1996 Oakland Athletics season
Major League Baseball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about 1996 Oakland Athletics season?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Oakland Athletics' 1996 season was the team's 29th in Oakland, California. It was also the 96th season in franchise history. The team finished third in the American League West with a record of 78–84.
1996 Oakland Athletics | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
League | American League | |||
Division | West | |||
Ballpark | Cashman Field (6 games, temporary) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | |||
City | Oakland, California | |||
Record | 78–84 (.481) | |||
Divisional place | 3rd | |||
Owners | Stephen Schott Ken Hofmann | |||
General managers | Sandy Alderson | |||
Managers | Art Howe | |||
Television | KRON-TV Sports Channel Pacific (Ray Fosse, Greg Papa) | |||
Radio | KFRC (Bill King, Ken Korach, Ray Fosse) | |||
|
The 1996 season was the Athletics' first under manager Art Howe. It was also the team's fourth consecutive losing season. The reasons behind Oakland's mediocrity remained the same; a below-average offense failed to offset an awful pitching staff. The Athletics' starting rotation, once again, was in shambles; none of the Athletics' six primary starters (Don Wengert, Doug Johns, John Wasdin, Ariel Prieto, Steve Wojciechowski, and Dave Telgheder) managed to win more than eight games. Oakland's bullpen also ranked among the league's worst. Reliever Carlos Reyes lead all pitchers in strikeouts with 78. All told, the A's boasted a team ERA of 5.20; this was the 10th best total in the 14-team American League.
The Athletics' offense was only slightly better. As had been the case in prior years, slugger Mark McGwire (his final full season as an Athletic) was the main draw; he crushed a league-high (and Oakland franchise record) 52 home runs in 1996. Designated hitter Gerónimo Berroa and catcher Terry Steinbach belted 36 and 35 home runs, respectively; secondary hitters Scott Brosius, Jason Giambi, and Ernie Young contributed 22, 20, and 19. The Athletics, as a team, hit 243 home runs (the American League's third-most); a low team batting average, however, ensured that they would finish the season with only 861 runs (the American League's 10th best total).
The Athletics hovered around the .500-mark for almost all of the season. They were not expected to contend in 1996, and indeed did not; they ultimately finished 12 games behind the first-time AL West Champion Texas Rangers.