Oakland Athletics: The Athletics’ All-Time 25-Man Roster
First Base: Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx played professional baseball for 20 years, but he is most recognized for his time with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox. Foxx started off his baseball career with the Athletics in 1925 at just 17 years old and spent a total of ten years with the team.
Foxx was a catcher by trade, but that position was already filled by Mickey Cochrane, who would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. As a result, Foxx split time between catcher, first base and the outfield. However, in 1929 the A’s made Foxx their full-time first baseman, which benefited his offense as well.
In 1929, Foxx did so well that he appeared on the cover of Time magazine. He batted .354 that year and hit 33 home runs. Shockingly enough, this was not his best season with the A’s. Offensively, Foxx was in his prime from 1932 to 1935, when he held a combined .350 batting average with 186 homers and 577 RBI over those 600 games. Foxx was one of the most feared sluggers of his time along with Babe Ruth.
When the Great Depression hit, the Athletics’ owner at the time could not keep paying some of his star players and ended up selling Foxx to the Boston Red Sox. When his baseball career came to an end, Foxx held the record for youngest player to reach 500 home runs and was the second player in baseball history to reach that number of homers behind Ruth. Foxx’s record was ultimately superseded by Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
Runner Up: Mark McGwire
Like many of the A’s all-time greats, Mark McGwire was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1984 and came up through their Minor League system. He made his MLB debut with the Oakland in 1986 and won Rookie of Year in 1987. McGwire was with the Athletics for 13 years and has a slew of awards to prove his success while with the team. McGwire currently holds the record the best at-bats per home run ratio, with a long ball every 10.61 at bats. Babe Ruth is second. McGwire was also the faster player to hit 500 home runs, but his use of performance-enhancing drugs tarnished his reputation. In his career, he was a 12-time All-Star, and he led the league in home runs five times.
Next: The Infield: Second Base