Righty swinging outfielder Jose Canseco was a freak of nature as a player. Not many guys could hit the ball farther then he could, but he had helpers. In his book “Juiced” he admitted using steroids and injecting other players (Mark McGwire among the many) with them. No one has sued Jose Canseco yet, so he must be telling the truth. Canseco burst onto the scene in 1986 with the A’s when he won the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Canseco played in 157 games for the A’s in 1986 and he was 144 for 600 (.240 avg, .775 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 33 homers, 117 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He also made the All-Star team in 1986 and he was 20th in the MVP Voting. Canseco then turned in a monster season in 1988 for the A’s. Canseco played in 158 games for the A’s in 1988 and he was 187 for 610 (.307 avg, .959 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 42 homers (led the majors), 124 RBIs (led the majors) and a incredible 40 stolen bases. Canseco was named the MVP of the American League in 1988. Canseco also won a Silver Slugger Award and made the All-Star team in 1988. Canseco played in 1,058 games in 9 years with the A’s and he was 1,048 for 3,970 (.264 avg, .851 OPS) with 662 runs scored, 254 homers, 793 RBIs and 135 stolen bases. Canseco is 4th in A’s history in homers with 254. He is also tied for 10th in OPS (.851) and he’s #6 in RBIs (793) in A’s history. Jose Canseco might have been the biggest cheater in baseball, but none of his numbers have an asterisk by them in the record books.

Sidewinding righty closer Dennis Eckersley got into Baseball’ Hall of Fame in 2004 based mostly on his time with the A’s. In 1990, Eckersley was simply amazing as he worked in 63 games (0 starts) in which he was 4-2 with 48 saves, a 0.61 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP. He only gave up 41 hits while walking 4 batters in 73 1/3 innings and he whiffed 73 batters showing just how nasty he was in 1990. In 1992, Eckersley won both the Cy Young and MVP Awards in the American League. Eckersley pitched in 69 games (0 starts) in 1992 for the A’s and he was 7-1 with 51 saves, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He pitched in 525 games (2 starts) in his 9 years with the A’s and he was 41-31 with 320 saves, a 2.74 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Eckersley made 4 All-Star teams in his 9 years with the A’s. He is still the A’s all-time leader in games pitched (525), saves (320) and WHIP (0.95). He is also #9 in A’s history in ERA with a 2.74 mark. Eckersley was one of the best pitchers in A’s history.

In 1980, righty starting pitcher Matt Keough was a very solid pitcher for the A’s. He pitched in 34 games (32 starts) for the A’s in 1980 and he was 16-13 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Keough had 20 complete games and 2 shutouts during the 1980 season as manager Billy Martin rode him hard. Keough was never the same after the 1980 season. He pitched in 170 games (155 starts) in his 7 years with the A’s and he was 50-75 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.

Back in 1965, the Kansas City A’s made lefty swinging outfielder Rick Monday the first ever #1 overall pick of the Amateur Draft in Major League History. Monday played for the K.C./Oakland A’s from 1966-1971. He played in 639 games for the A’s and he was 542 of 2,059 (.263 avg, .780 OPS) with 285 runs scored, 62 homers, 256 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. Monday went on to play 19 years in the majors, appearing in 1,986 games in which he was 1,619 of 6,136 (.264 avg, .804 OPS) with 950 runs scored, 241 homers, 775 RBIs and 98 stolen bases. Monday made 2 All-Star Games in his major league career. Monday was solid with the A’s, but his career took off after he left Oakland.

3B Sal Bando played 11 years with the K.C. and Oakland Athletics. He was a four time All-Star in his time in Oakland. Bando played in 1,468 games for the A’s and he was 1,311 of 5,145 (.255 avg, .776 OPS) with 737 runs scored, 192 homers, 796 RBIs and he stole 60 bases. Bando is #4 all-time in games played (1,468) in A’s history and he is also #9 in homers (192), #5 in RBIs (796) and he is #6 in walks (792). Bando was one of the best 3B in A’s history despite never really being a dominant player.