Highlighted Year: Bert Campaneris, 1968

Shortstop, Oakland Athletics

Age:  26

5^th season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 160 

Prior to 1968:

A native of Pueblo Nuevo in Cuba, Dagoberto Campaneris played in a Cuban Little League at age 11, where he first demonstrated his speed and quickness and later played semipro ball as a catcher. His performance in the 1961 Pan-American Games led to his signing by the Kansas City Athletics, making him one of the last Cuban players to leave for the United States following Castro’s revolution. The ambidextrous Campaneris enthusiastically sought to play at every position but performed primarily in the outfield, first base, and shortstop with Daytona Beach of the Class D Florida State League in 1962 where he batted .290 with 15 doubles, 21 stolen bases, and a .391 on-base percentage. He finished the season with the Binghamton Triplets of the Class A Eastern League where he hit .364 in 13 games. Campaneris was sidelined by a sore arm for the first two months of the 1963 season and ended up appearing in 46 games, split between Binghamton and Lewiston of the Class A Northwest League, batting a combined .293 with a .365 OBP while playing primarily as a catcher and shortstop. He started 1964 with the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League and was batting .325 with a .389 OBP, 18 doubles, 11 triples, 6 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases when he was called up to the A’s in July due to an injury to shortstop Wayne Causey. Campaneris homered twice in his first major league game on his way to hitting .257 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 22 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, and a .306 OBP in 67 games while playing at short, third base, and the outfield. In 1965, appearing primarily at shortstop, but also occasionally in the outfield, the exuberant “Campy” showed off his speed and daring on the basepaths, leading the AL with 51 stolen bases and 12 triples, to go along with hitting .270 with 23 doubles, 6 home runs, 67 runs scored, 42 RBIs, and a .326 OBP. In one September game, in which he was honored on “Campaneris Night” he played all nine positions, after which a shoulder injury suffered due to a home plate collision while catching in the ninth inning sidelined him for two weeks. Campaneris was installed full-time at shortstop in 1966 and teamed well with second baseman Dick Green. He also batted .267 with a league-leading 52 stolen bases, 29 doubles, 10 triples, 5 home runs, 82 runs scored, and a .302 OBP despite missing 20 games due to injuries. Campaneris again topped the league with 55 stolen bases in 1967 while his average slipped to .248 and his OBP to .297 although he led AL shortstops with 259 putouts. He also hit a record-tying three triples in a game against Cleveland. In the offseason, owner Charlie Finley made good on his desire to move the franchise out of Kansas City, relocating to Oakland.

1968 Season Summary

Appeared in 159 games

SS – 155, LF – 3, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 707 [1]

At Bats – 642 [1]

Runs – 87 [6]

Hits – 177 [1]

Doubles – 25 [11, tied with Sal Bando]

Triples – 9 [5]

Home Runs – 4

RBI – 38

Bases on Balls – 50

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 69

Stolen Bases – 62 [1]

Caught Stealing – 22 [1]

Average - .276 [7]

OBP - .330 [17]

Slugging Pct. - .361

Total Bases – 232 [12]

GDP – 5

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 8 [11, tied with five others]

Sac Flies – 3

League-leading plate appearances were +12 ahead of runner-up Jim Fregosi

League-leading at bats were +7 ahead of runner-up Del Unser

League-leading hits were +10 ahead of runner-up Cesar Tovar

League-leading stolen bases were +22 ahead of runner-up Jose Cardenal

League-leading times caught stealing were +4 ahead of runners-up Jose Cardenal & Reggie Smith

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 11, 3B – 3, HR - 2, RBI - 17, SB – 26, AVG - .236, OBP - .299

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Washington 8/9

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

HR at home – 3

HR on road – 1

Most home runs, game – 1 on four occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at Cleveland 8/4

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 771

Put Outs – 279

Assists – 458

Errors – 34

DP – 86

Pct. - .956 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

11^th in AL MVP voting (39 points, 14% share)

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The relocated Athletics went 82-80 to finish sixth in the AL, 21 games behind the pennant-winning Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in hits (1300), stolen bases (147), and batting (.240). The resurgent A’s.climbed as high as third place in June prior to a seven-game losing streak that moved them back into the middle of the pack. Still, they finished with their best record since 1952, when they were still in Philadelphia, which was not enough to save manager Bob Kennedy’s job. Attendance at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was a disappointing 837,466, presaging many years of mediocre returns at the gate.

