1975 Oakland Athletics season

March 2026 November 2013 Oakland Athletics 1975 American League West champions American League West Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, California 98–64 (.605) Charles O. Finley Alvin Dark KPIX-TV KEEN(Monte Moore, Bob Waller) 1st The 1975 Oakland Athletics season was the 75th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 8th season in Oakland. Entering the season as the three-time defending World Series champions, the Athletics won their fifth consecutive American League West title with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses. They went on to play the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 American League Championship Series, losing in three straight games. Offseason After the Athletics' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1974 World Series under Alvin Dark, pitcher Catfish Hunter filed a grievance. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 1974 with a record of 25–12 and a league-leading 2.49 earned run average. Hunter uncovered a violation of his contract with Athletics owner Charlie Finley and the team that allowed him to become a free agent. The Athletics were to send half of Hunter's $100,000 annual salary to a North Carolina bank as payment on an annuity, but Finley did not comply.Catfish Hunter, Who Pitched in 6 World Series for A's and Yankees, Dies at 53 – New York Times On December 13, 1974, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in Hunter's favor. As a result, Hunter became a free agent, and signed a contract with the New York Yankees for the 1975 season.Catfish Hunter page at Baseball Reference Despite the loss of Hunter, the Athletics repeated as A.L. West champions in 1975, but lost the ALCS to Boston in a 3-game sweep. The Athletics led the league in arbitration filings with 13.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.219, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 Seven players settled before their hearings. Notable transactions October 23, 1974: Manny Trillo, Darold Knowles and Bob Locker were traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Billy Williams.Manny Trillo page at Baseball Reference October 23, 1974: Dan Ford and Dennis Myers (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the Minnesota Twins for Pat Bourque.Dan Ford page at Baseball Reference November 11, 1974: Dal Maxvill was released by the Athletics.Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1974: Tim Hosley was drafted from the Athletics by the Chicago Cubs in the 1974 rule 5 draft.Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference January 9, 1975: Rob Picciolo was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).Rob Picciolo page at Baseball Reference March 28, 1975: Jesús Alou was released by the Athletics.Jesús Alou page at Baseball Reference Regular season At the All-Star Break, there were discussions of Bowie Kuhn's reappointment. Finley, New York owner George Steinbrenner and Baltimore owner Jerry Hoffberger were part of a group that wanted him gone.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.226, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 Finley was trying to convince the new owner of the Texas Rangers Brad Corbett that MLB needed a more dynamic commissioner.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.227, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 During the vote, Baltimore and New York decided to vote in favor of the commissioner's reappointment. By July 14, the Athletics had won 55 games, compared to 32 losses.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.225, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 Seven Athletics had been named to the All-Star Game.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, pp.225–6, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 August 18, 1975: Charlie Finley was on the cover of Time magazine.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.229, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 It would be his last major profile in a national publication.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.230, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 Relocation plans Finley received numerous offers for the Athletics. Horse owner Marge Everett wanted to purchase the team and relocate them to Seattle. Former San Francisco Giants manager Herman Franks led a group of 15 investors who had offered more than $15 million.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.222, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 Finley openly criticized fans for the lack of attendance. There were rumours of possible relocation to New Orleans, Seattle, and Toronto. In addition, there was talk of an ownership group relocating the San Francisco Giants to Toronto, with the possibility that Oakland would have the entire Bay Area to itself. In 1975, fed up with poor attendance in Oakland during the team's championship years, Finley pondered relocating the team. When Seattle filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball over the move of the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee, Finley and others came up with an elaborate shuffle which would move the ailing Chicago White Sox to Seattle. White Sox