Oakland Athletics, također naziva Oakland A's, američka profesionalna bejzbol reprezentacija sa sjedištem u Oaklandu u Kaliforniji koja igra u američkoj ligi (AL). Atletika - koju često nazivaju "A" - osvojila je devet svjetskih prvenstava i 15 AL zastavica.
Kviz
Svjetske organizacije: činjenica ili fikcija?
Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija specijalizirana je grana vlade Sjedinjenih Država.
Osnovani 1901. i sa sjedištem u Philadelphiji, A-ovi su bili jedan od prvotnih osam članova AL-a. Prvih pola stoljeća postojanja franšize dominirao je ikonski Connie Mack, koji je upravljao A-jem od uvodne godine do 1950. godine. A je objavio prvih pobjedničkih rekorda u svojih prvih sedam sezona, uključujući zastavice AL-a 1902 i 1905, potonje od koja je momčadi zaradila prvo vezanje u World Seriesu, u kojem su se A-ovi pojavili na kratkom kraju serije od pet igara s New York Giantsom. A-jevi su se vratili u World Series 1910. i 1911., pobijedivši svaki put iza šuta Charlesa Bendera i Eddieja Planka, kao i udaranje trećeg benda Franka ("Run Run"), drugog banda Eddieja Collinsa i ostali članovi glasovite "100 USD,000 okućnice "(tako se naziva zbog navodne kombinirane tržišne vrijednosti četvorke). Ova jezgra napredovala je u još dvije svjetske serije 1913. i 1914. (pobjeda nad New York Giantsima i gubitak od Boston Bravesa), prije nego što je natjecanje iz novoformirane savezne lige prisililo Macka da prodaje svoje zvijezde igrače drugim timovima u kako bi se zadržalo otapalo franšize. Kao rezultat toga, prvo razdoblje dominacije A odmah je uslijedilo strašno protezanje od sedam uzastopnih završnica posljednjeg mjesta od 1915. do 1921. godine (uključujući sezonu sa 117 gubitaka 1916.).odnosno) prije nego što je natjecanje iz novoformirane savezne lige prisililo Macka da rasprodaje svoje zvijezde igračima drugim timovima kako bi zadržao franšizno otapalo. Kao rezultat toga, prvo razdoblje dominacije A odmah je uslijedilo strašno protezanje od sedam uzastopnih završnica posljednjeg mjesta od 1915. do 1921. godine (uključujući sezonu sa 117 gubitaka 1916.).odnosno) prije nego što je natjecanje iz novoformirane savezne lige prisililo Macka da rasprodaje svoje zvijezde igračima drugim timovima kako bi zadržao franšizno otapalo. Kao rezultat toga, prvo razdoblje dominacije A odmah je uslijedilo strašno protezanje od sedam uzastopnih završnica posljednjeg mjesta od 1915. do 1921. godine (uključujući sezonu sa 117 gubitaka 1916.).
The year 1925 was extremely significant for the struggling franchise. In addition to the A’s finishing that season with their first winning record in a decade, the year saw three future Hall of Famers—first baseman Jimmie Foxx, pitcher Lefty Grove, and catcher Mickey Cochrane—make their debuts with the team, joining a solid core that already featured all-time great outfielder Al Simmons. After finishing in second place behind the powerhouse New York Yankees in 1927 and 1928, the A’s won both the AL pennant and the World Series title in 1929 and 1930. The A’s lost in their third consecutive trip to the World Series in 1931 (a seven-game defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals), which was followed by another slide back to the bottom of the AL. In the 20 seasons between 1935 and 1954, the A’s never placed higher than fourth in the league, with 11 last-place finishes. The team’s prolonged poor play, combined with the emergence of the crosstown Phillies of the National League, led to increased financial strain on the A’s ownership and the sale of the team to an out-of-town businessman in 1954, who in turn moved the A’s to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1955.
The A’s did not post a single winning season in their 13 years in Kansas City, and their tenure in the city was most notable for flamboyant businessman Charlie Finley’s purchase of the team in 1960. Finley introduced a number of quirky innovations to the team and its ballpark in an attempt to stimulate attendance, but these failed to have much of an impact, and the resulting loss of income—combined with his clashes with local civic leaders—led Finley to move the team to Oakland in 1968. Propelled by such young greats as outfielder Reggie Jackson and pitchers Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Rollie Fingers, the A’s quickly turned the franchise’s fortunes around in their new home, winning three consecutive World Series titles from 1972 to 1974. The small-market A’s lost most of their big stars with the advent of free agency at the end of the 1976 season, and they entered yet another rebuilding period.
The A’s of the 1980s and early 1990s showcased slugger Mark McGwire, closer Dennis Eckersley, and stolen-base king Rickey Henderson, and they advanced to three consecutive World Series (1988–90), winning a Bay Area showdown in 1989 over the now San Francisco Giants. The late 1990s saw the Athletics turn to a new management strategy that focused on acquiring cheaper, less-known players by giving added weight to in-depth statistical analysis (such analysis is referred to as sabermetrics) over traditional scouting methods, a strategy that became known by the term “Moneyball” (so named after the title of a best-selling book about A’s general manager Billy Beane). Many other franchises began implementing variations of that strategy after Beane built teams that qualified for five postseason berths in a seven-year span (2000–06) while having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.
The A’s were not able to duplicate that period of surprising success while maintaining one of the lowest payrolls in baseball over the following five years. However, in 2012 the team produced a 20-game improvement over its 2011 record and rallied from a five-game deficit to the Texas Rangers with nine games remaining in the regular season to capture the AL West championship before losing in the divisional playoff round. The A’s won another division championship in 2013 but were once again eliminated in the AL Division Series. In 2014 Oakland sent its fans on an emotional roller coaster: the team had far-and-away the best record in the majors at the All-Star break (59–36) but threatened an epic collapse in the stretch run, as the team ultimately squandered its division lead and finished just one game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the second AL wild-card position. The A’s then lost a 12-inning wild-card contest to the Kansas City Royals to end one of the more-frustrating seasons for any team in recent baseball history. Oakland’s on-field performance then fell off, as the team had three consecutive last-place divisional finishes from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 the A’s added 22 wins to their record to qualify for an unexpected playoff berth, but the playoff futility of the team that began in the Moneyball era continued with a loss in the Wild Card Game. The A’s repeated those results (a 97–65 record and a loss in the Wild Card Game) in 2019.
