Oakland A’s: Best 10 Season At Center Field
By Tej Kamaraju
1. Bill North, 1973
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 25 | 146 | 642 | 98 | 158 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 53 | 20 | 78 | 89 | .285 | .376 | .348 | .725 | 110 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2014.
The A’s picked up the speedy young outfielder in a trade the previous winter for reliever Bob Locker and North didn’t disappoint in his first full big league season, providing speed at the top of the order and defense in center field as Oakland repeated as World Series champs.
He was fourth in the American League with a 2.8 Defensive WAR and 10th with a 7.0 WAR (fifth among position players). Defensively, he was tops among AL center fielder with 26 Total Zone Runs, a 3.32 Range Factor per nine innings and a 3.25 Range Factor per game.
North was second in the league with 98 runs and 53 stolen bases, seventh with a .376 on-base percentage, eighth with a 72.60 stolen base percentage (53-for-73) and ninth with 78 walks. Defensively, he led AL center fielders with 427 putouts, 15 assists, nine errors and six double plays.
North missed the postseason, however, tripping over first base and spraining an ankle in a Sept. 20 game against Minnesota.