Fueled by rising stars and a surplus of walk-off wins, the Athletics have been one of MLB's best teams for quite a while.
Oakland has posted one of the AL’s best records for two months and outplayed such contenders as the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. In fact, the A’s are 31-22 since July 1 and trail just the Houston Astros (33-22) in that span, per USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale.
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There are plenty of reasons for the Green and Gold’s recent reign, but Lawrence Butler’s unworldly ascension has headlined the beginning of the A’s final, fiery stretch as Oakland residents. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .323 with 64 hits, 19 home runs and 46 RBI since July 1.
Butler was named AL Player of the Week on Tuesday after finishing last week’s six-game stretch 14-for-28 with three doubles, six homers and 10 RBI. It marked the second time Butler had won the award this season, making him the sixth player in Oakland history to do it in the same campaign, alongside Rickey Henderson, Tony Armas, Scott Brosius, Rollie Fingers and Mitchell Page.
Other A’s such as catcher Shea Langeliers and Seth Brown -- both of whom walked off the Seattle Mariners the last two nights -- have shone over 53 games, but Oakland, as a team, has played abnormally well.
Yes, the A’s still are a lowly 61-78 and 14.5 games back of the first-place Astros in the AL West. But Oakland seems to be finishing its MLB history with a fun hot streak.