1977 Oakland Athletics season

1977 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	63–98 (.391)
Other information
Owner(s)	Charles O. Finley
Manager(s)	Jack McKeon, Bobby Winkles
Local television	KPIX-TV
Local radio	KNBR (Monte Moore, Bob Waller)
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The 1977 Oakland Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished 7th in the American League West with a record of 63 wins and 98 losses. Paid attendance for the season was 495,578, one of the worst attendance figures for the franchise during the 1970s.^[1]

Offseason

• November 5, 1976: Manager Chuck Tanner was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Manny Sanguillén.^[2]
• November 9, 1976: Billy Williams was released by the Athletics.^[3]
• January 9, 1977: Craig Minetto was signed by the Athletics as a free agent.^[4]
• February 25, 1977: Ken McMullen was purchased from the Athletics by the Milwaukee Brewers.^[5]
• March 15, 1977: Phil Garner, Tommy Helms, and Chris Batton were traded by the Athletics to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rick Langford, Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Doc Medich, and Mitchell Page.^[6]
• March 15, 1977: Jim Todd was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Coleman.^[7]
• March 15, 1977: Jerry Tabb was purchased by the Athletics from the Chicago Cubs.^[8]
• March 15, 1977: Gaylen Pitts was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Tyrone.^[9]
• March 16, 1977: Dick Allen was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[10]

Regular season

After the 1976 season, most of the Athletics’ veteran players who had become eligible for free agency left. In 1977, only three years after winning the World Series, the A's finished with the worst record in the American League West, behind even the expansion Seattle Mariners (though by only 1/2 game, as one game with the Minnesota Twins was canceled by weather and never made up).

On June 10, Jack McKeon was fired as manager and replaced by former Arizona State University coach Bobby Winkles.^[11]

After the season, owner Charlie Finley attempted to trade Vida Blue to the Cincinnati Reds for a player of lesser stature and cash, but Commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the deal. The commissioner claimed that it was tantamount to the sale of the star pitcher to the New York Yankees that the commissioner voided in 1976. The commissioner claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race. Instead, Blue was traded across the bay to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player trade that received the Commissioner's blessing.

Proposed sale

Kuhn and other owners thought that the Athletics relocating would alleviate baseball's problems in the Bay Area regarding poor attendance. Kuhn attempted to get an ownership group to purchase the Athletics and relocate to Washington, D.C., with the intention of moving them to the National League.^[11]

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	102	60	0.630	—	55–26	47–34
Texas Rangers	94	68	0.580	8	44–37	50–31
Chicago White Sox	90	72	0.556	12	48–33	42–39
Minnesota Twins	84	77	0.522	17½	48–32	36–45
California Angels	74	88	0.457	28	39–42	35–46
Seattle Mariners	64	98	0.395	38	29–52	35–46
Oakland Athletics	63	98	0.391	38½	35–46	28–52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–8	5–6	5–5	11–4	12–3	4–7	11–4	6–4	8–7	8–2	7–3	4–6	10–5
Boston	8–6	—	7–3	3–7	8–7	9–6	5–5	9–6	4–6	8–7	8–3	10–1	6–4	12–3
California	6–5	3–7	—	8–7	6–4	4–6	6–9	5–5	7–8	4–7	5–10	9–6	5–10	6–4
Chicago	5–5	7–3	7–8	—	6–4	4–6	8–7	6–5	10–5	3–7	10–5	10–5	6–9	8–3
Cleveland	4–11	7–8	4–6	4–6	—	8–7	3–7	11–4	2–9	3–12	7–3	7–3	2–9	9–5
Detroit	3–12	6–9	6–4	6–4	7–8	—	3–8	10–5	5–5	6–9	5–5	5–6	2–8	10–5
Kansas City	7–4	5–5	9–6	7–8	7–3	8–3	—	8–2	10–5	5–5	9–6	11–4	8–7	8–2
Milwaukee	4–11	6–9	5–5	5–6	4–11	5–10	2–8	—	3–8	8–7	5–5	7–3	5–5	8–7
Minnesota	4–6	6–4	8–7	5–10	9–2	5–5	5–10	8–3	—	2–8	8–6	7–8	8–7	9–1
New York	7–8	7–8	7–4	7–3	12–3	9–6	5–5	7–8	8–2	—	9–2	6–4	7–3	9–6
Oakland	2–8	3–8	10–5	5–10	3–7	5–5	6–9	5–5	6–8	2–9	—	7–8	2–13	7–3
Seattle	3–7	1–10	6–9	5–10	3–7	6–5	4–11	3–7	8–7	4–6	8–7	—	9–6	4–6
Texas	6–4	4–6	10–5	9–6	9–2	8–2	7–8	5–5	7–8	3–7	13–2	6–9	—	7–4
Toronto	5–10	3–12	4–6	3–8	5–9	5–10	2–8	7–8	1–9	6–9	3–7	6–4	4–7	—

Opening Day lineup

1. Billy North, CF
2. Rodney Scott, 2B
3. Mitchell Page. LF
4. Dick Allen, 1B
5. Manny Sanguillén, C
6. Wayne Gross, 3B
7. Earl Williams, DH
8. Tony Armas, RF
9. Rob Picciolo, SS

• Mike Torrez, P^[12][13]

Notable transactions

• April 4, 1977: Sheldon Mallory was purchased by the Athletics from the New York Mets.^[14]
• April 27, 1977: Mike Torrez was traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Dock Ellis, Larry Murray and Marty Perez.^[15]
• June 7, 1977: Shooty Babitt was drafted by the Athletics in the 25th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.^[16]
• June 15, 1977: Dock Ellis was purchased from the Athletics by the Texas Rangers.^[15]
• June 15, 1977: Denny Walling was traded by the Athletics to the Houston Astros for Willie Crawford.^[17]

