The 1975 Oakland Athletics season was the 75th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 8th season in Oakland. Entering the season as the three-time defending World Series champions, the Athletics won their fifth consecutive American League West title with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses. They went on to play the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 American League Championship Series, losing in three straight games.

Offseason After the Athletics' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1974 World Series under Alvin Dark, pitcher Catfish Hunter filed a grievance. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 1974 with a record of 25–12 and a league-leading 2.49 earned run average. Hunter uncovered a violation of his contract with Athletics owner Charlie Finley and the team that allowed him to become a free agent. The Athletics were to send half of Hunter's $100,000 annual salary to a North Carolina bank as payment on an annuity, but Finley did not comply.Catfish Hunter, Who Pitched in 6 World Series for A's and Yankees, Dies at 53 – New York Times

On December 13, 1974, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in Hunter's favor. As a result, Hunter became a free agent, and signed a contract with the New York Yankees for the 1975 season.Catfish Hunter page at Baseball Reference Despite the loss of Hunter, the Athletics repeated as A.L. West champions in 1975, but lost the ALCS to Boston in a 3-game sweep.

The Athletics led the league in arbitration filings with 13.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.219, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Seven players settled before their hearings.

Notable transactions October 23, 1974: Manny Trillo, Darold Knowles and Bob Locker were traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Billy Williams.Manny Trillo page at Baseball Reference October 23, 1974: Dan Ford and Dennis Myers (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the Minnesota Twins for Pat Bourque.Dan Ford page at Baseball Reference November 11, 1974: Dal Maxvill was released by the Athletics.Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1974: Tim Hosley was drafted from the Athletics by the Chicago Cubs in the 1974 rule 5 draft.Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference January 9, 1975: Rob Picciolo was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).Rob Picciolo page at Baseball Reference March 28, 1975: Jesús Alou was released by the Athletics.Jesús Alou page at Baseball Reference

Regular season At the All-Star Break, there were discussions of Bowie Kuhn's reappointment. Finley, New York owner George Steinbrenner and Baltimore owner Jerry Hoffberger were part of a group that wanted him gone.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.226, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Finley was trying to convince the new owner of the Texas Rangers Brad Corbett that MLB needed a more dynamic commissioner.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.227, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, During the vote, Baltimore and New York decided to vote in favor of the commissioner's reappointment. By July 14, the Athletics had won 55 games, compared to 32 losses.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.225, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Seven Athletics had been named to the All-Star Game.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, pp.225–6, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, August 18, 1975: Charlie Finley was on the cover of Time magazine.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.229, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, It would be his last major profile in a national publication.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.230, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010,

Relocation plans Finley received numerous offers for the Athletics. Horse owner Marge Everett wanted to purchase the team and relocate them to Seattle. Former San Francisco Giants manager Herman Franks led a group of 15 investors who had offered more than $15 million.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.222, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Finley openly criticized fans for the lack of attendance. There were rumours of possible relocation to New Orleans, Seattle, and Toronto. In addition, there was talk of an ownership group relocating the San Francisco Giants to Toronto, with the possibility that Oakland would have the entire Bay Area to itself. In 1975, fed up with poor attendance in Oakland during the team's championship years, Finley pondered relocating the team. When Seattle filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball over the move of the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee, Finley and others came up with an elaborate shuffle which would move the ailing Chicago White Sox to Seattle. White Sox owner John Allyn was broke and placed under enormous pressure from fellow owners to sell his club to Seattle interests and undercut a lawsuit which Seattle had against them. As Charlie Finley had business interests in Chicago, he was prepared to move the Athletics to Chicago and be closer to his home in LaPorte, Indiana.K.C. A's – why did Finley almost move to Dallas? – Baseball Fever Due to his 20-year lease with the city of Oakland (to expire in 1987), Finley was blocked. The scheme fell through when Arthur Allyn sold the White Sox to another colorful owner, Bill Veeck, who was not interested in leaving Chicago.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 6, 1975: The Athletics sent a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Todd. The Athletics completed the deal by sending Champ Summers to the Cubs on April 29.Champ Summers page at Baseball Reference May 20, 1975: Blue Moon Odom and cash were traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Dick Bosman and Jim Perry.Blue Moon Odom page at Baseball Reference June 3, 1975: Denny Walling was drafted in the 1st round (1st pick) of the Secondary Phase of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft.Denny Walling page at Baseball Reference June 18, 1975: Brian Kingman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.Brian Kingman page at Baseball Reference August 29, 1975: Dal Maxvill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. September 15, 1975: Rick Ingalls (minors) was traded by the Athletics to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Williams.Mark Williams page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1975 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters

Designated runner Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader

= Indicates league leader

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 158 498 127 .255 29 87 1B 126 468 130 .278 21 75 2B 160 488 120 .246 6 54 3B 160 562 129 .230 15 78 SS 137 509 135 .265 4 46 LF 148 590 182 .308 10 77 CF 140 524 143 .273 1 43 RF 157 593 150 .253 36 104 DH 155 520 127 .244 23 811975 Oakland Athletics Statistics and Roster – Baseball-Reference.com

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 82 136 19 .140 0 12 102 123 27 .220 2 16 62 109 24 .220 1 6 86 87 15 .172 0 3 34 69 22 .319 2 7 20 28 7 .250 0 4 47 26 5 .192 1 2 19 26 6 .231 0 3 63 10 1 .100 0 0 20 10 2 .200 0 0 6 8 1 .125 0 2 8 7 1 .143 0 2 82 6 1 .167 0 0 5 5 0 .000 0 0 10 3 1 .333 0 1 3 2 1 .500 0 0 6 2 0 .000 0 0 13 0 0 ---- 0 0 2 0 0 ---- 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 39 278.0 22 11 3.01 189 39 266.1 18 14 3.14 122 22 122.2 11 4 3.52 42 21 100.0 6 7 3.24 49 17 61.0 4 4 3.69 44 4 16.2 1 0 0.00 5 1 3.2 0 1 12.27 2

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 30 114.1 5 5 4.25 51 15 67.2 3 4 4.66 33 11 35.2 1 2 4.04 20 7 11.0 0 2 12.27 4

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 75 10 6 24 2.98 115 68 9 1 7 2.72 58 58 8 3 12 2.29 50

Farm system

References

External links 1975 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1975 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com