A's History: Dick Tomanek and Tom Ferrick

With 2024 potentially being the last season of A's baseball in Oakland, it's going to be a season of reflection of all of the memories that we have shared at the Coliseum. With that in mind, this year we are going through each and every player that has worn the green and gold and writing up a couple of paragraphs about their time with the A's, their careers, and sometimes a wacky story from their life in an effort to bring back memories, and perhaps even learn a thing or two about the franchise so many have grown attached to.

Yesterday we celebrated Mark Redman, who was part of the trade that landed the A's Jason Kendall, and Jim Byrnes, who may or may not have hit a triple in his career.

January 6^th birthdays: Dick Tomanek and Tom Ferrick

Dick Tomanek

Tomanek was born in 1931 in Avon Lake, Ohio, and was signed by Cleveland ahead of the 1950 season. He would debut with Cleveland in 1953, starting one game and allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) while walking six and striking out six over nine frames. He pitched once for Cleveland the following year before being diagnosed with "curve ball pitching disease" that resulted in pulled elbow muscles. 

He made it back to Cleveland in 1957, and in the middle of 1958 he was traded along with Roger Maris to the Kansas City A's. Yes, that Roger Maris. The A's traded Maris to the Yankees after the 1959 season, and he went on to win the AL MVP in 1960, then set the home run record with 61 home runs in 1961, earning him a second consecutive MVP award. That doesn't happen without the first trade, which involved Dick Tomanek. 

Funnily enough, one of Tomanek's rotation mates in Cleveland, Hall of Famer Early Wynn, also shares a birthday today. 

With Kansas City, Tomanek finished out the 1958 season with a 3.61 ERA over 71 ^1/3 innings, then battled a sore arm in 1959 that kept him to just 20 ^2/3 innings. He was sold to the A's minor-league affiliate where he pitched in 1960, but that would be his final season on the diamond. 

The left-hander passed away on August 11, 2023 at the age of 92 in Westlake, Ohio. 

Tom Ferrick

Ferrick was a right-handed pitcher, born in 1915 in New York, NY. He originally signed with the New York Giants in 1936, but was released by the team three years later. He was signed by the Philadelphia A's in 1941 and pitched fairly well for the team that season, holding a 3.77 ERA (111 ERA+) over 119 ^1/3 innings. 

Cleveland selected him off waivers in 1942, then he spent 1943-45 serving in the military before coming back and playing another seven seasons in the big leagues. He won Game 3 of the 1950 World Series with the New York Yankees, tossing one scoreless inning in the series. 

After he retired he served as a scout for the Kansas City Royals and recommended that they draft George Brett. Ferrick passed away in 1996 in Lima, PA. 

Tomorrow's birthdays: Dérmis Garcia, Jon Lester, Frank Menechino, Joe Keough