Oakland Athletics - The Obama / Trump Years (2010-2019)

A's
Home
Click
on Logo

2010

2013

2017

Decade

Click

on Logo

Titles:

Top Athletics Players of the Twenty Teens

2012 - Won Division, Lost LDS to Detroit

2013 - Won Division, Lost LDS to Detroit

Pitchers:

2014 - Wild Card - Lost WC Play-in to KC

Sonny Gray (11.39) - 29

2018 - Wild Card - lost WC play-in to Yankees

Trevor Cahill (8.03) - 28

2019 - Wild Card - lost WC play-in to Tampa

Gio Gonzalez (8.3) - 26

Sean Manaea (8.89) - 22

Ballpark:

Blake Treinen (5.52) - 20

Oakland Coliseum (now named O.co Coliseum)

Bartolo Colon (8.39) - 19

Tommy Milone (3.84) - 17

Team Name: Athletics

Jarrod Parker (6.2) - 17

Scott Kazmir (5) - 15

Owners:

Andrew Bailey (2.72) - 14

John J Fisher and Lew Wolff

Grant Balfour (5.85) - 14

Kendall Graveman (5.56) - 14

Managers:

Brett Anderson (8.7) - 13

Bob Geren (2010-2011)

Mike Fiers (3.88) - 12

Bob Melvin (2011-2019)

A.J. Griffin (4.89) - 11

Brandon McCarthy (5.4) - 11

General Managers:

Ryan Madson (2.87) - 11

Billy Beane (2010-2015, bumped up to VP in 2015)

Sean Doolittle (4.93) - 10

David Forst (2015-2019)

Catchers:

Hall of Famers:

Stephen Vogt (7.11) - 17

None

Kurt Suzuki (3.95) - 14

Derek Norris (6.02) - 12

Rookie of the Year:

Daric Barton (6.24) - 8

None

First Basemen:

MVP:

Matt Olson (12.32) - 22

None

Yonder Alonso (1.22) - 13

Cy Young Award Winners:

Second Basemen:

None

Jed Lowrie (11.03) - 30

No Hitters:

ShortStop:

Dallas Braden (2010)

Marcus Semien (20.03) - 41

Sean Manaea (2018)

Cliff Pennington (7.07) - 21

Mike Fiers (2019)

Third Base:

Notable Events:

Josh Donaldson (16.37) - 27

Matt Chapman (20.02) - 26

2010 - The A's are on the downside of the rollercoaster coming into the decade.

They have had three sub .500 years ending the Twenty Oughts and it will be a

Outfield:

couple of more years before they are competitive again. The 2010 roster has a bit

Coco Crisp (13.21) - 48

of young talent that will be involved in their resurgence moving forward:

Josh Reddick (16.21) - 31

□ SS Cliff Pennington, 26, 21st overall pick in 2005 draft

Khris Davis (7.63) - 27

□ CF Coco Crisp, 30, signed as FA in 2010 from Boston

Yoenis Cespedes (8.1) - 26

□ 1B Josh Donaldson, 24, 1st round pick of Cubs acquired for Rich Harden in '08

Mark Canha (6) - 24

□ Lefty Gio Gonzalez, 24, acquired from Chicago for Nick Swisher in '08

Brandon Moss (6.23) - 21

□ Righty Trevor Cahill, 22, 2005 2nd round pick

Billy Burns (2.6) - 14

□ Righty Closer Andrew Bailey, 26, 6th round pick in 2006

Rajai Davis (1.92) - 14

□ Righty reliever Brad Ziegler, 30, 31st round pick in 2002 draft.

Stephen Piscotty (3.57) - 13

Ramon Laureano (5.68) - 11

2012 - After a 74-88 2011, GM Billy Beane decides its time to make some moves.

Notable Events:

2012 - Ace righthander Trevor Cahill, 24, is dealt to Arizona for pitchers Jarrod

Parker, 21 - the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, and reliever Ryan Cook, 25

2014 - Veteran righthanders Jeff Samardzija, 29 and Jason Hammel, 31,

Altho' only twenty four, Cahill had been up on the big league roster four years

are picked up from the Cubs for the stretch run. The price was steep,

already and was no longer going to be a cheap keep for the A's

however, as shortstop Addison Russell, 20, the 11th overal l pick in the

2012 draft went to the Cubs in the deal. Oakland does make it in as a

2012 - Ace lefty Gio Gonzalez, 25, another free agent to be, is dealt to

wild card, no thanks to Hammel and Samardzija who go a combined 7-12.

Washington for four players including lefty Tommy Milone, 25, and

catcher Derek Norris

2014 - In a deal of free agents to be, OF Yoenis Cespedes, 28, is sent to

the Red Sox for ace lefty Jon Lester. Unlike the Hamel and Samardzija

2012 - Relief ace Andrew Bailey, 28, is dealt to Boston for twenty five year

acquisitions, Lester is very instrumental in helping the A's make the

old outfielder Josh Reddick. Bailey had picked up 75 saves over the

playoffs

prevoius three years with the A's. Andrew had noticably declined in 2011,

however, while being due for a big payday in 2012 - two red flags for

2014 - This is the final year of the A's latest trip to the top of the rollercoaster.

Billy Beane. Meanwhile, Reddick was a nice young hitter with power.

