One of the all-time success stories in Oakland A’s history is
Brandon Moss.
He came to town as a minor league free agent, a busted former top prospect looking for another chance to make good. He found it here, and broke out into a quality slugger who hit 30 homers in 2013 and made the All-Star team the next summer. And then, in the traditional rite of passage for Oakland’s best, he was traded away as his salary rose.
Moss was a boss, on and off the field, and we all loved him. He’s one of the faces of the Island of Misfit Toys, and he was recognized nationally as a legit star.
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One of the first rules of politics and business, and entertainment, and even sports is to minimize expectations. It’s better to surprise everyone watching you than disappoint them, right? But internally, those involved always have much more realistic, and often ambitious, expectations. They know what they can do … and should do.
With that in mind, let s try to figure out what those are for each team. What is the top-shelf expectation? Do they expect to win the World Series? To make the playoffs? Just to improve? Every team has its expectations. Here’s the best guess as to what they are.
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When you think of the best team in D-backs history, your mind probably lands on the 2001 World Series champions, and it s a title they deserve.
You might be surprised to learn that the 2001 team actually didn t have the best regular-season record.
Here s a look at the Top 5 regular-season records by D-backs teams over the years:
1) 1999, 100-62
After watching his team struggle to a 65-97 record in its inaugural 1998 season, then-D-backs owner Jerry Colangelo spent heavily on free agents, including left-hander Randy Johnson, center fielder Steve Finley, left-hander Greg Swindell and versatile infielder Greg Colbrunn. General manager Joe Garagiola Jr. then pulled off a steal of a deal with the Tigers, acquiring outfielder Luis Gonzalez for Minor Leaguer Karim Garcia.