A's History: Hall of Famer From Across the Bay
This year could very well be the last season of baseball in Oakland for the A's, and with that in mind, we thought it would be fitting to remember every player that has worn an A's jersey at some point in time. That is why, every day this year we are celebrating A's history by talking about a slew of players on their birthdays.
This week we've changed up the format a little bit. With so many birthdays in recent days, we're going to start really focusing on one or two players from the day's list and talking more about their careers while still mentioning everyone.
Today's birthdays: Rico Garcia, Ryon Healy, Matt Roney, Adam Kennedy, Chuck Dobson, Willie McCovey, Ted Bowsfield and Bill Lillard. Drew Steckenrider is also celebrating a birthday today, and while he signed with the A's last off-season, he never pitched for the A's.
Adam Kennedy
Kennedy was born in 1976 in Riverside, CA and was selected 20th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1997 Draft. This is the same Draft that saw future A Jack Cust go 30th to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kennedy climbed through the minors quickly, making his MLB debut in '99 with St. Louis, getting into 33 late-season games. The following spring he was part of the deal that sent outfielder Jim Edmonds from the Angels to the Cardinals.
He spent seven seasons in Southern California, batting a cumulative .280 with a .334 OBP and a 91 OPS+, but he hit .308 with 13 rbi in five postseason series with the Angels, and helped them secure the only World Series win in franchise history in their lone appearance in 2002. He also won the ALCS MVP that year.
He signed as a free agent with the Cardinals in 2007, but was released ahead of the '09 campaign and was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa traded him to Oakland in early May, and Kennedy played 82 games at third base and another 50 at second for the A's while hitting .289 with a .348 OBP. It was one of the better offensive seasons of his career.
A's third baseman Eric Chavez was dealing with a herniated disc in his back that season and ended up playing his last game on April 24th. Nomar Garciaparra and Jack Hanahan originally got a look at third, but Kennedy was brought in pretty quickly to take over the bulk of the playing time. Bobby Crosby also got some time at the hot corner later in the year.
Kennedy ended up playing three more seasons with the Nationals, Mariners, and Dodgers before retiring following the 2012 season.
Willie McCovey
Hall of Famer Willie McCovey was born in 1938 in Mobile, AL and signed with the New York Giants in 1955 as an amateur free agent. He played a total of 22 seasons, 19 with the Giants. He debuted with San Francisco the year after they moved across the country, and in 1959 he hit .354 with a .429 OBP as a 21-year-old, earning him Rookie of the Year honors.
In 1963 he hit a league-high 44 homers and earned his first All-Star nod. He'd lead the league in home runs two more times, first with 36 in 1968, and then with 45 in 1969 when he also won his first and only MVP award, just nudging out Tom Seaver. His final season with the Giants in his first go-round was in 1973, and he held a 162 OPS+ at the age of 35.
The Giants traded him in October of 1973 to the San Diego Padres, and after two solid seasons with them, he struggled for the first time in his career at the age of 37, posting an 82 OPS+ through 71 games. McCovey had been at least above average in every season up to that point. The A's purchased him from the Padres on August 30, 1976, and he played in a total of 11 games with Oakland as the team's DH.
McCovey was granted free agency following the 1976 campaign and landed back with the San Francisco Giants. He'd finish 20th in the MVP voting in his age 39 season after batting .280 with a .367 OBP and a 132 OPS+. The slugger last played in 1980 and finished his career with 521 home runs, which is currently tied for 20th with Frank Thomas and Ted Williams. Ten of the players ahead of McCovey have slugged their way onto the list since he retired.
The legendary first baseman passed away in 2018.
Rico Garcia (1994) Signed on with the A's ahead of the 2023 season and started the year in the minor leagues before working his way up to Oakland. He totaled 8 2/3 innings with the team last season before being granted free agency in July. He signed on with the Nationals a few days later, and re-signed with them this off-season.
Ryon Healy (1992) He made quite an impression on A's fans in his rookie year in 2016, batting .305 and putting up a 132 OPS+ in 72 games. He followed that up with a 25 home run campaign in 2017, which led to him getting traded to the Seattle Mariners after the 2017 season in exchange for Emilio Pagán. Healy last played in the big leagues in 2020.
Matt Roney (1980) Roney spent most of his two year career with the Detroit Tigers, tossing 100 innings for them in 2003. In 2006 he landed with the A's and tossed four innings and gave up two runs.
Chuck Dobson (1944-2021) Started his career in Kansas City in 1966, then moved to Oakland with the club in '68. He missed the 1972 season after having elbow surgery and only pitched 2 1/3 innings with the A's in '73, and was traded to the Angels for '74, missing the A's dynasty nearly completely. Dobson was also the first active player in baseball to admit to using greenies in Ball Four.
Ted Bowsfield (1935) Bowsfield spent the final two years of his career with the Kansas City A's in 1963-64. He was one of the California Angels' expansion draft selections in 1961.
Bill Lillard (1918-2009) Lillard got into 80 games with the Philadelphia A's in 1939-40, primarily as the team's shortstop.
Tomorrow's birthdays: Cody McKay, Don Mossi, Loren Babe, Frank Fanovich, Elmer Flick