Outfielder, Oakland Athletics
Age: 22
2nd season
with Athletics
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’3” Weight: 193
Prior to 1968:
Born in
Arkansas, Monday moved with his family to California in his youth. A star
baseball player at Santa Monica High School, he turned down a $20,000 offer
from the Los Angeles Dodgers to attend Arizona State University. Arizona State
won the NCAA title in 1965 and Monday, who was a sophomore, was named College
Player of the Year. That June he was the first overall pick in the inaugural
amateur player draft, chosen by the then-Kansas City Athletics. Accepting a $104,000
bonus offer, he signed with the A’s. Initially sent to Idaho to play for the
Lewiston Broncs of the Class A Northwest League, the 19-year-old center fielder
appeared in 72 games and batted .271 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 44 RBIs, a
.368 on-base percentage, and a .494 slugging percentage. In the offseason he
completed a six-month commitment in the Marines which he finished at the
beginning of spring training in 1966. Promoted to Mobile of the Class AA
Southern League he hit .267 with 16 doubles, 10 triples, 23 home runs, 72 RBIs,
a .383 OBP, and a .490 slugging percentage. Monday received a September call-up
to the Athletics in which he played in 17 games with negligible batting
success. Following a promising stint in the Arizona Instructional League, Monday
stuck with the A’s in 1967 and had a solid rookie season as he batted .251 with
14 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 58 RBIs, and a .322 OBP. In the offseason,
the franchise moved to Oakland.
1968 Season Summary
Appeared in 148
games
CF – 144, PH – 7
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 563
At Bats – 482
Runs – 56
Hits – 132
Doubles – 24 [13,
tied with five others]
Triples – 7 [7,
tied with six others]
Home Runs – 8
RBI – 49
Bases on Balls
– 72 [11]
Int. BB – 7 [20,
tied with six others]
Strikeouts – 143
[2]
Stolen Bases – 14
[15, tied with Reggie Jackson]
Caught Stealing
– 6
Average - .274 [9,
tied with Frank Howard]
OBP - .371 [4]
Slugging Pct. -
.402 [18]
Total Bases – 194
GDP – 5
Hit By Pitches
– 4
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 3
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 10, 3B – 5, HR - 3, RBI - 23, SB – 9, AVG - .298, OBP – .406
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Most hits, game
– 3 (in 4 AB) at California 4/28, (in 3 AB) vs. NY Yankees 6/14 – 10 innings,
(in 3 AB) vs. Washington 6/22
Longest hitting
streak – 9 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 3 AB) vs. Minnesota 9/27
HR at home – 5
HR on road – 3
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at California 4/27
Pinch-hitting/running
– 2 for 6 (.333) with 1 HR & 2 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 317
Put Outs – 298
Assists – 12
Errors – 7
DP – 3
Pct. - .978
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
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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:
Monday missed seven weeks of the 1969 season due to a broken hand and limited to 122 games batted .271 with 17 doubles, 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .388 OBP. In 1970 he hit .290 with 19 doubles, 7 triples, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, a .387 OBP, and a .457 slugging percentage. Early in the season he tied Yankee great Lou Gehrig’s league record of driving in at least one run in ten consecutive games. The A’s won the AL West title in 1971, but Monday’s batting average dropped to .245 with a .335 OBP, 18 home runs, and 56 RBIs. In the offseason he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for LHP Ken Holtzman where it was hoped that his good defense would prove beneficial in center field. With the Cubs in 1972, he lived up to expectations in the outfield where his hustle and on-field leadership made him a standout. But after a strong start at the plate he ended up batting .249 with 22 doubles, 5 triples, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .362 OBP. Monday boosted his power production in 1973, leading the Cubs with 26 home runs while hitting .267 with 24 doubles, 5 triples, 56 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .469 slugging percentage. The Cubs dropped into the NL East cellar in 1974 and Monday was one of the club’s few stalwart performers as he batted .294 with 19 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs, 58 RBIs, a .375 OBP, and a .467 slugging percentage. In 1975, a head injury sidelined Monday for most of the final month of the season, but when healthy he hit .267 with 29 doubles, 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, a .373 OBP, and a .446 slugging percentage. Used as trade bait in the offseason, he remained with the Cubs in 1976 and batted .272 with 20 doubles, 32 home runs, 77 RBIs, a .346 OBP, and a .507 slugging percentage. He was shifted to first base during the season to make room for Jim Wallis in center field. A significant highlight occurred early in the season in a game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles when, while warming up in the outfield between innings, he snatched an American flag from two protesters who were intending to set in on fire. The episode, which was captured on film, brought Monday lasting celebrity beyond baseball. In the offseason he was traded to the Dodgers for three players. Back in center field but limited to 118 games by a back injury in 1978, Monday’s batting production dropped off to .230 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs, a .330 OBP, and a .383 slugging percentage. The Dodgers, NL champs in ’77 repeated in 1978 and Monday was in All-Star form during the season’s first half although he dropped off thereafter due to renewed back problems to finish at .254 with 14 doubles, 19 home runs, 57 RBIs, a .348 OBP, and a .468 slugging percentage. Lingering physical problems plus a torn Achilles tendon that required surgery limited Monday to only 12 games in 1979. He returned to the Dodgers in 1980 and appeared in 96 games, primarily off the bench, and batted .268 with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .363 OBP. In the strike-interrupted 1981 season, Monday again was productive as he hit .315 with 11 home runs, 25 RBIs, a .423 OBP, and a .608 slugging percentage while appearing in both corner outfield spots and as a pinch-hitter. He provided postseason highlights in LA’s drive to a pennant, singling in a run in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS against Houston and slugging the game-winning home run against Montreal to clinch the NLCS. He lasted with the Dodgers until June of the 1984 season, primarily utilized as a pinch-hitter in his remaining seasons. His 1984 release brought his playing career to an end at age 38. For his major league career Monday batted .264 with 1619 hits that included 248 doubles, 64 triples, and 241 home runs. He scored 950 runs and compiled 775 RBIs, a .361 OBP, and a .443 slugging percentage. With the A’s he batted .263 with 542 hits, 285 runs scored, 84 doubles, 28 triples, 62 home runs, 256 RBIs, a .359 OBP, and a .422 slugging percentage. Appearing in 30 postseason games, he hit .210 with one home run and 2 RBIs. Monday was a two-time All-Star. Although he didn’t meet the superstar expectations that led to his drafting by the A’s, he proved to be a classy team player appreciated for his good humor, hustle, and solid play. Monday went into broadcasting following his playing career. He was named to the Arizona State Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 1975 and the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
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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.
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