Oakland Athletics' Jason Giambi, center, gets a high five from Ernie Young, left, and a pat on the head from Mark McGwire after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of their game against the California Angels Friday, night, June 28, 1996 in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
If this is the penultimate class of the Oakland A’s Hall of Fame, the five inductees will be remembered for touching all of the bases in the franchise’s colorful history.
Gene Tenace and Carney Lansford helped bring home World Series titles in the 1970s and 80s, respectively. Jason Giambi brought swagger and winning back to the Coliseum in the late 90s and early 2000s, only to see his rise to superstardom become the catalyst for the Moneyball era. And Roy Steele was behind the mic for all of it. Even Bob Johnson, a star of the Philadelphia era, fits right in with the current state of the Bay Area franchise: He made his debut with the A’s in 1933 as ownership was shedding its highest-paid stars to cut costs.
The A’s Hall of Fame’s fifth class will be inducted before Sunday’s game against the Giants in the finale of this season’s Bay Bridge Series. The cloud of potential relocation to Las Vegas has enveloped the A’s all season, but team’s lease at the Coliseum runs through next season, so there is expected to be a Class of 2024. After that is anyone’s guess.
The reception to Giambi, 52, will be interesting. The de facto captain of the A’s into the early 2000s, and a Las Vegas resident since 1998, is a supporter of the team’s relocation, saying last spring “I love Oakland. Greatest fans in world,” and “I feel terrible for (Oakland fans),” but added that, “to be relevant anymore in baseball, you have to be competitive” and that Las Vegas residents are “hungry” for an MLB baseball team.
Giambi blasted 198 home runs in eight seasons with the A’s, which ranks second-most in the Oakland era behind Eric Chavez. Giambi was at the height of his powers with the A’s in 1999-2001 when he was one of the most dangerous sluggers in the game and in 2000 guided Oakland back to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. During that stretch, which Giambi later admitted included PED use, the left-handed slugger averaged a .330 batting average, 38 home runs, 127 RBIs, 111 runs scored, 37 doubles and 124 walks. He won the AL MVP in 2000, when he hit 47 home runs with a 1.137 OPS, and was second in 2001. Giambi holds the Oakland records for batting average in a season (.342 in 2001) and career (.300) as well as single-season records for RBI (137 in 2000), walks (137 in 2000), extra-base hits (87 in 2001), and on-base percentage (.477 in 2001).
Giambi’s success altered the trajectory of the franchise — and thinking around baseball — when he priced himself out of Oakland because of his success. In December 2001, the then-30-year-old Giambi signed a seven-year $120-million deal with the New York Yankees. A few weeks later, Billy Beane signed then-32-year-old Scott Hatteberg for a little under $1 million based largely on his high on-base percentage and other advanced metrics, marking the dawn of the Moneyball era in Oakland.
Lansford, 66, didn’t get the headlines or accolades of teammates Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Dennis Eckersley or Dave Stewart, but the San Jose native was an anchor to the A’s Bash Brothers era.
The former AL batting champ arrived in Oakland in 1982 to a team in major transition and was a franchise foundation until he retired a decade later. He played in three World Series with the A’s and was an All-Star in 1988. The third baseman led the A’s in batting in 1984 and 1989 (his .336 average was second in the A.L. to Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett’s .339 mark) and finished his Oakland career with a .288 batting average, tied with Henderson for second in Oakland history behind just Giambi.
Tenace, 76, was part of the first wave of Oakland A’s stars after the team moved from Kansas City in 1968. But unlike other Oakland HOF members from the Mustache Gang era — Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Campy Campaneris, Joe Rudi, Ray Fosse, longtime clubhouse manager Steve Vucinich and then-owner Charlie Finley — Tenace didn’t establish himself right away.
When Tenace finally broke out, it was on the largest possible stage and helped spark the A’s to three straight World Series championships. After serving as a backup to Dave Duncan during the 1972 regular season, Tenace started in the ALCS against the Tigers. He only had one hit, but that single drove in the clinching run in the A’s 2–1 victory in Game 5. Against the star-studded Reds in the World Series, Tenace stole the show. He became the first player to hit home runs in his first two World Series at-bats. The A’s won the Series in seven games and Tenace was the MVP, going 8-for-23 with four home runs and 9 RBIs.
Tenace played catcher and first base during his eight seasons with the A’s, starting at first base for the American League in the 1975 All-Star Game. He led the team in walks for four straight seasons from 1973 to 1976, and hit 121 home runs, which ranks 11th in the Oakland era.
Calling the home highlights for Tenace, Giambi and Lansford — and virtually every other important moment in Oakland A’s history for nearly 40 seasons — was Steele, still revered as the “Voice of God” as the PA voice at the Coliseum. Steele, who died three years ago, began announcing for the A’s when they arrived in Oakland in 1968 and remained the public address announcer for 38 seasons. He worked six World Series, an All-Star Game, and through A’s eras from the Mustache Gang to Billy Ball, the Bash Brothers, and Moneyball.
Johnson is the 11th member of the Philadelphia era to join the Oakland HOF — the entire class in 2021 played in the franchise’s original home. The five-time All-Star outfielder played 10 seasons with the A’s. He debuted in 1933 to replace Al Simmons in left field. The future Hall of Famer and his reported $33,000 salary were traded to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason as owner-manager Connie Mack traded away the franchise’s biggest stars — and contracts — in the midst of the Great Depression. Later that season catcher Mickey Cochrane and pitcher Lefty Grove were traded and the A’s finished higher than seventh (out of eight teams in the AL) just twice during Johnson’s decade with the A’s.
Johnson was one of the most prolific players in the franchise’s three-city history. He held the franchise record for career runs scored until Henderson broke the mark in 1993. Johnson still ranks in the top five in franchise history in runs, RBI, extra-base hits, doubles, home runs, and walks.
Originally published at Laurence Miedema