The A’s and their decade of the designated pinch runner

Among the silly things Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley tried to do was change the name of the ball club to the “A’s” thinking it was more modern and catchy. While there are many things to choose from, from the ball delivering rabbit or colored baseballs used while he owned the Athletics in Kansas City, I chose something that could be considered a good baseball move by some. Finley believed in having speed on the base paths, and throughout the better part of the 1970s, he employed a full time pinch runner. I do not want to confuse that with an extra infielder or outfielder that happened to run fast. The job of the full time pinch runner was just that, to come in late in a game to run for a base runner, and be replaced by another player upon exit from the field. Allan Lewis got it started, as Finley had the idea while the organization was still in Kansas City. Lewis got just 7 ABs in 1967, but played in 34 games, scoring 7 runs and stealing 14 bases. Lewis only pinch hit a...