1964 Kansas City Athletics season

1964  Kansas City Athletics
League	American League
Ballpark	Municipal Stadium
City	Kansas City, Missouri
Owners	Charles O. Finley
General managers	Pat Friday
Managers	Ed Lopat, Mel McGaha
Television	KCMO
Radio	KCMO (AM) (Monte Moore, George Bryson, Betty Caywood)
←  1963 1965  →

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.

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

• October 7, 1963: Sammy Esposito was released by the Athletics. ^[15]
• November 27, 1963: Norm Siebern was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Jim Gentile and $25,000. ^[16]
• December 2, 1963: John Donaldson was selected by the Athletics from the Minnesota Twins in the rule 5 draft. ^[17]

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

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	99	63	.611	—	50‍–‍31	49‍–‍32
Chicago White Sox	98	64	.605	1	52‍–‍29	46‍–‍35
Baltimore Orioles	97	65	.599	2	49‍–‍32	48‍–‍33
Detroit Tigers	85	77	.525	14	46‍–‍35	39‍–‍42
Los Angeles Angels	82	80	.506	17	45‍–‍36	37‍–‍44
Cleveland Indians	79	83	.488	20	41‍–‍40	38‍–‍43
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	20	40‍–‍41	39‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	72	90	.444	27	45‍–‍36	27‍–‍54
Washington Senators	62	100	.383	37	31‍–‍50	31‍–‍50
Kansas City Athletics	57	105	.352	42	26‍–‍55	31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

1964 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KCA	LAA	MIN	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	11–7	10–8	8–10	11–7	13–5–1	11–7	10–8	10–8	13–5
Boston	7–11	—	4–14	9–9	5–13	12–6	9–9	5–13	9–9	12–6
Chicago	8–10	14–4	—	12–6	11–7	16–2	10–8	9–9	6–12	12–6
Cleveland	10–8	9–9	6–12	—	11–7	10–8	9–9	10–8–1	3–15–1	11–7
Detroit	7–11	13–5	7–11	7–11	—	11–7	10–8	11–7	8–10–1	11–7
Kansas City	5–13–1	6–12	2–16	8–10	7–11	—	6–12	9–9	6–12	8–10
Los Angeles	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–9	8–10	12–6	—	12–6	7–11	10–8
Minnesota	8–10	13–5	9–9	8–10–1	7–11	9–9	6–12	—	8–10	11–7
New York	8–10	9–9	12–6	15–3–1	10–8–1	12–6	11–7	10–8	—	12–6
Washington	5–13	6–12	6–12	7–11	7–11	10–8	8–10	7–11	6–12	—

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 21 Jack Aker 43 Ted Bowsfield 25 Moe Drabowsky 36 Joe Grzenda 19 Vern Handrahan 21,31 Lew Krausse Jr. 30 Bob Meyer 31 Aurelio Monteagudo 26 John O'Donoghue 13 Blue Moon Odom 22,24 Orlando Peña 27 Dan Pfister 27 Ken Sanders 21 José Santiago 17 Diego Seguí 18 Wes Stock 18 Tom Sturdivant 33 John Wyatt		Catchers  9 Billy Bryan 11 Dave Duncan 10 Doc Edwards 14 Charley Lau Infielders 19 Bert Campaneris  2 Wayne Causey 16 Ed Charles  6 Jim Gentile  1 Dick Green 20 Rick Joseph 14 Charlie Shoemaker  8 George Williams		Outfielders  3 George Alusik  4 Gino Cimoli  7 Rocky Colavito  4 Ken Harrelson 12,20 Manny Jiménez  5 Nelson Mathews 35 Tommie Reynolds 14 Larry Stahl 15 José Tartabull  4 John Wojcik		Manager 30 Eddie Lopat 41 Mel McGaha Coaches 44 Luke Appling 48 Babe Dahlgren 40 Jimmy Dykes 49 Tom Ferrick 41 Mel McGaha 42 Gus Niarhos

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

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	Doc Edwards	97	294	66	.224	5	28
1B	Jim Gentile	136	439	110	.251	28	71
2B	Dick Green	130	435	115	.264	11	37
3B	Ed Charles	150	557	134	.241	16	63
SS	Wayne Causey	157	604	170	.281	8	49
LF	Manny Jiménez	95	204	46	.225	12	38
CF	Nelson Mathews	157	573	137	.239	14	60
RF	Rocky Colavito	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
Bert Campaneris	67	269	69	.257	4	22
Billy Bryan	93	220	53	.241	13	36
George Alusik	102	204	49	.240	3	19
Ken Harrelson	49	139	27	.194	7	12
Charley Lau	43	118	32	.271	2	9
José Tartabull	104	100	20	.200	0	3
Tommie Reynolds	31	94	19	.202	2	9
George Williams	37	91	19	.209	0	2
Rick Joseph	17	54	12	.222	0	1
Dave Duncan	25	53	9	.170	1	5
Charlie Shoemaker	16	52	11	.212	0	3
Larry Stahl	15	46	12	.261	3	6
John Wojcik	6	22	3	.136	0	0
Gino Cimoli	4	9	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

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 Peña	40	219.1	12	14	4.43	184
Diego Seguí	40	217.0	8	17	4.56	155
John O'Donohue	39	173.2	10	14	4.92	79
Bob Meyer	9	42.0	1	4	3.86	30
Blue Moon Odom	5	17.0	1	2	10.06	10
Lew Krausse Jr.	5	14.2	0	2	7.36	9

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 Drabowski	53	168.1	5	13	5.29	119
Ted Bowsfield	50	118.2	4	7	4.10	45
José Santiago	34	83.2	0	6	4.73	64
Aurelio Monteagudo	11	31.1	0	4	8.90	14

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 Wyatt	81	9	8	20	3.59	74
Wes Stock	50	6	3	5	1.94	101
Ken Sanders	21	0	2	1	3.67	18
Joe Grzenda	20	0	2	0	5.40	17
Dan Pfister	19	1	5	0	6.53	21
Vern Handrahan	18	0	1	0	6.06	18
Jack Aker	9	0	1	0	8.82	7
Tom Sturdivant	3	0	0	0	9.82	1

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

External links

• 1964 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1964 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com