1996 Oakland Athletics season

1996 Oakland Athletics
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Cashman Field (6 games, temporary) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
City	Oakland, California
Record	78–84 (.481)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	Stephen Schott Ken Hofmann
General managers	Sandy Alderson
Managers	Art Howe
Television	KRON-TV Sports Channel Pacific (Ray Fosse, Greg Papa)
Radio	KFRC (Bill King, Ken Korach, Ray Fosse)
Seasons

The Oakland Athletics' 1996 season was the team's 29th in Oakland, California. It was also the 96th season in franchise history. The team finished third in the American League West with a record of 78–84.

The 1996 season was the Athletics' first under manager Art Howe. It was also the team's fourth consecutive losing season. The reasons behind Oakland's mediocrity remained the same; a below-average offense failed to offset an awful pitching staff. The Athletics' starting rotation, once again, was in shambles; none of the Athletics' six primary starters (Don Wengert, Doug Johns, John Wasdin, Ariel Prieto, Steve Wojciechowski, and Dave Telgheder) won more than eight games. Oakland's bullpen also ranked among the league's worst. Reliever Carlos Reyes lead all pitchers in strikeouts with 78. All told, the A's boasted a team ERA of 5.20; this was the 10th best total in the 14-team American League.

The Athletics' offense was only slightly better. As had been the case in prior years, slugger Mark McGwire (his final full season as an Athletic) was the main draw; he crushed a league-high (and Oakland franchise record) 52 home runs in 1996. Designated hitter Gerónimo Berroa and catcher Terry Steinbach belted 36 and 35 home runs, respectively; secondary hitters Scott Brosius, Jason Giambi, and Ernie Young contributed 22, 20, and 19. The Athletics, as a team, hit 243 home runs (the American League's third-most); a low team batting average, however, ensured that they would finish the season with only 861 runs (the American League's 10th best total).

The Athletics hovered around the .500-mark for almost all of the season. They were not expected to contend in 1996, and indeed did not; they ultimately finished 12 games behind the first-time AL West Champion Texas Rangers.

Offseason

• November 27, 1995: Buddy Groom was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• December 5, 1995: Torey Lovullo was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• January 22, 1996: Danny Tartabull was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Chicago White Sox for Andrew Lorraine and Charles Poe (minors).
• January 22, 1996: Rafael Bournigal was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• January 29, 1996: Aaron Small was selected off waivers by the Oakland Athletics from the Seattle Mariners.
• January 29, 1996: Pedro Munoz was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• February 13, 1996: Dennis Eckersley was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Montgomery.
• March 10, 1996: Webster Garrison was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.

Regular season

Season standings

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Texas Rangers	90	72	.556	—	50‍–‍31	40‍–‍41
Seattle Mariners	85	76	.528	4½	43‍–‍38	42‍–‍38
Oakland Athletics	78	84	.481	12	40‍–‍41	38‍–‍43
California Angels	70	91	.435	19½	43‍–‍38	27‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1996 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	5–7	11–2	9–3	9–3	7–5	3–10	9–4	7–5	3–10–1	8–5
Boston	6–7	—	8–4	6–6	1–11	12–1	3–9	7–5	6–6	7–6	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5
California	6–6	4–8	—	6–6	4–9	6–6	4–8	7–5	4–8	7–6	6–7	5–8	4–9	7–5
Chicago	8–4	6–6	6–6	—	5–8	10–3	7–6	6–7	6–7	6–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	7–5
Cleveland	7–5	11–1	9–4	8–5	—	12–0	7–6	7–6	10–3	3–9	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–5
Detroit	2–11	1–12	6–6	3–10	0–12	—	6–6	4–8	6–6	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–7
Kansas City	3–9	9–3	8–4	6–7	6–7	6–6	—	4–9	6–7	4–8	5–7	7–5	6–6	5–8
Milwaukee	3–9	5–7	5–7	7–6	6–7	8–4	9–4	—	9–4	6–6	7–5	4–9	6–7	5–7
Minnesota	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–6	3–10	6–6	7–6	4–9	—	5–7	6–7	6–6	7–5	8–5
New York	10–3	6–7	6–7	7–6	9–3	8–5	8–4	6–6	7–5	—	9–3	3–9	5–7	8–5
Oakland	4–9	5–8	7–6	7–5	6–6	8–4	7–5	5–7	7–6	3–9	—	8–5	7–6	4–8
Seattle	5–7	6–7	8–5	7–5	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–4	6–6	9–3	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	10–3–1	6–6	9–4	4–8	8–4	9–4	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–5	6–7	3–10	—	10–2
Toronto	5–8	5–8	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–6	8–5	7–5	5–8	5–8	8–4	7–5	2–10	—

