Oakland Athletics: 30 Worst Players in Franchise History

Billy Beane

Billy Beane’s name will be remembered for a long time in Oakland Athletics’ history for the role he has played in their front office. It has yet to be determined if he will be remembered in a positive or negative light as an executive, but he will certainly not be forgotten. However, many do not remember Beane’s days as a baseball player with the A’s quite as fondly – or at all.

Beane was a highly touted prospect when he was drafted in the first round in 1980 by the New York Mets. Even though he struggled offensively in the Minors, he was finally promoted to the big leagues in 1984. He only played in 13 games for the Mets over the 1984 and 1985 seasons before being traded to the Minnesota Twins. He continued to struggle at the plate with the Twins because he could not make the necessary adjustments to improve his swing.

His final season in MLB ended up being with the Oakland Athletics. Beane continued to swing and miss and only received 82 at-bats with the Green and Gold. During that time, Beane hit .241/.238/.304. This was not his worst season, but it definitely put the nail in the coffin of Beane’s big league career.

Beane decided to leave Major League Baseball as a player in 1990. He was a frustrated batter with a .246 career on-base percentage, and had only three home runs and 29 RBIs in his six-year career in the Majors. Beane had a lot of potential, but he could not translate that to success at the major league level.

Next: The Worst A's Players in History: Dan Meyer