Oakland Athletics Top Ten Pitchers in Franchise History

Ranking the Oakland Athletics’ Top Ten Pitchers in Franchise History

In a franchise as old as the A’s organization, there are plenty of great players. Recently, Swingin’ A’s even created the All-Time 25-man roster, which featured a mix of the most popular and most talented players in not just Oakland Athletics’ history, but the Philadelphia and Kansas City A’s, as well.

Setting popularity and majority votes aside, Swingin’ A’s writers Andrew Dambrauskas and Katrina Putnam set out to rank the Athletics’ top ten all-time best pitchers. The final selections include names from both the past and the present, in order of greatness.

But first, let’s look at the honorable mentions (in no particular order):

RHP Jack Coombs: Jack Coombs is ranked seventh in Athletics’ history with a 2.60 lifetime ERA, and his 115 wins are also in the top ten among franchise pitchers. His 1.30 ERA in 1910 is the best single-season ERA in team history, and the 9.7 WAR he earned that year is ranked third. Coombs spent nine years of his 14-year career with the A’s, but he falls just shy of making the cut for the top ten pitchers.

RHP Bob Welch: Bob Welch was denied his chance for World Series glory in 1989, after an earthquake postponed his Game 3 start, and the A’s elected to use ace Dave Stewart instead when the game was finally rescheduled. That didn’t stop Welch from returning better than ever the following season, winning the 1990 Cy Young Award after he led the league with 27 wins. His 2.95 ERA that season was ranked seventh overall. While he isn’t top-ten worthy, Welch’s 96-60 record over seven years with the Athletics is certainly worth mentioning.

LHP Barry Zito: Barry Zito was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1999, and made his major league debut just one season later on July 22, 2000. He was a three-time All-Star during his career, and in 2002, he won the Cy Young award. That season, he led the league with 23 wins, and he was ranked third in the AL in strikeouts (182) and ERA (2.75). His 30.5 WAR during his Athletics career ranks him seventh in franchise history among pitchers, and he’s also eighth in strikeouts. Zito might not have been the best of the “Big Three” pitchers, but his statistics prove he’s more than just a fan favorite.

Now, on to the top ten:

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #10

#10: RHP Tim Hudson

Tim Hudson was a staple of the famed Big Three rotation in the early 2000s. His encore performance in Oakland last season where he faced off against colleague Barry Zito was an appropriate send-off for the former Oakland great, because he quietly had one of the best pitching careers of all A’s starters.

In the Athletics’ 106-year history, Hudson ranks sixth among all Athletics pitchers in WAR, at +31. He maintained the second-highest win percentage among all A’s pitchers, at .702. He ranks ninth in franchise history in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, and tenth in total strikeouts. His WPA is second among all A’s pitchers at 17.2. The point of all these numbers is that if Tim Hudson was pitching, the A’s had a better chance of winning than if nearly any other historical Athletics pitcher was on the mound.

The truth is that there are few Athletics pitching leaderboards where you won’t see Hudson’s name, and this is an accomplishment that is only amplified by the long, storied history of the franchise. Any modern pitcher who can achieve in a top ten list among the likes of Eddie Plank, Lefty Grove, Chief Bender, and Vida Blue certainly deserves consideration as an all-time great.

Hudson retired from baseball this year after 17 years of service time in the majors. It isn’t every year that you get to see one of the greats retire with grace and dignity, but that is exactly how Hudson left the sport, having made positive impressions with each team he played for.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #9

#8: LHP Rube Waddell

Rube Waddell spent six seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics from 1902-1906. Although he was not part of any of the early Philadelphia A’s winning World Series campaigns, he did gain a reputation for becoming the A’s first real strikeout machine.

A’s starters Chief Bender and Eddie Plank dominated the league for over a decade, but even those incredibly talented pitchers could not strike batters out the way Waddell did.

To demonstrate this, Bender’s season-high strikeout total came in 1909 when he struck out 161, and Plank notched his season high in 1905 with 210 strikeouts. Waddell beat both of those totals by wide margins in five of his six seasons with the A’s, including two seasons where he eclipsed 300 strikeouts on the year with 302 and 349. To put this in perspective, Clayton Kershaw’s 301 strikeouts in 2015 was the first time a Major League pitcher broke the 300 mark in strikeouts since Randy Johnson in 2002.