Roster

1977 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 45 Stan Bahnsen 17 Doug Bair 14 Vida Blue 15 Joe Coleman 24 Steve Dunning 36 Dock Ellis 31 Dave Giusti 27 Matt Keough 34 Bob Lacey 22 Rick Langford 54 Steve McCatty 33 Doc Medich 29 Craig Mitchell 24 Paul Mitchell 16 Mike Norris 28 Pablo Torrealba 24 Mike Torrez 30 Jim Umbarger		Catchers 25 Tim Hosley  5 Jeff Newman 35 Manny Sanguillén 32 Earl Williams Infielders 60 Dick Allen 10 Wayne Gross 18 Mike Jorgensen 21 Larry Lintz  9 Rich McKinney  7 Marty Perez  8 Rob Picciolo  3 Rodney Scott 12 Jerry Tabb		Outfielders  2 Matt Alexander 11 Tony Armas 99 Willie Crawford 29 Sheldon Mallory 20 Larry Murray  4 Billy North  6 Mitchell Page 26 Jim Tyrone 13 Mark Williams		Manager  1 Jack McKeon  1 Bobby Winkles Coaches 41 Cal Ermer -- Bobby Hofman 43 Red Schoendienst 42 Lee Stange

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	Sanguillén, MannyManny Sanguillén	152	571	157	.275	6	58
1B	Allen, DickDick Allen	54	171	41	.240	5	31
2B	Perez, MartyMarty Perez	115	373	86	.231	2	23
3B	Gross, WayneWayne Gross	146	485	113	.233	22	63
SS	Picciolo, RobRob Picciolo	148	419	84	.200	2	22
LF	Page, MitchellMitchell Page	145	501	154	.307	21	75
CF	Armas, TonyTony Armas	118	363	87	.240	13	53
RF	Tyrone, JimJim Tyrone	96	294	72	.245	5	26
DH	Williams, EarlEarl Williams	100	348	84	.241	13	38

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
Scott, RodneyRodney Scott	133	364	95	.261	0	20
Jorgensen, MikeMike Jorgensen	66	203	50	.246	8	32
McKinney, RichRich McKinney	86	198	35	.177	6	21
North, BillyBilly North	56	184	48	.261	1	9
Murray, LarryLarry Murray	90	162	29	.179	1	9
Newman, JeffJeff Newman	94	162	36	.222	4	15
Tabb, JerryJerry Tabb	51	144	32	.222	6	19
Crawford, WillieWillie Crawford	59	136	25	.184	1	16
Mallory, SheldonSheldon Mallory	64	126	27	.214	0	5
Hosley, TimTim Hosley	39	78	15	.192	1	10
Alexander, MattMatt Alexander	90	42	10	.238	0	2
Lintz, LarryLarry Lintz	41	30	4	.133	0	0
Williams, MarkMark Williams	3	2	0	.000	0	1

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
Blue, VidaVida Blue	38	279.2	14	19	3.83	157
Langford, RickRick Langford	37	208.1	8	19	4.02	141
Medich, DocDoc Medich	26	147.2	10	6	4.69	74
Norris, MikeMike Norris	16	77.1	2	7	4.77	35
Keough, MattMatt Keough	7	42.2	1	3	4.85	23
Ellis, DockDock Ellis	7	26	1	5	9.69	11
Torrez, MikeMike Torrez	4	26.1	3	1	4.44	12

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
Coleman, JoeJoe Coleman	43	127.2	4	4	2.96	55
Torrealba, PabloPablo Torrealba	41	116.2	4	6	2.62	51
Umbarger, JimJim Umbarger	12	44	1	5	6.55	24
Bahnsen, StanStan Bahnsen	11	22	1	2	6.14	21
Mitchell, PaulPaul Mitchell	5	13.2	0	3	10.54	5
McCatty, SteveSteve McCatty	4	14.1	0	0	5.02	9
Mitchell, CraigCraig Mitchell	3	5.2	0	1	7.94	1

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
Bair, DougDoug Bair	45	4	6	8	3.46	68
Lacey, BobBob Lacey	64	6	8	7	3.03	69
Giusti, DaveDave Giusti	40	3	3	6	2.98	28
Dunning, SteveSteve Dunning	6	1	0	0	3.93	4
Newman, JeffJeff Newman	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Awards and honors

All-Stars

• Vida Blue, reserve
• Wayne Gross, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	San Jose Missions	Pacific Coast League	Rene Lachemann
AA	Chattanooga Lookouts	Southern League	George Farson
A	Modesto A's	California League	Tom Trebelhorn
Rookie	Medicine Hat A's	Pioneer League	Orlando Gómez

References

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 272, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
2. Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
3. Billy Williams page at Baseball Reference
4. Craig Minetto page at Baseball Reference
5. Ken McMullen page at Baseball Reference
6. Rick Langford page at Baseball Reference
7. Jim Todd page at Baseball Reference
8. Jerry Tabb page at Baseball Reference
9. Jim Tyrone page at Baseball Reference
10. Dick Allen page at Baseball Reference
11. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 271
12. http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1977&t=OAK
13. 1977 A's Batting Orders at Baseball Reference
14. Sheldon Mallory page at Baseball Reference
15. Dock Ellis page at Baseball Reference
16. Shooty Babitt page at Baseball Reference
17. Denny Walling page at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1977 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1977 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com