The 1998 Oakland Athletics season was the 98th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 31st season in Oakland. The Athletics finished the season with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The campaign was the first of the Billy Beane era. While the Athletics finished a distant fourth in the American League West, they improved upon the prior year's dismal output of 65–97.
The strong play of Jason Giambi, Matt Stairs and Kenny Rogers highlighted an otherwise forgettable campaign. Rogers' performance was particularly impressive; in arguably the finest season of his career, he won 16 games and posted a 3.17 earned run average (both were the best full-season marks by an Athletics starter since 1992). Additionally, the 1998 season marked Rickey Henderson's fourth (and final) stint with the Athletics. Henderson, at the age of 39, stole a total 66 bases; this total led the league in that category. Lastly, rookie Ben Grieve collected a Rookie of the Year (ROY) award for his solid debut season. The award was the Athletics' first since Walt Weiss received one in 1988.
The Athletics posted a winning record in 1999. The organization, under Beane, would not post another losing season until 2007.
Offseason October 29, 1997: Dane Johnson was selected off waivers from the Athletics by the Toronto Blue Jays.Dane Johnson at Baseball-Reference November 7, 1997: The Athletics traded a player to be named later to the New York Yankees for Kenny Rogers and cash. The Athletics completed the deal by sending Scott Brosius to the Yankees on November 18.Scott Brosius at Baseball-Reference November 18, 1997: Tony Batista was drafted from the Athletics by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 27th pick in the 1997 MLB expansion draft.Tony Batista at Baseball-Reference November 26, 1997: David Newhan and Don Wengert were traded by the Athletics to the San Diego Padres for Jorge Velandia and Doug Bochtler.Jorge Velandia at Baseball-Reference November 22, 1997: Damon Berryhill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Damon Berryhill at Baseball-Reference December 4, 1997: Mark Acre was purchased from the Athletics by the Yakult Swallows.Mark Acre at Baseball-Reference December 5, 1997: Jack Voigt was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Jack Voigt at Baseball-Reference December 16, 1997: Mike Blowers was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Mike Blowers at Baseball-Reference December 22, 1997: Izzy Molina was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Izzy Molina at Baseball-Reference January 22, 1998: Rickey Henderson was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Ricky Henderson at Baseball-Reference March 9, 1998: Kevin Mitchell was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Kevin Mitchell at Baseball-Reference March 17, 1998: Ernie Young was purchased from the Athletics by the Kansas City Royals.Ernie Young at Baseball-Reference March 25, 1998: Doug Bochtler was purchased from the Athletics by the Detroit Tigers.Doug Bochtler at Baseball-Reference
Regular season
Opening Day starters Rafael Bournigal Tom Candiotti Jason Giambi Ben Grieve Rickey Henderson A. J. Hinch Dave Magadan Jason McDonald Scott Spiezio Matt Stairs
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 2, 1998: 1998 Major League Baseball draft Mark Mulder was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (2nd pick). Player signed October 9, 1998.Mark Mulder at Baseball-Reference Eric Byrnes was drafted by the Athletics in the 8th round. Player signed June 12, 1998.Eric Byrnes at Baseball-Reference June 26, 1998: Aaron Small was selected off waivers from the Athletics by the Arizona Diamondbacks.Aaron Small at Baseball-Reference August 7, 1998: Kevin Mitchell was released by the Athletics. August 9, 1998: Jack Voigt was acquired from the Athletics by the Texas Rangers in a conditional deal.
Roster 1998 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (pitching) (bench) (bullpen) (first base) (hitting) (third base)
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; Slg. = Slugging average; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H HR RBI Avg. Slg. SB C A. J. Hinch 120 337 34 78 9 35 .231 .3413 1B Jason Giambi 153 562 92 166 27 110 .295 .4892 2B Scott Spiezio 114 406 54 105 9 50 .259 .3771 3B Mike Blowers 129 409 56 97 11 71 .237 .3861 SS Miguel Tejada 105 365 53 85 11 45 .233 .3845 LF Rickey Henderson 152 542 101 128 14 57 .236 .34766 CF Ryan Christenson 117 370 56 95 5 50 .257 .3685 RF Ben Grieve 155 583 94 168 18 89 .288 .4582 DH Matt Stairs 149 523 88 154 26 106 .294 .5118
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Rafael Bournigal 85 209 47 .225 1 19 Mike Macfarlane 78 207 52 .251 7 34 Bip Roberts 61 182 51 .280 1 15 Jason McDonald 70 175 44 .251 1 16 Kevin Mitchell 51 127 29 .228 2 21 Kurt Abbott 35 123 33 .268 2 9 Dave Magadan 35 109 35 .321 1 13 27 87 13 .149 3 7 57 72 10 .139 1 10 Eric Chavez 16 45 14 .311 0 6 Mike Neill 6 15 4 .267 0 0 Mark Bellhorn 11 12 1 .083 0 1 Brian Lesher 7 7 1 .143 0 1 Jorge Velandia 8 4 1 .250 0 0 Izzy Molina 6 2 1 .500 0 0 Shane Mack 3 2 0 .000 0 0 Jason Wood 3 1 0 .000 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 34 238.2 16 8 3.17 138 33 201.0 11 16 4.84 98 Jimmy Haynes 33 194.1 11 9 5.09 134 Mike Oquist 31 175.0 7 11 6.22 112 Blake Stein 24 117.1 5 9 6.37 89 Gil Heredia 8 42.2 3 3 2.74 27 Ariel Prieto 2 8.1 0 1 11.88 8
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Jay Witasick 7 27.0 1 3 6.33 29 Dave Telgheder 8 20.0 0 1 3.60 5
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Billy Taylor 70 4 9 33 3.58 58 Buddy Groom 75 3 1 0 4.24 36 T.J. Mathews 66 7 4 1 4.58 53 Mike Mohler 57 3 3 0 5.16 42 Mike Fetters 48 1 6 5 3.99 34 Tim Worrell 25 0 1 0 4.00 33 Aaron Small 24 1 1 0 7.25 19 Mark Holzemer 13 1 0 0 5.59 3 Jim Doughtery 9 0 2 0 8.25 3 Steve Connelly 3 0 0 0 1.93 1
Awards and honors
Ben Grieve, AL Rookie of the Year
All-Star Game Ben Grieve, Outfield, Reserve
Farm system
References
1998 Oakland Athletics team at Baseball-Reference 1998 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com