Oakland Athletics All-Time Top 20 Hitters in Franchise History

#4: Al Simmons

Born Aloysius Szymanski, Al Simmons holds the franchise record in batting average, at .356 during his 12 seasons with the Philadelphia A’s. In three of those seasons – 1940, 1941 and 1944 – Simmons was at the end of a twenty year career, so the majority of his counting stats with the Athletics come from the first nine years of his career.

Despite never being an All-Star with the Athletics, Simmons made three All-Star appearances for the Chicago White Sox after being sold to Chicago following the 1932 season. He had a career that included a pair of World Series Championships with the A’s, in 1929 and 1930.

Simmons led the American league in batting average in 1930 and again in 1931 – after leading the league in RBIs in 1929. That 1930 season was widely regarded as his best as a player, when he hit .381/.423/.708 with 36 home run, 165 RBIs and 152 runs scored. He also stole nine bases and struck out just 34 times all season.

Simmons holds plenty of other franchise records, including the single-season hits record. He’s one of the best hitters baseball has ever seen.

Next: Top 20 A's Hitters: #3