The Kansas City Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 season involved the A's finishing 10th in the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 with a record of 57 wins and 105 losses.

Offseason

In January 1964, Charles O. Finley signed an agreement to move the A’s to Louisville

Cardinal Stadium

Cardinal Stadium is the name of a former college and minor league baseball and college football stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. It is on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, and was called Fairgrounds Stadium when it first opened its doors to baseball in 1957.The lone Bluegrass Bowl was...

, 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 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

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

.

• On February 23, 1964, Charlie Finley had signed a four year lease to remain in Kansas City. The club would pay no rent on the 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.

Notable transactions

• October 7, 1963: Sammy Esposito
  Sammy Esposito
  Samuel Esposito is a retired American professional baseball player. A third Baseman and shortstop, he played Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Athletics and helped the White Sox win the 1959 American League pennant.After graduating from Chicago's Christian...
  
   was released by the Athletics.
• November 27, 1963: Norm Siebern
  Norm Siebern
  Norman Leroy Siebern was a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox from to . His best season came in with the A's, when he hit 25 home runs, had 117 runs batted in and a .308...
  
   was traded by the Athletics to the Baltimore Orioles
  Baltimore Orioles
  The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
  
   for Jim Gentile
  Jim Gentile
  James Edward Gentile , also nicknamed "Diamond Jim", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers ; Baltimore Orioles , Kansas City Athletics , Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians .A powerful slugger listed at 6' 4",...
  
   and $25,000.
• December 2, 1963: John Donaldson
  John Donaldson (second baseman)
  John David Donaldson is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1966-1969 and in 1970 and 1974, primarily for the Athletics, in Kansas City and in Oakland.-External links:...
  
   was selected by the Athletics from the Minnesota Twins
  Minnesota Twins
  The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
  
   in the rule 5 draft
  Rule 5 draft
  The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to...
  
  .

Regular season

• The club set a franchise record by hitting 107 home runs during home games. The pitching staff also gave up 132 home runs during home games. At the time, it was a major league record.

• Draft pick Catfish Hunter was not able to pitch in 1964. He was sent to the Mayo Clinic, as surgeons worked on his right foot. Hunter recovered at Charlie Finley's farm in Lapointe, Indiana.

• Bert Campaneris made his Major League Debut on July 23, 1964. In his debut, he hit two HRs off Jim Kaat
  Jim Kaat
  James Lee "Jim" Kaat , nicknamed "Kitty", is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees , and St...
  
  .

• On September 5, Blue Moon Odom
  Blue Moon Odom
  Johnny Lee Odom was a Major League Baseball pitcher who won three consecutive World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in , and .-Early years:...
  
   made his major league debut against the New York Yankees
  1964 New York Yankees season
  The New York Yankees season was the 62nd season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 99-63, winning their 29th pennant, finishing 1 game ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Yogi Berra. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they were defeated...
  
  . Odom pitched 2 innings, giving up 6 earned run
  Earned run
  In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
  
  s on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out one.

• On September 17, 1964, the Beatles played in Kansas City. Charlie Finley promoted the concert and had a photo of himself in a Beatles wig printed on the back of all concert tickets. It was the only concert on the Beatles tour that did not sell out.

Notable transactions

• June 8, 1964: Catfish Hunter
  Catfish Hunter
  James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter , was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1965-1979 for both the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees...
  
   was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.
• June 13, 1964: Joe Rudi
  Joe Rudi
  Joseph Oden Rudi is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics , California Angels and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...
  
   was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.

Roster

1964 Kansas City Athletics
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

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
	104	100	20	.200	0	3

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
	5	17	1	2	10.06	10

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

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
	50	4	7	0	4.10	45
	9	0	1	0	8.82	7

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.