Astros AL West Rivals: Five Reasons To Hate The Oakland A’s

Jul 19, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Former Oakland Athletics manager

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(24) during the 1989 Oakland Athletics World Series team tribute before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

During the 1980s, the Oakland Athletics had some great teams, and they won their last World Series in 1989. They also had some of the biggest egos known to baseball on their roster. From the Bash Brothers to Rickey, the 80s A’s were hard to love if you weren’t a fan of theirs.

Reason #2

The Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, were a formidable tandem back in the 1980s. They were feared for their home run bashing prowess and rightfully so. There was only one problem, as we later found out: these muscleheads were using PEDs. When Canseco’s Juiced hit the stands back in 2005, he and McGwire became the poster children for the PED era.

This is more than about just two baseball players, out of many, who use performance enhancers. It tainted a whole era of baseball and has even prevented some players, like Jeff Bagwell, from entering the Hall of Fame because of guilt by association. As the faces of the “juiced” era in baseball, we should hate the A’s for that.

Also, Jose Canseco is also a grade-A jerk.

Reason #3

Rickey Henderson is the best base stealer of all time. If you don’t believe me, just ask Rickey (watch the steal, then skip ahead to the 6:10 mark).

Rickey was fast, and Rickey could run, but humility is not in his DNA. He also liked to refer to himself in the third-person.

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