Game log

1996 Game Log: 78–84 (Home: 40–41; Away: 38–43)
April: 13–12 (Home: 5–7; Away: 8–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 1 Blue Jays 6–9 Hanson Reyes (0–1) Timlin 7,294 0–1 2 April 3 Blue Jays 4–10 Hentgen Prieto (0–1) — 8,050 0–2 3 April 4 Tigers 9–10 (15) Keagle Small (0–1) — 8,346 0–3 4 April 5 Tigers 13–2 Johns (1–0) Gohr — 11,149 1–3 5 April 6 Tigers 1–6 Lira Reyes (0–2) — 10,424 1–4 6 April 7 Tigers 7–6 Corsi (1–0) Williams — 9,723 2–4 7 April 9 @ Brewers 4–10 McDonald Van Poppel (0–1) — 42,090 2–5 8 April 11 @ Brewers 11–0 Johns (2–0) Karl — 12,236 3–5 9 April 12 @ White Sox 7–2 Reyes (1–2) Fernandez — 13,623 4–5 10 April 13 @ White Sox 5–6 (12) Karchner Wengert (0–1) — 15,812 4–6 11 April 14 @ White Sox 10–5 Groom (1–0) Simas — 15,236 5–6 12 April 15 @ Rangers 8–3 Mohler (1–0) Heredia — 19,312 6–6 13 April 16 @ Rangers 3–5 Witt Johns (2–1) Henneman 20,948 6–7 14 April 17 @ Rangers 1–12 Hill Reyes (1–3) — 24,120 6–8 15 April 19 White Sox 3–4 Karchner Briscoe (0–1) Hernandez 31,320 6–9 16 April 20 White Sox 3–8 Tapani Van Poppel (0–2) — 16,480 6–10 17 April 21 White Sox 6–5 Corsi (2–0) Simas Mohler (1) 16,125 7–10 18 April 22 Brewers 6–2 Reyes (2–3) Bones Briscoe (1) 6,021 8–10 19 April 23 Brewers 9–6 Wojciechowski (1–0) Sparks Mohler (2) 7,026 9–10 20 April 24 @ Blue Jays 7–6 Prieto (1–1) Hentgen Corsi (1) 28,029 10–10 21 April 25 @ Blue Jays 4–3 (11) Mohler (2–0) Crabtree — 26,163 11–10 22 April 26 @ Tigers 5–14 Christopher Johns (2–2) — 7,941 11–11 23 April 27 @ Tigers 4–1 Reyes (3–3) Lira Taylor (1) 13,067 12–11 24 April 28 @ Tigers 6–3 Wojciechowski (2–0) Gohr Taylor (2) 8,907 13–11 25 April 30 Angels 3–7 Langston Prieto (1–2) — 7,154 13–12
May: 11–16 (Home: 7–7; Away: 4–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 26 May 1 Angels 4–6 Boskie Van Poppel (0–3) Percival 6,721 13–13 27 May 2 Angels 1–3 Abbott Johns (2–3) Percival 9,102 13–14 28 May 3 @ Royals 1–3 Appier Reyes (3–4) Montgomery 14,452 13–15 29 May 4 @ Royals 5–2 Wojciechowski (3–0) Gubicza Groom (1) 15,987 14–15 30 May 5 @ Royals 0–2 Haney Prieto (1–3) — 16,589 14–16 31 May 6 Indians 5–3 Taylor (1–0) Assenmacher Mohler (3) 47,313 15–16 32 May 7 Indians 8–4 Johns (3–3) Hershiser — 10,126 16–16 33 May 8 Indians 3–7 Nagy Reyes (3–5) — 9,288 16–17 34 May 10 Twins 15–5 Wojciechowski (4–0) Rodriguez — 8,278 17–17 35 May 11 Twins 12–5 Prieto (2–3) Radke — 15,791 18–17 36 May 12 Twins 8–3 Wengert (1–1) Parra — 13,430 19–17 37 May 13 Orioles 3–4 Krivda Johns (3–4) Myers 8,204 19–18 38 May 14 Orioles 1–9 Mussina Reyes (3–6) — 8,466 19–19 39 May 17 @ Red Sox 3–5 (11) Stanton Van Poppel (0–4) — 28,690 19–20 40 May 18 @ Red Sox 6–5 (10) Groom (2–0) Garces Taylor (3) 31,663 20–20 41 May 19 @ Red Sox 2–12 Sele Wengert (1–2) — 32,601 20–21 42 May 20 @ Red