [1]
• Martín Gallegos: "'Will stick with me forever': After 57 years, A's say farewell with heartfelt win", mlb.com, September 26, 2024. [2]
• Brian Murphy: "How to solve Astros? A's found the most unconventional way", mlb.com, September 11, 2024. [3]
• Brian Murphy: "A's great Barry Zito takes the mic for national anthem on emotional day", mlb.com, September 26, 2024. [4]

2024 MLB season by team