The Five Worst Trades in Oakland Athletics History
As an Oakland Athletics fan since their arrival in 1968, I have seen some awful trades by the Athletics front office. In choosing the five worst trades, I decided on a few factors.
What would not be included were mid-season trades where a pending superstar in the last year of a contract was dealt away for a future prospect. Thus the 1997 Mark McGwire trade to the Cardinals or the 1993 trade of Rickey Henderson to the Blue Jays (as well as countless others) would not be included, because ownership was basically trying to get something in return for a player who was sure to depart via free agency. Also, because MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn negated the trade of Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to the Boston Red Sox in 1976 (as well as selling Vida Blue to the New York Yankees), that deal would not be included since it never was official.
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