In 2002 the Oakland A's won 20 consecutive games, setting an American League record. The A's went on to win the AL West with a record of 103-59, though they lost in the division series to the Twins in 5 games. The manager at the time was Art Howe.
On September 6th the Minnesota Twins shutout the A's to end the streak.
Players on the team:
- Scott Hatteberg: hit a pinch hit walk off homerun in the bottom of the ninth to win game 20. Featured prominently in the movie Moneyball.
- Miguel Tejada: Won the MVP award in 2002.
- Tim Hudson
- Barry Zito: 2002 Cy Young Award winner. Zito won 23 games in 2002. Currently pitching with the Giants.
- Mark Mulder: Considered the 3rd starter on the A's, Mulder was a 19 game winner in 2002.
- Billy Koch
- Eric Chavez
- Chad Bradford
- Terrence Long
- Jermaine Dye
- Mark Ellis: A long-time 2nd baseman with the A's, Ellis was a rookie in 2002.
- Cory Lidle
- Ray Durham
- John Mabry
- Eric Byrnes
- David Justice: This was Justice's last year in the Majors after an amazing career.
- Ramon Hernandez
The Streak:
- August 13: A's 5, Blue Jays 4
- August 14: A's 4, Blue Jays 2
- August 16: A's 1, White Sox 0
- August 17: A's 9, White Sox 2
- August 18: A's 7, White Sox 4
- August 19: A's 8, Indians 1
- August 20: A's 6, Indians 3
- August 21: A's 6, Indians 0
- August 22: A's 9, Indians 3
- August 23: A's 9, Tigers 1
- August 24: A's 12, Tigers 3
- August 25: A's 10, Tigers 7
- August 26: A's 6, Royals 3
- August 27: A's 6, Royals 4
- August 28: A's 7, Royals 1
- August 30: A's 4, Twins, 2
- August 31: A's 6, Twins 3
- September 1: A's 7, Twins 5
- September 2: A's 7, Royals 6
- September 4: A's 12, Royals 11
Sources used in the creation of this article:
- Gilmore, Eric. "A's celebrate 10th anniversary of 20-game streak." MLB.com. Aug 18, 2012.
- "A's 20-game win streak: Where are they now?" CSNBayArea.com. Sep 4, 2012.
- "A's win 20th consecutive game after blowing 11-0 lead." SI.com. Sep 5, 2002.
- Heyman, Jon. "Twins end Athletics' 20-game win streak." The Baltimore Sun: Sep 7, 2002.