Sox 4–16 Gordon Johns (3–5) — 20,890 20–22 43 May 21 @ Yankees 3–7 Gooden Reyes (3–7) — 15,614 20–23 44 May 22 @ Yankees 5–1 Wojciechowski (5–0) Pettitte Mohler (4) 18,544 21–23 45 May 23 @ Yankees 3–4 Rogers Taylor (1–1) Wetteland 19,315 21–24 46 May 24 @ Orioles 4–5 (10) McDowell Reyes (3–8) — 45,024 21–25 47 May 25 @ Orioles 6–3 Johns (4–5) Wells Groom (2) 47,353 22–25 48 May 26 @ Orioles 1–6 Mercker Chouinard (0–1) McDowell 47,401 22–26 49 May 27 Red Sox 3–10 Wakefield Wojciechowski (5–1) — 21,688 22–27 50 May 28 Red Sox 6–2 Wasdin (1–0) Clemens — 9,338 23–27 51 May 29 Red Sox 7–6 (10) Mohler (3–0) Slocumb — 8,282 24–27 52 May 31 Yankees 1–4 Key Johns (4–6) Wetteland 13,279 24–28
June: 14–15 (Home: 4–7; Away: 10–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 53 June 1 Yankees 3–6 Pettitte Chouinard (0–2) Wetteland 21,354 24–29 54 June 2 Yankees 4–11 Rogers Wojciechowski (5–2) Wetteland 26,331 24–30 55 June 3 Royals 2–1 Wasdin (2–0) Appier Taylor (4) 6,465 25–30 56 June 4 Royals 8–3 Wengert (2–2) Gubicza — 11,524 26–30 57 June 5 Royals 2–5 Haney Johns (4–7) Montgomery 8,113 26–31 58 June 7 @ Twins 6–4 Reyes (4–8) Radke Corsi (2) 14,999 27–31 59 June 8 @ Twins 2–4 Robertson Wojciechowski (5–3) Guardado — 27–32 60 June 8 @ Twins 13–7 Wasdin (3–0) Mahomes — 22,164 28–32 61 June 9 @ Twins 3–5 Rodriguez Wengert (2–3) — 13,291 28–33 62 June 10 @ Indians 4–5 Nagy Johns (4–8) Mesa 42,167 28–34 63 June 11 @ Indians 5–6 (13) Ogea Reyes (4–9) — 42,249 28–35 64 June 12 @ Indians 9–6 Montgomery (1–0) McDowell Mohler (5) 40,673 29–35 65 June 13 @ Brewers 3–16 Karl Wojciechowski (5–4) — 12,439 29–36 66 June 14 @ Brewers 2–6 Bones Wasdin (3–1) — 14,404 29–37 67 June 15 @ Brewers 9–12 Givens Wengert (2–4) Garcia 21,064 29–38 68 June 16 @ Brewers 10–9 Taylor (2–1) Fetters Mohler (6) 26,744 30–38 69 June 17 @ Tigers 8–4 (10) Corsi (3–0) Myers — 9,231 31–38 70 June 18 @ Tigers 8–5 Van Poppel (1–4) Urbani Taylor (5) 8,543 32–38 71 June 19 @ Tigers 10–3 Wasdin (4–1) Keagle — 9,875 33–38 72 June 20 Blue Jays 0–1 Hentgen Wengert (2–5) Timlin 8,027 33–39 73 June 21 Blue Jays 5–7 Quantrill Johns (4–9) Timlin 10,278 33–40 74 June 22 Blue Jays 8–4 Chouinard (1–2) Ware — 20,124 34–40 75 June 23 Blue Jays 4–5 Guzman Wojciechowski (5–5) Timlin 14,407 34–41 76 June 24 Tigers 4–2 Wasdin (5–1) Sodowsky Taylor (6) 10,122 35–41 77 June 25 Tigers 8–10 Olivares Wengert (2–6) Olson 9,652 35–42 78 June 27 @ Angels 18–2 Johns (5–9) Boskie — 23,503 36–42 79 June 28 @ Angels 6–3 Chouinard (2–2) Finley — 32,380 37–42 80 June 29 @ Angels 11–9 Groom (3–0) Monteleone — 26,565 38–42 81 June 30 @ Angels 0–1 Hancock Wasdin (5–2) Percival 19,284 38–43
