1964 Kansas City Athletics season

The 1964 Kansas City Athletics season was the tenth for the franchise in Kansas City and the 64th overall. It involved the A's finishing tenth in the American League with a record of 57 wins, 105 losses and one tie,[1] 42 games behind the American League Champion New York Yankees.

1964 Kansas City Athletics
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
OwnersCharles O. Finley
General managersPat Friday
ManagersEd Lopat, Mel McGaha
Local televisionKCMO
Local radioKCMO (AM)
(Monte Moore, George Bryson, Betty Caywood)
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Offseason
  • In January 1964, owner Charles O. Finley signed an agreement to move the A's to Louisville, promising to change the team's name to the "Kentucky Athletics".[2][3] (Other names suggested for the team were the "Kentucky Colonels" and the "Louisville Sluggers.") By another 9–1 vote by the league owners, his request was denied.[4][5][6] Six weeks later, by the same 9–1 margin, the A.L. owners denied Finley's request to move the team to Oakland, where the team would eventually move after the 1967 season.
  • On February 28, Finley signed a four-year lease to remain in Kansas City.[7][8] The club would pay no rent at Municipal 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.[9]
  • In early April, Finley tried to shorten the rather distant fences at the stadium by creating a 296-foot (90 m) Pennant Porch in right field, fronting a tiny bleacher section, to mock the famed short fence in right field at Yankee Stadium, home of the powerful Yankees.[10][11] The move was quickly vetoed by the league,[12] so Finley rebuilt the fence to the bare legal minimum of 325 feet (99 m), and repainted the fence to say "One-Half Pennant Porch".[13][14] Later he tried the ruse of putting a canopy over the little bleacher, which just happened to have an extension that reached out 29 feet (9 m) over the field. The league, not amused by Finley's sense of humor, again ordered him to cease and desist.

Notable transactions

Regular season
  • The club set a franchise record by hitting 107 home runs during home games, while the A's pitching staff gave up 132 home runs during home games. At the time, it was a major league record.[18]
  • Eighteen-year-old free agent Catfish Hunter was not able to pitch in 1964. He was sent to the Mayo Clinic, as surgeons worked on his right foot, which had been injured in a hunting accident the previous autumn. Hunter recovered at Finley's farm in La Porte, Indiana.[19]
  • Shortstop Bert Campaneris made his major league debut on July 23 at Minnesota, and hit two home runs off Jim Kaat in the first (first pitch) and seventh innings; joining the team earlier that day, he also singled, walked, and stole a base.[20][21][22][23]
  • On September 5, 19-year-old Blue Moon Odom made his major league debut against the visiting New York Yankees. Odom started but lasted just two innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout. The A's tied the game in the third inning, so he did not get the loss.[24][25]
  • On September 17, the A's were away on an eastern road trip and The Beatles played Municipal Stadium as part of their first U.S. tour.[26] The date was originally supposed to be an off-day for the band between concerts in New Orleans and Dallas, but they agreed to perform when Finley offered their manager Brian Epstein a then-record sum of $150,000 (equivalent to $1.14 million in 2014). The group opened the half-hour Thursday night concert by saluting the host town with their medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey";[27] a month later, they would record the medley for their fourth studio album, Beatles for Sale.

Season standings
American League W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9963 0.611 — 50–31 49–32
Chicago White Sox 9864 0.605 1 52–29 46–35
Baltimore Orioles 9765 0.599 2 49–32 48–33
Detroit Tigers 8577 0.525 14 46–35 39–42
Los Angeles Angels 8280 0.506 17 45–36 37–44
Cleveland Indians 7983 0.488 20 41–40 38–43
Minnesota Twins 7983 0.488 20 40–41 39–42
Boston Red Sox 7290 0.444 27 45–36 27–54
Washington Senators 62100 0.383 37 31–50 31–50
Kansas City Athletics 57105 0.352 42 26–55 31–50

Record vs. opponents
1964 American League record

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KCA LAA MIN NYY WSH
Baltimore —11–710–88–1011–713–5–111–710–810–813–5
Boston 7–11—4–149–95–1312–69–95–139–912–6
Chicago 8–1014–4—12–611–716–210–89–96–1212–6
Cleveland 10–89–96–12—11–710–89–910–8–13–15–111–7
Detroit 7–1113–57–117–11—11–710–811–78–10–111–7
Kansas City 5–13–16–122–168–107–11—6–129–96–128–10
Los Angeles 7–119–98–109–98–1012–6—12–67–1110–8
Minnesota 8–1013–59–98–10–17–119–96–12—8–1011–7
New York 8–109–912–615–3–110–8–112–611–710–8—12–6
Washington 5–136–126–127–117–1110–88–107–116–12—

