Oakland Athletics: The Athletics’ All-Time 25-Man Roster

Second Base: Eddie Collins

Eddie Collins is the clear-cut winner at second base, but much like many of the other players on this list, he played so long ago that he’s often forgotten. Collins was a star infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1906 to 1914, and he returned as a player-coach from 1927 to 1930 after spending 12 years with the White Sox. He’s the only major league player to ever spend at least 12 years with two different franchises, and one of a handful who can say their career spanned parts of four decades. Many historians rank him in their Top 100 players of all time, and for good reason.

Collins was a four-time World Series champion, in 1910, 1911, 1913 and 1917, and he took home Most Valuable Player honors in 1914. He also led the league in stolen bases in four seasons, including a career-high of 81 in 1910. In his first full season in 1909, Collins hit .347 with 67 stolen bases in 102 games.

Collins finished his career with a .333/.424/.429 line, including 741 stolen bases over the course of 25 years. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1939, and his 123.9 career WAR is tenth overall in the history of position players – just ahead of baseball legend Ted Williams. Collins is truly unmatched in Athletics’ infield history.

Runner-Up: Mark Ellis

The staff actually voted for Mark Ellis as the A’s All-Time second baseman, but I took some editorial liberty and knocked him down to runner-up because Collins was historically one of the best players in the game. Ellis, who was drafted by the Royals in 1999, made his major league debut with the Oakland A’s in 2002, after being traded alongside fellow A’s stars Johnny Damon and Cory Lidle. In 2006, Ellis became the American League record holder for fielding percentage in a single season, with a near-perfect (.99685) effort. He did not win a Gold Glove Award, but it was still an impressive feat. On June 4, 2007, Ellis became the sixth player to hit for the cycle in Athletics history. During his nine years with the A’s, he was a .265/.331/.397 hitter, stealing 62 bases and hitting 86 home runs before finally being traded to the Colorado Rockies in 2011. He played with the Dodgers and Cardinals as well, and finally retired last season.

Next: The Infield: Shortstop