July: 17–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 82 July 1 @ Mariners 6–4 Wengert (3–6) Wagner Taylor (7) 18,166 39–43 83 July 2 @ Mariners 11–6 Mohler (4–0) Charlton — 19,632 40–43 84 July 3 @ Mariners 3–4 Ayala Reyes (4–10) — 36,619 40–44 85 July 4 Angels 8–7 (11) Taylor (3–1) Monteleone — 14,144 41–44 86 July 5 Angels 16–8 Wasdin (6–2) Hancock — 36,129 42–44 87 July 6 Angels 6–5 (10) Taylor (4–1) James — 14,294 43–44 88 July 7 Angels 4–9 Boskie Johns (5–10) — 16,526 43–45 89 July 11 Rangers 8–3 Chouinard (3–2) Oliver — 13,437 44–45 90 July 12 Rangers 4–8 (10) Russell Taylor (4–2) — 12,074 44–46 91 July 13 Rangers 1–8 Pavlik Wengert (3–7) — 16,792 44–47 92 July 14 Rangers 9–1 Johns (6–10) Gross — 20,704 45–47 93 July 15 Mariners 1–5 Wolcott Telgheder (0–1) — 11,183 45–48 94 July 16 Mariners 12–5 Chouinard (4–2) Hitchcock — 15,206 46–48 95 July 17 Mariners 7–6 Corsi (4–0) Minor Taylor (8) 14,387 47–48 96 July 18 @ Rangers 5–4 (11) Reyes (5–10) Brandenburg Van Poppel (1) 28,585 48–48 97 July 19 @ Rangers 9–6 Reyes (6–10) Helling Taylor (9) 37,455 49–48 98 July 20 @ Rangers 4–8 Witt Van Poppel (1–5) — 46,052 49–49 99 July 21 @ Rangers 11–8 Groom (4–0) Brandenburg Mohler (7) 36,039 50–49 100 July 22 @ White Sox 6–5 Taylor (5–2) Karchner — 23,572 51–49 101 July 23 @ White Sox 8–4 Wengert (4–7) Fernandez Corsi (3) 18,527 52–49 102 July 24 @ White Sox 6–5 Corsi (5–0) Simas Taylor (10) 23,350 53–49 103 July 25 @ Blue Jays 3–4 Crabtree Witasick (0–1) — 30,174 53–50 104 July 26 @ Blue Jays 5–3 Groom (5–0) Castillo Taylor (11) 32,241 54–50 105 July 27 @ Blue Jays 4–6 Hanson Wasdin (6–3) Timlin 32,162 54–51 106 July 28 @ Blue Jays 0–1 Hentgen Prieto (2–4) — 31,150 54–52 107 July 30 White Sox 1–2 Baldwin Telgheder (0–2) Hernandez 14,210 54–53 108 July 31 White Sox 5–4 Witasick (1–1) Karchner Taylor (12) 13,127 55–53
August: 11–19 (Home: 8–10; Away: 3–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 109 August 1 White Sox 3–8 Tapani Wasdin (6–4) Hernandez 10,514 55–54 110 August 2 Brewers 3–4 (10) Miranda Taylor (5–3) Fetters 10,056 55–55 111 August 3 Brewers 0–7 Bones Johns (6–11) — 15,171 55–56 112 August 4 Brewers 4–2 Telgheder (1–2) Van Egmond Taylor (13) 10,281 56–56 113 August 5 Brewers 3–13 Eldred Adams (0–1) — 8,616 56–57 114 August 6 @ Royals 2–9 Belcher Wasdin (6–5) — 14,028 56–58 115 August 7 @ Royals 0–7 Appier Prieto (2–5) — 15,517 56–59 116 August 8 @ Royals 2–1 Wengert (5–7) Linton Taylor (14) 19,197 57–59 117 August 9 Indians 4–10 McDowell Telgheder (1–3) — 20,122 57–60 118 August 10 Indians 5–1 Adams (1–1) Nagy — 30,238 58–60 119 August 11 Indians 9–3 Wasdin (7–5) Lopez — 21,914 59–60 120 August 12 Twins 11–1 Prieto (3–5) Robertson — 10,071 60–60 121 August 13 Twins 2–6 Aguilera Wengert (5–8) — 11,156 60–61 122 August 14 Twins 7–13 Rodriguez Telgheder (1–4) — 12,729 60–62 123 August 15 Orioles 5–18 Mussina Adams (1–2) — 14,026 60–63 124 August 16 