Best Of The Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Utility Seasons
By Phil Watson
5. Gene Tenace, 1976
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 29 | 128 | 508 | 64 | 104 | 19 | 1 | 22 | 66 | 5 | 4 | 81 | 91 | .249 | .373 | .458 | .831 | 149 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2014.
STARTS: 62 at 1B, 61 at C, 1 at DH
GAMES: 70 at 1B, 65 at C, 2 at DH
Tenace made the top 10 list at catcher and he also appears on this list, despite missing much of April and May with an injury. He played well enough to earn some MVP votes as the A’s run of five straight division titles came to an end in Tenace’s last season with Oakland.
He was third in the American League with a 149 OPS-plus and eighth with a 5.0 Offensive WAR
Tenace was also third in the AL with 19 at-bats per home run, seventh with 81 walks and 10th with a .373 on-base percentage.
Tenace was very good in June, hitting .293/.431/.610 in 26 games, with seven homers and 15 RBI and he hit seven homers in the final month while driving in 19 runs as the A’s tried to chase down Kansas City for the AL West crown.
He made 98 starts in the No. 6 spot, hitting 18 homers with 52 RBI while posting a .256/.372/.472 slash line.
Tenace was a member of baseball’s first class of free agents in the offseason, signing a six-year, $1.815 million deal with the Padres in December.