The Oakland Athletics went to the Major League Baseball postseason three consecutive years from 2018-20. That run of form must feel like a lifetime ago to their fans.
Since 2021, the Athletics have spent most of their time dealing with dwindling attendance amid constant talk that the team will soon be moved to Las Vegas. They have also bottomed out on the field, making it seem like legal California sportsbooks will arrive before a competitive A’s team.
As spring training continues and the MLB regular season gets closer, BetCalifornia.com decided to look at which months have been best and worst for various MLB teams, in cumulative win-loss records over the past three seasons. Here are the results for the A’s:
Oakland A’s Best Month
A’s Best And Worst Months Past Three Years
The data that we gathered from Baseball-Reference.com gives the edge to July for the Oakland Athletics month-by-month success since 2021. Not that their record even then is very impressive – Oakland has gone 33-40 in July over the past three years for a.452 winning percentage.
These stats include Oakland’s respectable 2021 season, when the franchise went 86-76 and finished six games out of a playoff spot. The past two years have been anything but respectable, as indicated by the fact that the A’s have not even played .400 ball in either September (30-50 combined record, a .375 winning percentage) or May (31-58, .348) since 2021.
In 2022, Oakland sank to a 60-102 record, worst in the American League, with only the NL’s Washington Nationals (55-107) being more futile. Last season was even worse for the A’s, who compiled a dismal 50-112 mark, last in all of MLB and six games worse than even the Kansas City Royals (56-106).Oakland’s .309 winning percentage was the franchise’s worst since 1919, when the Philadelphia A’s went 36-104 (.257).
Oakland A’s 2024 Odds
Even if California sports betting apps were legal and operative, there seems to be no point in wagering on Oakland baseball futures in 2024.
The A’s World Serries odds are +50000 at BetMGM Sportsbook next door in Arizona, bringing up the rear along with the Colorado Rockies.
Outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker, who led the 2023 A’s with 30 home runs and 69 RBIs, returns this season for manager Mark Kotsay’s team. Catcher Shea Langeliers (22 HRs, 63 RBIs in 2023) is also back. So is second baseman Zack Gelof, who impressed with team highs in batting average (.267) and a wins above replacement (a 2.6 WAR) in just 69 games since his call-up from Triple-A.
No A’s pitcher collected more than five wins in 2023 but starters JP Sears (4.54 ERA) and Paul Blackburn (4.43) return; their ERAs were pretty decent for a team that allowed an average of 5.48 earned runs per game.
Can the A’s stun the world and become competitive in 2024? See our story about how MLB teams perform after last-place finishes to see what the recent trends indicate.