Notable transactions
  • June 8, 1964: Catfish Hunter was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.[28]
  • June 13, 1964: Joe Rudi was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.[29]

Roster
1964 Kansas City Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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
CDoc Edwards9729466.224528
1BJim Gentile136439110.2512871
2BDick Green130435115.2641137
3BEd Charles150557134.2411663
SSWayne Causey157604170.281849
LFManny Jiménez9520446.2251238
CFNelson Mathews157573137.2391460
RFRocky Colavito160588161.27434102

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
Bert Campaneris6726969.257422
Billy Bryan9322053.2411336
George Alusik10220449.240319
Ken Harrelson4913927.194712
Charley Lau4311832.27129
José Tartabull10410020.20003
Tommie Reynolds319419.20229
George Williams379119.20902
Rick Joseph175412.22201
Dave Duncan25539.17015
Charlie Shoemaker165211.21203
Larry Stahl154612.26136
John Wojcik6223.13600
Gino Cimoli490.00000

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
Orlando Peña40219.112144.43184
Diego Seguí40217.08174.56155
John O'Donohue39173.210144.9279
Bob Meyer942.0143.8630
Blue Moon Odom517.01210.0610
Lew Krausse Jr.514.2027.369

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
Moe Drabowski53168.15135.29119
Ted Bowsfield50118.2474.1045
José Santiago3483.2064.7364
Aurelio Monteagudo1131.1048.9014

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
John Wyatt8198203.5974
Wes Stock506351.94101
Ken Sanders210213.6718
Joe Grzenda200205.4017
Dan Pfister191506.5321
Vern Handrahan180106.0618
Jack Aker90108.827
Tom Sturdivant30009.821

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
  • The A's scouts had signed 80 prospects for $650,000, at the time, the most money spent on prospects in one year.[23]
Level Team League Manager
AAA Dallas Rangers Pacific Coast League John McNamara
AA Birmingham Barons Southern League Haywood Sullivan
A Daytona Beach Islanders Florida State League Grady Wilson, Bill Posedel
and Lew Krausse, Sr.
A Burlington Bees Midwest League Bill Robertson
A Lewiston Broncos Northwest League Bobby Hofman
Rookie Wytheville A's Appalachian League Gus Niarhos

References
  1. "Here are the stories behind seven of the wildest tie games in Major League history". MLB.com. December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  2. "Louisville and Finley sign two-year conditional pact". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. January 7, 1964. p. 12.
  3. "Finley Signs Contract to Transfer Athletics to Louisville". New York Times. January 6, 1964. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  4. Reichler, Joe (January 17, 1964). "Finley must remain in K.C. or possibly lose his club". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 11.
  5. "Finley is ready for court fight". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. January 18, 1964. p. 8.
  6. John Drebinger (January 18, 1964). "Finley Will Open in Kansas City, But Promises Court Action Soon". New York Times.
  7. "Finley loves us, for a while". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. February 29, 1964. p. 7.
  8. "A's owner signs pact with city". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. February 29, 1964. p. 12.
  9. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.73, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  10. Van Valkenburg, Jim (April 10, 1964). "Finley's Pennant Porch set". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 11.
  11. "Finley building Yankee-style 'Pennant Porch' in A's park". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. April 10, 1964. p. 14.
  12. "Finley says he'll defy edict to dismantle 'Yankee' fence". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. April 12, 1964. p. 11.
  13. Van Valkenburg, Jim (April 14, 1964). "Finley now has Half-Porch and will continue a fight". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 11.
  14. Rathet, Mike (April 22, 1964). "Pennant Porch no answer to Kansas Dity's problem". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 15.
  15. Sammy Esposito page at Baseball Reference
  16. Norm Siebern page at Baseball Reference
  17. John Donaldson page at Baseball Reference
  18. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.75, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  19. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.81, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  20. "Campaneris slams two HR's in first major league game". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 24, 1964. p. 5B.
  21. "A's rookie Campaneris is hero in first appearance". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. July 24, 1964. p. 10.
  22. "Athletics' rookie has terrific start". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. July 24, 1964. p. 20.
  23. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.79, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  24. "Pepitone powers Yanks". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. September 6, 1964. p. 1C.
  25. Blue Moon Odom page at Baseball Reference
  26. "Beatles look like worms in lighted box Thursday". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. September 18, 1964. p. 5.
  27. Finley, Nancy. Finley Ball: How Two Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever. Washington, DC: Salem Media Group, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  28. Catfish Hunter page at Baseball Reference
  29. Joe Rudi page at Baseball Reference
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