The 2023 season is officially over for the Oakland Athletics. It was arguably the worst in franchise history and that is due a situation that is outside the control of the current players on the roster.
Still one of the bright spots was center fielder Esteury Ruiz who came over as part of a three-team trade that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves and William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers. Ruiz was impressive on the base paths and set an American League record for most steals by a rookie with 67, surpassing the 66 of Kenny Lofton who accomplished the feat in 1992 for the Cleveland Indians.
With Ruiz setting a record, it is time to look at where his season ranks among Oakland rookies.
In Oakland there have been seven Rookie of the Year Award winners for the franchise. Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Walt Weiss, Ben Grieve, Bobby Crosby, Huston Street, and Andrew Bailey. Terrence Long was robbed by Ichiro Suzuki of the award in 2000. Yoenis Cespedes is another name that came in second yet Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was definitely deserving of the award, Mitchell Page also came in second in voting. Tim Hudson impressed from day one and did come in fifth.
So it is time to take a look at the Top 10 rookie seasons the A’s history in Oakland.
1. McGwire, 49 home runs, 118 RBI, 28 doubles, four triples, .289 average, .370 OBP
2. Mitchell Page, 21 home runs, 75 RBI, 42 stolen bases, 28 doubles, eight triples, .307 average, .405 OBP
3. Cespedes, 23 home runs, 82 RBI, 25 doubles, five triples, .292 average, .356 OBP
4. Canseco, 33 home runs, 117 RBI, 29 doubles, one triple, .240 average, .318 OBP
5. Long, 18 home runs, 80 RBI, 34 doubles, four triples, .288 average, .336 OBP
6. Grieve, 18 home runs, 89 RBI, 41 doubles, two triples, .288 average, .386 OBP
7. Jarrod Parker, 13-8, 3.47 ERA, 181.1 innings pitched, 140 strikeouts and 63 walks
8. Hudson, 11-2, 3.23 ERA, 136.1 innings, 132 strikeouts and 62 walks.
9. Bailey, 1.84 ERA, 83.1 innings, 91 strikeouts to 24 walks, and 26 saves
10. Brent Gates, seven home runs, 69 RBI, 29 doubles, two triples, .290 average, .357 OBP
Missing the cut were:
Matt Keough, 8-15, 3.24 ERA, 197.1 innings, 108 strikeouts and 85 walks
Terry Steinbach, 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 16 doubles, three triples, .284 average, .349 OBP
Nick Swisher, 21 home runs, 77 RBI, 32 doubles, one triple .236 average, .322 OBP
Reggie Jackson, 29 home runs, 74 RBI, 13 doubles, six triples, .250 average, .316 OBP
Ruiz, 5 home runs, 47 RBI, .254 average, 24 doubles, one triple, .309 OBP, 67 stolen bases
Dan Johnson, 15 home runs, 58 RBI, 21 doubles, .275 average, .355 OBP
Wayne Gross, 22 home runs, 63 RBI, 21 doubles, one triple, .233 average, .352 OBP
Joe Blanton, 12-12, 3.53 ERA, 201.1 innings, 116 strikeouts and 67 walks
Ernie Young, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 19 doubles, four triples, .242 average, .326 OBP
Crosby, 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 34 doubles, one triple .239 average, .319 OBP
Weiss, three home runs, 39 RBI, 17 doubles, three triples, .250 average, .312 OBP
Scott Spiezio, 14 home runs, 65 RBI, 28 doubles, four triples, .243 average, .300 OBP
Brad Ziegler, 1.06 ERA, 11 saves, 59.2 innings, 30 strikeouts and 22 walks
Street, 1.72 ERA, 23 saves, 78.1 innings, 72 strikeouts and 26 walks
Mark Canha, 16 home runs, 70 RBI, 22 doubles, three triples .254 average, .315 OBP
Ryan Cook 2.09 ERA, 73.1 innings, 80 strikeouts and 27 walks
What about A’s rookies that did not win the Award or weren’t robbed of it? Ryan Noda also a rookie in 2023 had an impressive OBP this season at .365, and he also hit 16 home runs and drove in 54 and ranked ninth in the American League in walks. Could argue that his rookie year was better than Weiss’.
Zach Gelof another 2023 rookie impressed in 2023 with his limited time in the majors hitting .267 with 14 home runs, 20 doubles, 32 RBI in 69 games played.
Other notable rookies of Oakland include:
Barry Zito, 7-4, 2.72 ERA, 92.2 innings, 78 strikeouts and 45 walks
Tommy Milone, 3.74 ERA, 190 innings pitched, 137 strikeouts to 36 walks
Sean Manaea, 7-9, 3.86 ERA, 144.2 innings pitched, 124 strikeouts and 37 walks
Rick Langford, 8-19, 4.02 ERA, 208.1 innings, 141 strikeouts and 73 walks
Eric Chavez, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, 21 doubles, two triples, .247 average, .333 OBP
Miguel Tejada, 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 20 doubles, one triple .233 average, .298 OBP
Brett Anderson, 11-11, 4.06 ERA, 175.1 innings, 150 strikeouts to 45 walks
Steve McCatty, 11-12, 4.22 ERA, 185.2 innings, 87 strikeouts and 80 walks
Chris Codiroli, 12-12, 4.46 ERA, 205.2 innings, 85 strikeouts and 72 walks
Travis Blackley, 6-4, 3.86 ERA, 102.2 innings, 69 strikeouts and 30 walks
Rollie Fingers, 6-7, 3.71 ERA, 12 saves, 119 innings pitched, 61 strikeouts and 41 walks
Bill Krueger, 7-6, 3.61 ERA, 109.2 innings, 58 strikeouts and 53 walks
Lou Trivino, .292 ERA, 74 innings pitched, 82 strikeouts, and 31 walks
Dave Revering, 16 home runs, 46 RBI, 21 doubles, three triples, .271 average, .303 OBP
Jemile Weeks, two home runs, 36 RBI, 26 doubles, eight triples, 22 stolen bases, .303 average, .340 OBP
Todd Burns 8-2, 3.16 ERA, 102.2 innings pitched, 57 strikeouts and 34 walks
A.J. Griffin, 7-1, 3.06 ERA, 82.1 innings pitched, 64 strikeouts and 19 walks
Looking at the numbers for For Ruiz, he is on the outside looking in at the top 10. When it comes to position players only he is close at no.11 though.