Aftermath of 1968:

Campaneris stole another 62 bases in 1969, which was not enough to lead the league again. He missed most of July due to a broken finger on his right hand and finished the season by batting .260 with a .302 OBP in 135 games. He bounced back in 1970 by hitting .279 with 28 doubles, a career-high 22 home runs, and a .321 OBP while regaining the AL stolen base crown with 42. He was again among the league leaders in putouts at shortstop (267) as well as double plays (92). Oakland won the AL West title in 1971 and Campaneris had a substandard year at the plate, batting .251 with a .287 OBP, 18 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, and only 34 stolen bases. The A’s again topped the AL West in 1972 and went on to win the World Series. Campaneris batted .240 with a .278 OBP, 25 doubles, 8 home runs, 85 runs scored, and a league-leading 52 stolen bases. He also led AL shortstops with 795 chances and 283 putouts. In Game 2 of the ALCS vs. Detroit, Campaneris, who had been running the Tigers wild, was hit in the ankle by a pitch from RHP Lerrin LaGrow causing “Campy” to toss his bat at LaGrow, which led to a near brawl when Detroit manager Billy Martin charged out of the dugout toward him, necessitating three umpires to restrain him. Campaneris was fined and suspended from the remainder of the ALCS as a result, but not the World Series against Cincinnati where he hit only .179 but scored the go-ahead run in the decisive Game 7. Oakland repeated in 1973, and Campaneris hit .250 with a .308 OBP, 17 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, 89 runs scored, 46 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases. He missed the first five games of the season due to being suspended for the bat-throwing incident involving LaGrow in the ALCS. His 228 putouts ranked fifth among AL shortstops and his 496 assists ranked third. In the ALCS against Baltimore, “Campy” hit .333 with two home runs and three stolen bases. In the World Series against the New York Mets, he stole another three bases and hit a two-run home run in the decisive Game 7 victory. The A’s made it three straight championships in 1974. Despite missing 15 games during a stretch from late July to mid-August due to a sprained ankle, he batted .290 with a .347 OBP, 18 doubles, 8 triples, 77 runs scored, and 34 stolen bases. He hit .353 and excelled defensively in the five-game World Series victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The A’s topped the AL West once again in 1975 only to fall to the Red Sox in the ALCS. “Campy” hit .265 with a .337 OBP and stole 24 bases. The club dropped to second in 1976 and the 34-year-old Campaneris batted .256 with a .331 OBP and 16 extra-base hits, although he still accounted for 52 RBIs and his stolen base total rebounded to 54 thanks to manager Chuck Tanner emphasizing the running game. With the team’s core either aging or departed, Campaneris joined the exodus as a highly sought free agent in the offseason. He signed with the Texas Rangers for five years and $750,000, a nice raise from his $72,000 salary in Oakland. In a tumultuous season, the Rangers finished a surprising second in the AL West and Campaneris provided veteran leadership as well as hitting .254 with a .314 OBP, 19 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, 27 stolen bases (while being caught stealing a league-high 20 times), and an AL-leading 40 sacrifice hits. He was an All-Star for the last time. “Campy” was also second among AL shortstops in putouts (269) and third in assists (483). His performance dropped off considerably in 1978 to .186 with a .245 OBP, and he was benched in August. Campaneris found himself behind rookie Nelson Norman at shortstop in 1979 and was traded to the California Angels in May. Seeing less action and relegated to a utility role through 1981, after which he failed to catch on with Baltimore and spent a year in the Mexican League. Campaneris spent 1983 with the New York Yankees, performing well in a reserve role in which he batted .322 while appearing in 60 games. He was released by the Yankees following the season, thus ending his playing career. For his major league career Campaneris batted .259 with 2249 hits that included 313 doubles, 86 triples, and 79 home runs. He scored 1181 runs and compiled 646 RBIs, 649 stolen bases, and a .311 OBP. With the Athletics he batted .262 with 1882 hits, 983 runs scored, 270 doubles, 70 triples, 70 home runs, 566 stolen bases, and a .314 OBP. He led the AL in stolen bases six times. Appearing in 37 postseason games, he hit .243 with 3 homers, 11 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. A six-time All-Star, he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. Following his playing career, he was a minor league bunting and baserunning coach for the Angels and later coached for the Astros and Giants. His legacy with the A’s was probably best summed up by Charlie Finley in 1980, who said “you can talk about Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Sal Bando, all those great players, but it was Campy who made everything go.”

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.