Today I'll be highlighting Oakland's all-time leaders in Opening Day starts... which is something permanently set in stone unless the A's return to the East Bay sometime in the future.
Starting Pitcher: Dave Stewart (6 Opening Day Starts)
1992 Fleer Ultra #117
Stew is the perfect guy to kick off this post, because he's an Oakland native. He won his first four Opening Day starts before getting a no-decision in his fifth and losing his sixth. His combined ERA for those six games was 2.24... which is pretty darn impressive.
1983 Topps #286
Rick Langford is right behind him with five Opening Day starts. He was part of the Oakland A's starting rotation from my childhood that also included guys like Mike Norris, Brian Kingman, Matt Keough, and Steve McCatty.
Catcher: Terry Steinbach (9)
1996 Score #95
Steinbach was the starting Opening Day catcher a record nine consecutive times from 1988 to 1996. He had a pair of three hit games in the time span, but his brightest moment is arguably the grand slam he hit against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994.
2011 Topps #79
Kurt Suzuki is #2 on the list with five Opening Day starts.
First Baseman: Mark McGwire (9)
1992 Upper Deck #153
Out of McGwire's 583 career home runs, only one took place when he was an Opening Day starter with the A's. It was off Mark Langston back in 1989. He started three Opening Day games with the St. Louis Cardinals and hit two more.
Harry Davis is the all-time franchise leader with ten Opening Day starts. All ten were during the Philadelphia years.
Second Baseman: Mark Ellis (8)
2006 Topps #219
Ellis was the A's primary second basemen during the 2000's. He struggled at the plate (3 for 25) in his eight Opening Day starts with the A's, but did manage to hit a home run off of Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2008.
1971 O-Pee-Chee #258
Dick Green was the A's Opening Day starter ten times, but four of them were during the Kansas City years.
Third Baseman: Eric Chavez (10)
1999 Topps #250
Steinbach wasn't the only Oakland Athletic to start nine consecutive Opening Day games for the A's. Chavez represented them at third from 1999 to 2007. His best performance was in the 2002 Opener when he went 2 for 4 with a double and home run against the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum.
1986 Topps #134
1973 Topps #155
Third base might just be the most stable position in Oakland A's history. Out of the fifty-seven seasons in Oakland, twenty-eight of the Opening Day starters were among three players: Chavez, Carney Lansford (9), and Sal Bando (9).
Shortstop: Bert Campaneris (8)
1969 Topps #495
Finally a representative from The Swingin' A's. Campaneris was the Opening Day starter for the A's ten times, but two of them were during the Kansas City years. Unfortunately he didn't really have any standout performances at the plate in those eight games. On a positive note, the A's won six of those games.
Marcus Semien is second on Oakland's list with six Opening day starts.
2003 Fleer Ultra #127
That kinda surprised me. I would have guessed Miguel Tejada (5).
Left Fielder: Rickey Henderson (12)
1983 Fleer #519
Rickey is the greatest Oakland Athletic of all-time... and he holds the franchise record for most Opening Day starts. He collected a hit safely in eleven of those games with a .318 average, 13 runs scored, 14 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Not too shabby.
1972 Topps #209
If third base is the most stable position in Oakland A's history, left field is probably the least. Joe Rudi is the only other Oakland Athletic to start in left more than two times.
Center Fielder: Dwayne Murphy (8)
1983 O-Pee-Chee #184
I grew up watching Rickey in left, Tony Armas in right, and Murphy patrolling in center. Good times.
Murphy was known for his glove more than his bat. That being said, he was a solid 8 for 29 at the plate in those eight Opening Day games.
1993 Topps #473
1975 Topps #121
Dave Henderson and Bill North are tied for second with five Opening Day starts in center field each.
Right Fielder: Reggie Jackson (8)
1974 Topps #130
Reggie felt that fans would remember him best for his years with the New York Yankees. That's fair.
Just remember that he won more World Series titles and played twice as many games and seasons in Oakland. Plus he started in right field five more times in Oakland than he did in New York.
His best Opening Day performance for the A's was April 4th, 1974 against the Texas Rangers when he went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a home run.
1992 Score #500
1985 Topps #778
1980 Topps #391
Who's second on the list? It's a three-way tie between Jose Canseco, Mike Davis, and Tony Armas. Each started for the Oakland A's in right field five times.
Designated Hitter: Geronimo Berroa, Erubiel Durazo, & Khris Davis (3t)
1997 UD Collector's Choice #185
2004 Upper Deck #410
2020 Topps #527
All three of these guys were successful as Opening Day designated hitters for the Athletics. Berroa and Davis each hit two home runs in their three appearances and Durazo added another one in his very first at bat with the A's in 2003.
Well there you have it: OAKLAND's all-time leaders in Opening Day starts. Sorry this post is a week late. What started in my head as a three to four hour post ended up taking me a lot longer. But it was totally worth it, because I got a chance to research and learn some new things about my favorite MLB franchise. Hope you enjoyed it.
Happy Wednesday and sayonara!