Waddell also brought personality to the early Connie Mack A’s. Many of his antics were detailed in Alan Howard Levy’s biography of Waddell, including one time that he left the mound in the middle of a game to go fishing. The biography also jokes that he was so fascinated by fire trucks that he would get distracted by them and chase them in mid-game.

Waddell was the original strikeout artist despite his on-field antics, which is why he earns a spot on our list.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #7

#7: RHP Dave Stewart

Dave Stewart was a big part of the Athletics’ success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and he led the league in wins in 1987. He began his career with the Dodgers, but after stops in Texas and Philadelphia, he wound up with the A’s in 1986.

Stewart was a workhorse for the Athletics, leading the league in innings pitched multiple times. He was named an All-Star in 1989, and he also picked up the World Series MVP Award. Stewart started the World Series for the A’s that year, and pitched again in Game 3 after an earthquake delayed the start of the third game to the point that he could pitch on normal rest.

Stewart’s success did not come just in that season. He was an ALCS MVP in 1990 and again in 1993 with the Blue Jays, and he threw a no-hitter on June 29, 1990 against the Toronto Blue Jays – his future team. He is also one of only a handful of players to have four consecutive 20-win seasons.

Unlike many of the other names on this list, Stewart has never won the Cy Young Award, although he did receive votes for it in four of his sixteen seasons. He also received MVP votes in three years, but most of his notoriety comes from his consistency and ability to lead a team, rather than awards.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #6

#6: RHP Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley didn’t get his start with the Athletics, but rather with the Cleveland Indians. In 1977, he had an All-Star season for the Tribe and even pitched a no-hitter on May 30, but he was traded following some off-field issues with one of his Indians teammates.

It was a big loss for the Tribe, but after stints with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, Eckersley found his home with the Oakland Athletics from 1987 to 1995.

Eckersley began his career as a starter, but the Bay Area native found much of his success as a reliever. He was a six-time All-Star, and twice was named the Relief Man of the Year. In 1992, he won the Cy Young and the MVP following a season in which he saved 51 games and posted a 1.91 ERA in 80 innings, striking out 93 batters in the process.

Eckersley was also an instrumental part of the 1989 World Series win, as well as MVP of the 1988 ALCS. Twice, he led the league in saves. It’s hard to think of a more prominent reliever than Eckersley, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 on his first appearance on the ballot.

In 2005, the A’s retired Eckersley’s number 43 in honor of the reliever’s accomplishments with the team. After his time with the A’s, Eckersley spent two years with the Cardinals and a year with the Red Sox, but his best years were definitely in Oakland.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #5

#5: LHP Vida Blue:

Vida Blue deservedly cracks the list, as he was a perennial Cy Young contender and MVP candidate, winning both of these awards in 1971. That 1971 campaign was truly magical for Vida, as he was a bulwark in the rotation of a team that won 101 games and took the A’s to the ALCS. That year, he hurled 312 innings in 39 starts, stifling offenses with a 1.82 ERA, and ending the season with a 24-8 record.

Blue was famously one of the most underpaid people in all of baseball after this breakout season. This inspired a dispute between himself and A’s owner Charlie Finley, which led to Blue missing much of the 1972 season as he held out for a salary that better reflected his talent. But even in this down year where he finished the season 6-10, he still maintained a 2.80 ERA and contributed to the Athletics’ first World Series championship campaign in Oakland.

The Athletics won two more World Series’ in 1973 and 1974, and Blue was a critical piece of the rotation that made that possible. This six-time All-Star (three times with the A’s) has certainly earned his place among the best A’s pitchers of all time.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #4

#4: RHP Chief Bender

Although Chief Bender was not part of the original 1901 Philadelphia Athletics, he comes pretty close as he made his professional debut with the A’s in 1903.

The A’s certainly got Bender’s best years, and he was a workhorse in the rotation. Through 12 seasons as an A’s pitcher, Bender tossed 2,602 innings, where he compiled a 2.32 ERA, 1,536 strikeouts, and walking only 614.