GM Billy Beane has done a great job of maximizing the small market A's

potential over the years by building the club to a crescendo before market

2012 - Somehow Billy Beane manages to outbid everybody for slugging

forces tear it all down again. The 2014 campaign was the best of the three

young Cuban defector Yoenis (the menace) Cespedes, 26.

from a runs perspective, but worst from a W-L standpoint. A pattern has

Yoenis immediately becomes a stud in the middle of the A's lineup for what

emerged over the decades, not only for the A's, but all clubs, that a strong

turns out to be a bargain price. One thing we know for sure, if George

bullpen tends to allow a team to overachieve W-L wise with respect to their

Steinbrenner was still alive, Yoenis would have been a Yankee

overall run totals while a weak bullpen tends to do the opposite and causes.

a team to underachieve W-L wise with respect to their run totals. The A's

2012 - Outfielder Brandon Moss, 28, a onetime hot hitting prospect is

had a weak bullpen in 2014 which pretty much translates into losing the

picked up off the scrap heap as a free agent by the A's. Brandon reignites

close ones. Those are the same games you win when your bullpen is strong.

his career and ends up averaging twenty five homers a year during Oakland's

three year post season run.

2015 - Free agent to be Josh Donaldson, 29, is dealt to Toronto for

three players including twenty five year old third baseman Jeff Lawrie.

2012 - Despite losing stud starters Cahill and Gonzalez and relief ace Bailey,

It's a one sided deal in favor of the Blue Jays.

the A's gain twenty games in the standings to win the Division. The pitching

Let the dismantling begin!

improves tremendously altho' no one is as good as the three guys that left.

Both the starting rotation and the bullpen now have depth.

2016 - Slugging Righty DH Khris Davis is obtained from Milwaukee for two

The starters include Milone and Parker who were picked up in the Cahill

warm bodies. Davis will go on to hit over 40 homers each of the next three

and Gonzalez deals plus ageless (39) fatty Bartolo Colon.

seasons. In an oddity, Davis will bat .247 in each of those three seasons after

The relievers include the poorly named (for a pitcher) Grant Balfour, 34,

having batted .247 in his final year in Milwaukee. Beyond consistent.

who was a cheap free agent picked up from Tampa, Ryan Cook obtained

in the Cahill deal and a bunch of other solid guys like Pat Neshek,

2018 - Oakland gains a whopping twenty two games in the standings

Jerry Blevins, Jordan Norberto and Sean Doolittle.

and gets a wild card berth, losing to the Yankees in the wc play-in game.

Offensively, the A's became a slugging outfit overnight.

They scored 134 runs more than in 2017 and gave up 152 runs less.

They went from a paltry 114 HRs in 2011 to 195 in 2012 led by the big new

That's almost two runs a game better than in 2017.

acquisitions Reddick (32), Cespedes (23) and Moss (21). There were a bunch

On offense, there was a bit of improvement by pretty much every spot

of other newcomers supplying power, as well, 1B Chris Carter, 25, (16) moved

in the lineup. On the mound, Blake Treinen had a sensational year out

into the starting lineup for the first time, cheap FA OF Jonny Gomes, 31, (18) ,

of the pen with a 0.78 ERA and 38 saves. Other than that no one pitcher

1B Seth Smith, 29, who was picked up in a minor deal from the Rockies (14),

had a huge gain in productivity. Sean Manaea was the only hurler to

emerging twenty six year old third baseman Josh Donaldson (9),

win more than eight games. You don't see that very often in a playoff team.

Coco Crisp (11), and 3B Brandon Inge (11)

It had suddenly turned into a circular lineup power-wise.

2019 - Another strong season for the A's as they win 95 again, make the

Wild Card again, and lose the Wild Card Play-in again. Oakland has assembled

2013 - SS Cliff Pennington is dealt to Arizona for CF Chris Young, 29.

a solid group of players which will serve them well moving forward:

□ 1B Matt Olson, 25 - 1st round pick 2012

2013 - Oakland clubs their way into the playoffs again behind twenty plus home

□ 2B Jurickson Profar, 26 - trade from Texas 2019

run seasons for Brandon Moss (30), Yoenis Cespedes (26), Josh Donaldson (24)

□ SS Trevor Semien, 28, trade from Chicago 2015

and Coco Crisp (22). Bartolo Colon, 40, is the ace with an 18-6 mark. The A's

□ 3B Matt Chapman, 26, 1st round pick 2014

win the Division again and lose to the Tigers in the ALDS again.

□ CF Ramon Laureano, 24, trade from Houston 2018

□ OF Mark Canha, 30, trade from Colorado 2015

2014 - Thirty year old lefty Scott Kazmir is picked up as a free agent.

□ DH Khris Davis, 31, trade from Milwaukee 2016

It's always high risk / high reward with Kazmir due to his injury history.

□ RHP Mike Fiers, 34, obtained from Detroit at 2018 trade deadline in his

The signing reaps rewards in 2014 as Scott goes 15-9.

free agent walk year. The A's re-sign him at the end of the season.

□ LHP Brett Anderson, 31, FA from Toronto 2018

2014 - Twenty four year old righthander Sonny Gray breaks into the

□ Closer Liam Hendricks, 30, trade from Toronto 2016

starting rotation and wins fourteen games. Gray was the 18th overall

□ RHP Chris Bassitt, 30, trade from Chicago 2015

selection in the 2011 draft