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A look back: 2006 Oakland Athletics 10-game win streak

By Zachary Engberg

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 1: Frank Thomas #35 of the Oakland Athletics returns to homeplate after hitting a three run homerun in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on October 1, 2006 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The Athletics won 11-10 in extra innings. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 1: Frank Thomas #35 of the Oakland Athletics returns to homeplate after hitting a three run homerun in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on October 1, 2006 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The Athletics won 11-10 in extra innings. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /
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The A’s are in the midst of their first 10-game(ish) win streak in 13 years. The last time they did – from June 8 to June 18 – the team looked a lot different.

If the Oakland A’s last 10-game win streak in 2006 is any kind of precursor of things to come this season, then the 2019 Athletics are in for one of the franchises’ best seasons to date.

That year, the A’s reached their only ALCS since 1992, getting swept by the Detroit Tigers, who have knocked the As out of the playoffs three of their last five appearances.

That A’s team was the only one to make the playoffs between 2003 and 2012, and is the only one to advance in the playoffs since 1992. Led by Ken Macha, Oakland won 93 games and took the AL West for the last time in the 2000s.

That team was full of fan favorites, including lifetime Athletics and players that made short but impactful appearances in Oakland.

The day of their 10th win, a 5-2 win over the Dodgers, Joe Blanton started and allowed two runs in eight innings, the only runs coming on a Nomar Garciaparra home run and an RBI single by Ramon Martinez. 22-year-old Huston Street – who won ROY in 2005 – closed with his 17th save that year (Street had 37 that year, his most as a member of the A’s).

The A’s lineup that day looked like this:

  1. Jason Kendall – C
  2. Nick Swisher – LF
  3. Eric Chavez – DH
  4. Bobby Crosby – SS
  5. Jay Payton – CF
  6. Dan Johnson – 1B
  7. Marco Scutaro – 3B
  8. Bobby Kielty – RF
  9. Mike Rouse – 2B

Not playing that day were 38-year-old Frank Thomas, who led the team with 39 home runs and 114 RBIs in his only season with the A’s, finishing fourth in the MVP voting; Mark Ellis, who played eight-and-a-half seasons at second base for Oakland and is the all-time leader in home runs for players from South Dakota with 105; Milton Bradley, who played one-and-a-half seasons with the A’s and was a fan favorite while there; and Mark Kotsay, who roamed the outfield for four years and whose inside-the-park home run in game two against the Twins gave them a 4-2 lead and was essential in their only playoff series win in the last 27 years.

Also on that team were Barry Zito – in his final year on the A’s before he signed a massive deal with the Giants – Dan Haren, Justin Duchscherer, Kiko Calero and a 24-year-old Rich Harden.