| |
In 1968, the Athletics made the move to Oakland from Kansas City. The A’s won 5 straight division championships with the seasons of 1972-74 ending in a World Series victory. Since those glory years, the A’s have only won one championship in 1989, but they have made the postseason in each of the last 4 years. Ken Macha stepped in for Art Howe during the 2003 season and didn’t miss a beat. The team won the AL West, but was eliminated by the Boston Red Sox after leading the best-of-5 series 2-0. The Athletics play in the Coliseum and have since 1968, the first year of their move to Oakland. The stadium was modernized in 1995 when added 22,000 new seats, 90 luxury suites, two private clubs and two state-of-the-art scoreboards.
In the past two years, the Athletics have come to grips with their financial situation. It’s hard to keep their superstars around, as was the case with all-stars Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada. The offense in 2004 is led by third baseman Eric Chavez and right fielder Jermaine Dye. Dye is coming off a broken right leg suffered last season, but he is still expected to be a driving force in the middle of the lineup.
The pitching staff is what the A’s are best known for, and they’ll also most likely be the biggest concern in the off-season. Tim Hudson and Barry Zito will lead the rotation, but you can’t forget about Mark Mulder. All three could likely be aces on other rotations around the league, but they’ve been able to coexist in the Athletics system without a problem. The addition of closer Arthur Rhodes from Seattle and the maturity of young gunner Rich Harden should solidify the Athletics run at another postseason appearance in 2004.
Buy Athletics Tickets and be a part of it all!
|
|
