The 1964 Kansas City Athletics season was the tenth for the franchise in Kansas City and the 64th overall. It involved the A's finishing tenth in the American League with a record of 57 wins, 105 losses and one tie, 42 games behind the American League Champion New York Yankees.

Offseason In January , owner Charles O. Finley signed an agreement to move the A's to Louisville, promising to change the team's name to the "Kentucky Athletics". (Other names suggested for the team were the "Kentucky Colonels" and the "Louisville Sluggers.") By another 9–1 vote by the league owners, his request was denied. Six weeks later, by the same 9–1 margin, the A.L. owners denied Finley's request to move the team to Oakland, where the team would eventually move after the 1967 season. On February 28, Finley signed a four-year lease to remain in Kansas City. The club would pay no rent at Municipal Stadium but the city would get 5% on admission and 7.5% on concessions. The clause was that if the club could not reach a paid attendance of 575,000 fans, then the club owed nothing.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.73, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, In early April, Finley tried to shorten the rather distant fences at the stadium by creating a Pennant Porch in right field, fronting a tiny bleacher section, to mock the famed short fence in right field at Yankee Stadium, home of the powerful Yankees. The move was quickly vetoed by the league, so Finley rebuilt the fence to the bare legal minimum of , and repainted the fence to say "One-Half Pennant Porch". Later he tried the ruse of putting a canopy over the little bleacher, which just happened to have an extension that reached out over the field. The league, not amused by Finley's sense of humor, again ordered him to cease and desist.

Notable transactions October 7, 1963: Sammy Esposito was released by the Athletics.Sammy Esposito page at Baseball Reference November 27, 1963: Norm Siebern was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Jim Gentile and $25,000.Norm Siebern page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1963: John Donaldson was selected by the Athletics from the Minnesota Twins in the rule 5 draft.John Donaldson page at Baseball Reference

Regular season The club set a franchise record by hitting 107 home runs during home games, while the A's pitching staff gave up 132 home runs during home games. At the time, it was a major league record.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.75, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Eighteen-year-old free agent Catfish Hunter was not able to pitch in 1964. He was sent to the Mayo Clinic, as surgeons worked on his right foot, which had been injured in a hunting accident the previous autumn. Hunter recovered at Finley's farm in La Porte, Indiana.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.81, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, Shortstop Bert Campaneris made his major league debut on July 23 at Minnesota, and hit two home runs off Jim Kaat in the first (first pitch) and seventh innings; joining the team earlier that day, he also singled, walked, and stole a base.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.79, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, On September 5, 19-year-old Blue Moon Odom made his major league debut against the visiting New York Yankees. Odom started but lasted just two innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout. The A's tied the game in the third inning, so he did not get the loss.Blue Moon Odom page at Baseball Reference On September 17, the A's were away on an eastern road trip and The Beatles played Municipal Stadium as part of their first U.S. tour. The date was originally supposed to be an off-day for the band between concerts in New Orleans and Dallas, but they agreed to perform when Finley offered their manager Brian Epstein a then-record sum of $150,000 (equivalent to $1.14 million in 2014). The group opened the half-hour Thursday night concert by saluting the host town with their medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey";Finley, Nancy. Finley Ball: How Two Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever. Washington, DC: Salem Media Group, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2022. a month later, they would record the medley for their fourth studio album, Beatles for Sale.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions June 8, 1964: Catfish Hunter was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.Catfish Hunter page at Baseball Reference June 13, 1964: Joe Rudi was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.Joe Rudi page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1964 Kansas City Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team 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 97 294 66 .224 5 28 1B 136 439 110 .251 28 71 2B 130 435 115 .264 11 37 3B 150 557 134 .241 16 63 SS 157 604 170 .281 8 49 LF 95 204 46 .225 12 38 CF 157 573 137 .239 14 60 RF 160 588 161 .274 34 102

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 Bert Campaneris 67 269 69 .257 4 22 Billy Bryan 93 220 53 .241 13 36 George Alusik 102 204 49 .240 3 19 Ken Harrelson 49 139 27 .194 7 12 Charley Lau 43 118 32 .271 2 9 104 100 20 .200 0 3 Tommie Reynolds 31 94 19 .202 2 9 George Williams 37 91 19 .209 0 2 Rick Joseph 17 54 12 .222 0 1 Dave Duncan 25 53 9 .170 1 5 Charlie Shoemaker 16 52 11 .212 0 3 Larry Stahl 15 46 12 .261 3 6 John Wojcik 6 22 3 .136 0 0 Gino Cimoli 4 9 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 Orlando Peña 40 219.1 12 14 4.43 184 Diego Seguí 40 217.0 8 17 4.56 155 John O'Donohue 39 173.2 10 14 4.92 79 Bob Meyer 9 42.0 1 4 3.86 30 5 17.0 1 2 10.06 10 Lew Krausse Jr. 5 14.2 0 2 7.36 9

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 Moe Drabowski 53 168.1 5 13 5.29 119 Ted Bowsfield 50 118.2 4 7 4.10 45 José Santiago 34 83.2 0 6 4.73 64 Aurelio Monteagudo 11 31.1 0 4 8.90 14

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 81 9 8 20 3.59 74 Wes Stock 50 6 3 5 1.94 101 Ken Sanders 21 0 2 1 3.67 18 Joe Grzenda 20 0 2 0 5.40 17 Dan Pfister 19 1 5 0 6.53 21 Vern Handrahan 18 0 1 0 6.06 18 9 0 1 0 8.82 7 Tom Sturdivant 3 0 0 0 9.82 1

Farm system

The A's scouts had signed 80 prospects for $650,000, at the time, the most money spent on prospects in one year.

References

External links 1964 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1964 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com