Orioles 3–14 Erickson Wasdin (7–6) — — 60–64 125 August 16 Orioles 4–5 (10) Myers Mohler (4–1) — 15,645 60–65 126 August 17 Orioles 3–1 Prieto (4–5) Coppinger Acre (1) 20,231 61–65 127 August 18 Orioles 9–6 Wengert (6–8) Wells — 18,122 62–65 128 August 20 @ Red Sox 3–4 Garces Mohler (4–2) Slocumb 25,094 62–66 129 August 21 @ Red Sox 4–6 Brandenburg Johns (6–12) Slocumb 26,362 62–67 130 August 22 @ Red Sox 1–2 Clemens Acre (0–1) — 30,503 62–68 131 August 23 @ Yankees 3–5 Gooden Wengert (6–9) Rivera 34,244 62–69 132 August 24 @ Yankees 4–5 Whitehurst Telgheder (1–5) Pavlas 32,125 62–70 133 August 25 @ Yankees 6–4 Mohler (5–2) Nelson Acre (2) 50,808 63–70 134 August 26 @ Orioles 11–12 (10) Myers Acre (0–2) — 43,361 63–71 135 August 27 @ Orioles 1–3 Wells Prieto (4–6) Myers 43,641 63–72 136 August 28 @ Orioles 3–0 Wengert (7–9) Mussina — 45,282 64–72 137 August 30 Red Sox 7–0 Telgheder (2–5) Maddux — 17,182 65–72 138 August 31 Red Sox 8–0 Adams (2–2) Wakefield — 32,116 66–72
September: 12–12 (Home: 8–5; Away: 4–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 139 September 1 Red Sox 3–8 Sele Wasdin (7–7) — 15,021 66–73 140 September 2 Yankees 0–5 Cone Prieto (4–7) — 20,159 66–74 141 September 3 Yankees 10–9 Acre (1–2) Boehringer Johns (1) 11,621 67–74 142 September 4 Yankees 3–10 Pettitte Telgheder (2–6) — 9,892 67–75 143 September 6 Royals 7–1 Adams (3–2) Haney — 14,404 68–75 144 September 7 Royals 13–6 Prieto (5–7) Belcher — 13,175 69–75 145 September 8 Royals 8–7 (10) Corsi (6–0) Pichardo — 17,208 70–75 146 September 10 @ Twins 7–0 Telgheder (3–6) Robertson — 9,676 71–75 147 September 11 @ Twins 2–7 Radke Adams (3–3) — 9,493 71–76 148 September 12 @ Twins 3–4 (12) Stevens Mohler (5–3) — 9,712 71–77 149 September 14 @ Indians 2–9 Nagy Wengert (7–10) — — 71–78 150 September 14 @ Indians 8–9 Plunk Small (0–2) Mesa 42,233 71–79 151 September 15 @ Indians 10–9 (10) Reyes (7–10) Mesa — 42,226 72–79 152 September 17 @ Angels 5–1 Prieto (6–7) Springer — 17,827 73–79 153 September 18 @ Angels 1–3 Finley Adams (3–4) Percival 18,213 73–80 154 September 20 @ Mariners 2–12 Carmona Wengert (7–11) Meacham 56,535 73–81 155 September 21 @ Mariners 2–9 Moyer Telgheder (3–7) — 56,103 73–82 156 September 22 @ Mariners 13–11 Mohler (6–3) Mulholland Taylor (15) 54,194 74–82 157 September 23 Rangers 5–3 Wasdin (8–7) Witt Taylor (16) 10,164 75–82 158 September 24 Rangers 3–7 Cook Small (0–3) — 9,694 75–83 159 September 26 Mariners 7–5 Taylor (6–3) Charlton — 11,141 76–83 160 September 27 Mariners 8–1 Telgheder (4–7) Mulholland — 25,132 77–83 161 September 28 Mariners 3–5 (10) Carmona Acre (1–3) Charlton 30,057 77–84 162 September 29 Mariners 3–1 Small (1–3) Torres Taylor (17) 34,462 78–84
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Athletics team member