Bender was one of only two pitchers that the Athletics used in the 1910 World Series. He started (and finished) game 1, where he pitched nine innings and gave up only one run. He also pitched a 9.2 inning extra-innings loss against the Cubs in game 4, where the Athletics lost 4-3. Bender and Jack Coombs combined to pitch 45.2 innings through five games in their World Series victory, giving up only 14 earned runs in that time.

The reality about Bender is that he was a common denominator in all five of the A’s first World Series appearances, and that a great deal of the A’s early success is attributed to the work that he did for that pitching staff.

Like Eddie Plank, Bender also left the A’s after the 1914 season just before the A’s hit their decade of mediocrity.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #3

#3: LHP Eddie Plank

One of the great things about having a franchise that is over a century old is that its player ranks are rich with history. Eddie Plank is an example of a historical great that A’s fans should be proud to call their own.

Plank was born in 1875 and started with the Philadelphia Athletics back in 1901, where he stayed through the 1914 season when his contract was purchased by the St. Louis Terriers.

How good was Plank? He is the Athletics franchise all-time WAR leader at +76 for his career. He never had a losing season with the A’s. He was a rotation centerpiece for the A’s 1905, 1911, 1913, and 1914 World Series campaigns, two of which they won (he did not pitch in the 1910 World Series victory, as Chief Bender and Jack Coombs pitched all 45 innings of that series).

Plank was instrumental in helping the Athletics form their identity. He was one of the members of the original 1901 Philadelphia Athletics, and he was a staple of the first dozen years of the Connie Mack era which were extraordinarily successful.

Perhaps it is telling that Plank left the team after the 1914 season, and the A’s didn’t have another winning season until 1925. Well done, Gettysburg Eddie, you deserve a spot on this list.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #2

#2: RHP Catfish Hunter

Athletics’ right-hander Catfish Hunter was one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the franchise. At the end of his career, he had a 224-166 record, a 3.26 lifetime ERA, and 2,012 strikeouts.

Hunter pitched a perfect game on Wednesday, May 8, 1968 against the Minnesota Twins. It was the ninth perfect game in history, and Hunter not only kept Twins’ hitters from reaching base, but also was responsible for three of the A’s runs in the 4-0 victory. In 1974, the A’s ace took home the Cy Young Award after posting a 2.49 ERA and a 25-12 record in 41 starts.

After ten very successful seasons with the Athletics that included three World Series championships, he moved on to the New York Yankees, where he won two more World Series titles before finally retiring in 1979. He was an eight-time All-Star, with six of those appearances occurring during his stint as an A’s starter, and the remaining two as a Yankee.

Twice, Hunter led the AL in wins and win percentage, once in complete games, and once in ERA. In 1991, the Athletics retired his number 27 – the first jersey in A’s history to be retired. He is also one of 14 A’s greats to be elected into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, and he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 on his third year of eligibility.

Next: Top Ten Pitchers: #1

#1: LHP Lefty Grove

The most famous left-hander is A’s history would have to be Lefty Grove, who began his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925. He was a six-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion, winning with the A’s in 1925 and 1933.

His best years came in 1930 and 1931, when he won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in ERA, wins and strikeouts. Those seasons were part of four seasons in which he led the league in wins, nine seasons in which he led the league in ERA, and seven seasons in which he led in strikeouts.

Grove is considered one of the best pitchers not just in Athletics history, but in baseball history. In his 17-year career, he maintained a 3.06 ERA and a 300-141 record in nearly 4,000 innings of work. After nine years with the Athletics, Grove finished his career with eight seasons with the Boston Red Sox that included five of his six All-Star appearances.

In 1947, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the voters, after a career that included winning the 1931 MVP following one of his two Triple Crown seasons. Grove is the greatest pitcher to ever take the mound in an Athletics’ uniform, and too often he’s forgotten because he played so long ago. He has earned the number one spot on this list.

Next: A's Sign Relief Pitcher Ryan Madson

Disagree with the rankings or spot someone who was snubbed? Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments below.