1979 Oakland Athletics | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | |
City | Oakland, California | |
Record | 54–108 (.333) | |
Divisional place | 7th | |
Owners | Charles O. Finley | |
Managers | Jim Marshall | |
Television | KPIX-TV (Monte Moore, Bob Waller) | |
Radio | KKIS (Hal Ramey, Red Rush) | |
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The 1979 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing seventh in the American League West Division with a record of 54 wins and 108 losses. Only 306,763 paying customers (an average of 3,984 for 77 home dates; there were four doubleheaders) showed up to watch the A's in 1979, the team's worst attendance since leaving Philadelphia.
Team owner Charlie Finley nearly sold the team to buyers who would have moved them to New Orleans for 1979. Any deal to relocate fell through when the city of Oakland refused to release the A's from their lease. The city was in the midst of its battle with the Oakland Raiders over their move to Los Angeles and didn't want to lose both teams.
The Athletics' 54–108 finish was their worst since moving to Oakland in 1968 until it was surpassed in 2023, in which they finished 50–112 (.309). On a brighter note, the season saw the debut of Rickey Henderson. Henderson, a future Hall-of-Famer, would play for the team in four separate stints between 1979 and 1998.