Detailed records

American League
Opponent	W	L	WP	RS	RA
AL East
Baltimore Orioles	4	9	0.308	54	86
Boston Red Sox	5	8	0.385	57	76
Detroit Tigers	8	4	0.667	83	66
New York Yankees	3	9	0.250	45	71
Toronto Blue Jays	4	8	0.333	50	59
Total	24	38	0.387	289	358
AL Central
Chicago White Sox	7	5	0.583	63	58
Cleveland Indians	6	6	0.500	72	72
Kansas City Royals	7	5	0.583	50	47
Milwaukee Brewers	5	7	0.417	64	87
Minnesota Twins	7	6	0.538	91	64
Total	32	29	0.525	340	328
AL West
California Angels	7	6	0.538	83	64
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners	8	5	0.615	78	74
Texas Rangers	7	6	0.538	71	76
Total	22	17	0.564	232	214
Season Total	78	84	0.481	861	900

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
April	25	13	12	0.520	145	145
May	27	11	16	0.407	120	142
June	29	14	15	0.483	175	162
July	27	17	10	0.630	163	139
August	30	11	19	0.367	130	170
September	24	12	12	0.500	128	142
Total	162	78	84	0.481	861	900

	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
Home	81	40	41	0.494	440	452
Away	81	38	43	0.469	421	448
Total	162	78	84	0.481	861	900

Transactions

• June 4, 1996: Eric Chavez was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round (10th overall) of the 1996 amateur draft. Signed August 27, 1996.
• June 4, 1996: A. J. Hinch was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 3rd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Signed June 22, 1996.