owner John Allyn was broke and placed under enormous pressure from fellow owners to sell his club to Seattle interests and undercut a lawsuit which Seattle had against them.http://whitesoxinteractive.com/History%26Glory/SaveOurSox.htm WSI's FLYINGSOCK.COM. Chicago White Sox coverage with totally biased attitude! February 14, 2021 December 22, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181222005106/http://whitesoxinteractive.com/History%26Glory/SaveOurSox.htm dead As Charlie Finley had business interests in Chicago, he was prepared to move the Athletics to Chicago and be closer to his home in LaPorte, Indiana.K.C. A's – why did Finley almost move to Dallas? – Baseball Fever Due to his 20-year lease with the city of Oakland (to expire in 1987), Finley was blocked. The scheme fell through when Arthur Allyn sold the White Sox to another colorful owner, Bill Veeck, who was not interested in leaving Chicago. Season standings Oakland Athletics Record vs. opponents OAK Notable transactions April 6, 1975: The Athletics sent a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Todd. The Athletics completed the deal by sending Champ Summers to the Cubs on April 29.Champ Summers page at Baseball Reference May 20, 1975: Blue Moon Odom and cash were traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Dick Bosman and Jim Perry.Blue Moon Odom page at Baseball Reference June 3, 1975: Denny Walling was drafted in the 1st round (1st pick) of the Secondary Phase of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft.Denny Walling page at Baseball Reference June 18, 1975: Brian Kingman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.Brian Kingman page at Baseball Reference August 29, 1975: Dal Maxvill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. September 15, 1975: Rick Ingalls (minors) was traded by the Athletics to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Williams.Mark Williams page at Baseball Reference Roster 1975 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers 37 Glenn Abbott 39 Stan Bahnsen 14 Vida Blue 17 Dick Bosman 34 Rollie Fingers 33 Dave Hamilton 30 Ken Holtzman 25 Paul Lindblad 20 Craig Mitchell 16 Mike Norris 13 Blue Moon Odom 36 Jim Perry 35 Sonny Siebert 22 Jim Todd Catchers 10 Ray Fosse 12 Larry Haney 18 Gene Tenace Infielders  6 Sal Bando 19 Bert Campaneris 29 Phil Garner  8 Billy Grabarkewitz 21 Tommy Harper 38 Jim Holt 11 Ted Kubiak 32 Ted Martínez 41 Dal Maxvill 11 Rich McKinney 23 Gaylen Pitts 26 Joe Rudi 13 Tommy Sandt  3 César Tovar 28 Billy Williams Outfielders 31 Matt Alexander 24 Charlie Chant  1 Don Hopkins  9 Reggie Jackson  2 Ángel Mangual  4 Billy North  7 Denny Walling 15 Claudell Washington Other batters  7 Charlie Sands Designated runner  3 Herb Washington Manager  5 Alvin Dark Coaches 44 Bobby Hofman 41 Dal Maxvill 42 Wes Stock 43 Bobby Winkles Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league 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 Gene Tenace 158 498 127 .255 29 87 1B Joe Rudi 126 468 130 .278 21 75 2B Phil Garner 160 488 120 .246 6 54 3B Sal Bando 160 562 129 .230 15 78 SS Bert Campaneris 137 509 135 .265 4 46 LF Claudell Washington 148 590 182 .308 10 77 CF Billy North 140 524 143 .273 1 43 RF Reggie Jackson 157 593 150 .253 36 104 DH Billy Williams Billy Williams (left fielder) 155 520 127 .244 23 811975 Oakland Athletics Statistics and Roster – Baseball-Reference.com 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 Ray Fosse 82 136 19 .140 0 12 Jim Holt Jim Holt (baseball) 102 123 27 .220 2 16 Ángel Mangual 62 109 24 .220 1 6 Ted Martínez 86 87 15 .172 0 3 Tommy Harper 34 69 22 .319 2 7 Ted Kubiak 20 28 7 .250 0 4 Larry Haney 47 26 5 .192 1 2 César Tovar 19 26 6 .231 0 3 Matt Alexander 63 10 1 .100 0 0 Dal Maxvill 20 10 2 .200 0 0 Denny Walling 6 8 1 .125 0 2 Rich McKinney 8 7 1 .143 0 2 Don Hopkins Don Hopkins (baseball) 82 6 1 .167 0 0 Charlie Chant 5 5 0 .000 0 0 Gaylen Pitts 10 3 1 .333 0 1 Charlie Sands Charlie Sands (baseball) 3 2 1 .500 0 0 Billy Grabarkewitz 6 2 0 .000 0 0 Herb Washington 13 0 0 ---- 0 0 Tommy Sandt 2 0 0 ---- 0 0 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 Vida Blue 39 278.0 22 11 3.01 189 Ken Holtzman 39 266.1 18 14 3.14 122 Dick Bosman 22 122.2 11 4 3.52 42 Stan Bahnsen 21 100.0 6 7 3.24 49 Sonny Siebert 17 61.0 4 4 3.69 44 Mike Norris Mike Norris (baseball) 4 16.2 1 0 0.00 5 Craig Mitchell Craig Mitchell (baseball) 1 3.2 0 1 12.27 2 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 Glenn Abbott 30 114.1 5 5 4.25 51 Jim Perry Jim Perry (baseball) 15 67.2 3 4 4.66 33 Dave Hamilton Dave Hamilton (baseball) 11 35.2 1 2 4.04 20 Blue Moon Odom 7 11.0 0 2 12.27 4 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 Rollie Fingers 75 10 6 24 2.98 115 Paul Lindblad 68 9 1 7 2.72 58 Jim Todd Jim Todd (baseball) 58 8 3 12 2.29 50 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Hank Aguirre AA Birmingham A's Southern League Harry Malmberg A Modesto A's California League Rene Lachemann A-Short Season Boise A's Northwest League Tom Trebelhorn References 2 External links 1975 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1975 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Oakland Athletics seasons Oakland Athletics season Category:American League West champion seasons Oakland