The Oakland A's Are Ballin' On A Budget

Jonny Gomes poppin' bottles to celebrate the A's unlikely 2012 AL West title

By now the secret of long-time Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane and his "moneyball" strategy of running his team has been exposed to the masses through a best-selling book and subsequent full-length feature film starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. I am not going to get into all that but if you have not read the book or seen the movie I recommend you do so as they are both excellent. The fact of the matter is, Beane's strategy continues to work and his teams continue to overachieve, and win. 2013 should be no different, yet the Athletics will once again be underrated heading into the season. Let us take a look at what Beane has been able to do over the past 15 years with one of the lowest payrolls in the entire league over that time span.

Billy Beane became the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics on October 17, 1997 after a disappointing 65-97 campaign for the A's. The team improved steadily over Beane's first 5 seasons at the helm, culminating in a 103 win season in 2002 and a loss in the ALDS. In fact, Billy's A's have reached 100 wins twice in his 15 seasons, made the playoffs 6 times, and have only had 5 losing seasons. These statistics all sound somewhat normal, until you factor in team payroll. The A's since 1998 have averaged the 24th lowest payroll in the league, out of 30 teams. From 2000 to 2003 the A's had the 25th, 29th, 28th and 23rd highest payrolls respectively. They made the playoffs each of those years and topped 100 wins twice. Amazing. The Oakland A's payroll in 2002, the year they won 103 games, came in at just under $40 million. The division rival Texas Rangers spent $105 million that year, and finished last in the AL West at 72-90. The A's seem to get it done every year with a microscopic budget, while teams like the Cubs and Mets spend hundreds of millions and still disappoint.

2012 was no different. With the second lowest payroll in the league at $55 million, the A's were expected to round out the bottom of a stacked AL West featuring the powerhouse Angels ($154 million) and Rangers ($120 million). Instead, The Athletics shocked the baseball world by winning the division and making the playoffs after a 1-game play-in versus said Rangers, who had reached the World Series in each of the past 2 seasons. They got solid seasons out of role players like Seth Smith, Jonny Gomes, and Brandon Moss. Former Red Sox outfielder Josh Reddick had a breakout year, smashing 32 home runs and providing 4.8 WAR. Cuban import Yoenis Cespedes had a 3.1 WAR rookie season and Chris Carter hit 16 dingers in 260 plate appearances. Up and down their lineup the A's received contributions. The pitching however, was the true X factor.

Oakland's starting rotation in 2012 was one which had lost 5 starters from the previous year. They were predicted to struggle and be unable to provide significant quality starts. What occurred was the polar opposite. Veterans Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colon performed solidly while rookies Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, and A.J. Griffin (combined 6 (!!!) major league starts coming into 2012) really came into their own and defied expectations. 30 year old journeyman Travis Blackley was picked up off waivers from the giants and turned into a key piece for the A's, appearing in 28 games and making 15 starts, both career highs. Brett Anderson came back from injury late in the season and torched the opposition to the tune of a 67 FIP- (33% above league average) in 6 starts, as well as pitching 6 scoreless innings in a playoff game against the Tigers. The A's young rotation managed to post the 3rd best ERA in the AL. Ryan Cook, Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour had terrific seasons in the bullpen. The kids were not flustered and everything broke right for Oakland's pitchers.

Oakland's 2012 season was yet another odd-defying feat that Billy Beane's A's seem to pull off every year. The A's are once again going to be a new look team in 2013, and once again they will predict to disappoint. Gone are key players Carter, McCarthy, Gomes and Cliff Pennington among others. New arrivals include John Jaso, Jed Lowrie, Chris Young and Japanese import Hiroyuki Nakajima. The pitching stays largely the same save for McCarthy, although it is realistic to expect Parker, Milone and Griffin to regress, as the league has had a chance to scout them for a full year. Their payroll is projected to be around $60 million, higher than only the Pirates, Marlins and Astros. I am a fan of the changes to the lineup and the position players they have brought in however, and I will be watching closely for the A's and Billy Beane to once again be contenders come September, as the next chapter in the moneyball era is written.