Roster

1996 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 55 Mark Acre 40 Willie Adams 53 John Briscoe 54 Bobby Chouinard 41 Jim Corsi 58 Paul Fletcher 42 Buddy Groom 51 Doug Johns 32 Mike Mohler 37 Steve Montgomery 48 Ariel Prieto 17 Carlos Reyes 30 Aaron Small 22 Billy Taylor 50 Dave Telgheder 59 Todd Van Poppel 31 John Wasdin 56 Don Wengert 52 Jay Witasick 39 Steve Wojciechowski		Catchers 21 Izzy Molina 36 Terry Steinbach 19 George Williams Infielders 28 Tony Batista 14 Mike Bordick 26,40 Rafael Bournigal  7 Scott Brosius 49 Webster Garrison  8 Brent Gates  6 Torey Lovullo 25 Mark McGwire		Outfielders  2 Allen Battle 29 Gerónimo Berroa 16 Jason Giambi 44 José Herrera 24 Brian Lesher 33 Damon Mashore 45 Kerwin Moore  5 Pedro Muñoz 23 Phil Plantier 13 Scott Spiezio 12 Matt Stairs 11 Ernie Young		Manager 18 Art Howe Coaches  3 Bob Cluck 11 Duffy Dyer 35 Brad Fischer 15 Denny Walling 38 Ron Washington

Player stats

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	Terry Steinbach	145	514	140	.272	35	100
1B	Mark McGwire	130	423	132	.312	52	113
2B	Brent Gates	64	247	65	.263	2	30
3B	Scott Brosius	114	428	130	.304	22	71
SS	Mike Bordick	155	525	126	.240	5	54
LF	Phil Plantier	73	231	49	.212	7	31
CF	Ernie Young	141	462	112	.242	19	64
RF	José Herrera	108	320	86	.269	6	30
DH	Gerónimo Berroa	153	586	170	.290	36	106

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
Jason Giambi	140	536	156	.291	20	79
Rafael Bournigal	88	252	61	.242	0	18
Tony Batista	74	238	71	.298	6	25
Matt Stairs	61	137	38	.277	10	23
George Williams	56	132	20	.152	3	10
Allen Battle	47	130	25	.192	1	5
Pedro Muñoz	34	121	31	.256	6	18
Damon Mashore	50	105	28	.267	3	12
Brian Lesher	26	82	19	.232	5	16
Torey Lovullo	65	82	18	.220	3	9
Scott Spiezio	9	29	9	.310	2	8
Izzy Molina	14	25	5	.200	0	1
Kerwin Moore	22	16	1	.063	0	0
Webster Garrison	5	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
John Wasdin	25	131.1	8	7	5.96	75
Ariel Prieto	21	125.2	6	7	4.15	75
Steve Wojciechowski	16	79.2	5	5	5.65	30
Dave Telgheder	16	79.1	4	7	4.65	43
Willie Adams	12	76.1	3	4	4.01	68
Bobby Chouinard	13	59.0	4	2	6.10	32

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
Don Wengert	36	161.1	7	11	5.58	75
Doug Johns	40	158.0	6	12	5.98	71
Carlos Reyes	46	122.1	7	10	4.78	78
Todd Van Poppel	28	63.0	1	5	7.71	37
Aaron Small	12	28.2	1	3	8.16	17

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
Billy Taylor	55	6	3	17	4.33	67
Mike Mohler	72	6	3	7	3.67	64
Buddy Groom	72	5	0	2	3.84	57
Jim Corsi	56	6	0	3	4.03	43
Mark Acre	22	1	3	2	6.12	18
John Briscoe	17	0	1	1	3.76	14
Jay Witasick	12	1	1	0	6.23	12
Steve Montgomery	8	1	0	0	9.22	8
Paul Fletcher	1	0	0	0	20.25	0

Awards and records

• Mark McGwire, Silver Slugger Award
• Mark McGwire, Major League record, 1st player to reach 50 Home Runs in one season before reaching 400 at-bats in a season

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Edmonton Trappers	Pacific Coast League	Gary Jones
AA	Huntsville Stars	Southern League	Dick Scott
A	Modesto A's	California League	Jim Colborn
A	West Michigan Whitecaps	Midwest League	Mike Quade
A-Short Season	Southern Oregon Timberjacks	Northwest League	Tony DeFrancesco
Rookie	AZL Athletics	Arizona League	Juan Navarrette

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Edmonton, West Michigan

References

• 1996 Oakland Athletics at Baseball Reference
• 1996 Oakland Athletics at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.