Oakland A’s: Best 10 Season At Center Field
By Tej Kamaraju
3. Dave Henderson, 1988
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 29 | 146 | 570 | 100 | 154 | 38 | 1 | 24 | 94 | 2 | 4 | 47 | 92 | .304 | .363 | .525 | .887 | 149 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2014.
Henderson bounced back from a terrible season with Boston and San Francisco, reaching a career high in RBI and finishing in the top 15 in the MVP voting after signing with the A’s as a free agent. Hendu helped Oakland return to the postseason for the first time since 1981.
He was eighth in the American League with a 149 OPS-plus, ninth with a 5.3 Offensive WAR and 10th with a 6.3 WAR (sixth among position players).
Henderson was sixth in the league with 100 runs, seventh with a .525 slugging percentage, eighth with 38 doubles, ninth with 63 extra base hits and 10th with an .887 OPS.
In the ALCS against the Red Sox, Henderson was 6-for-16 with two runs, a double, a homer and four RBI in an A’s sweep and was 6-for-20 with a run, two doubles and an RBI in their five-game loss to Los Angeles in the World Series.
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 25 | 159 | 702 | 86 | 157 | 18 | 2 | 13 | 68 | 26 | 15 | 102 | 96 | .274 | .384 | .380 | .764 | 119 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/20/2014.
Murphy emerged as a terrific No. 2 hitter behind Rickey Henderson, leading the American League with 22 sacrifice hits while earning his first Gold Glove in the field.
He was second in the league with a 2.4 Defensive WAR, sixth with a 17.3 Power-Speed number and seventh with a 6.8 WAR (sixth among position players). Defensively, he led AL center fielders with 22 Total Zone Runs, a 3.28 Range Factor per nine innings and a 3.24 Range Factor per game.
Murphy was fourth in the AL with 102 walks, seventh with 96 strikeouts and 10th with 26 stolen bases. Defensively, he led AL center fielders with 501 putouts.
He was second among AL center fielders with 13 home runs, 68 RBI and 26 stolen bases; and third with 86 runs and a .384 on-base percentage.