Can the Oakland A’s finally Win the World Series?
The book Moneyball discussed the Oakland A’s as a baseball team that did things differently when putting together a big-league roster. This was very true as general manager Billy Beane’s office was stats driven in the pursuit to identify overlooked baseball players. The methods behind the madness worked, at least sort of. Since 1999, Oakland have posted a win percentage above .500 in 14 of 21 seasons. Yet, the biggest glaring issue and the problem with Moneyball (the book and film) is that the A’s never won the World Series. In fact, they never made it to the Fall Classic. The book makes it out as if they were serial winners of the World Series. A’s fans today gear up for Oakland’s big American League West games versus the Houston Astros if it is their World Series. Fans can use the Unibet PA bonus code to wager on the upcoming American League West games and the team they believe will win.
The 2020 season has stated well for the A’s in spite of the outside forces putting pressure on the Major League Baseball. As of this writing, the Oakland A’s are 17-8 and top of the AL West. They sit 2.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros. The A’s are currently exceeding their expected wins tally of 15 and have a +27-run difference. Sean’s World Series prediction from last year is looking pretty good.
Home has been where the heart is for Oakland. The Coliseum has witnessed 10 home wins in 13 games. Only the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins have posted slightly better home numbers. Of course, this is typical of the Oakland A’s. They do well in the regular season by overachieving on all fronts – for the most part – yet they fail to show up in the postseason. Since 1999, Oakland has made the playoffs 10 times, but only advanced to the American League Championship Series once. The Detroit Tigers ensured they lost that series 4-0 in 2006.
At this point, after another good start, Oakland fans and baseball onlookers are asking the same question: Will this season be any different?
For starters, the Oakland A’s have impressed leading sportsbooks. The A’s are 10/1 to win the World Series, which is the fourth-best odds. The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Minnesota Twins are ahead of them. Oakland are currently level on odds with the Tampa Bay Rays, who just happen to have knocked Oakland out of the playoffs in the American League Wild Card Series in 2019.
This season won’t see MLB complete a 162-game season, so there is no way Oakland can reach 97 wins again. But the A’s are on their way to making the playoffs in what is one of the more unique MLB seasons due to the coronavirus. Still, it remains to be seen if Oakland can defeat the competition in the playoffs. Sure, they recently swept the Astros in three games outscoring them 13-5, but the teams will meet again soon in Houston. Even if they make the playoffs with a better record than Houston, there is no guarantee they will defeat the Astros.
Just a year ago, bloggers were proclaiming the A’s have their best chance of winning the World Series since 1989. The big difference between that team 31 years ago was that it had stars bought and paid for by a completely different Oakland ownership. The A’s Moneyball may get them into the playoffs, but it will take a bit more to see them make the World Series. This may be their best chance to win it all, but a lot of that may have to do with the shortened season.
