Sal Bando---1971
The green and gold uniforms donned
by the Oakland A’s in the late 1960s
and early 1970s was just another
way for eccentric team owner Charley
Finley to "Stick it to the Man" (i.e.
Major League Baseball). And much
to the dismay of Commissioner Bowie
Kuhn, he was forced on three
straight occasions to congratulate
Finley for winning the World
Championship, from 1972 through
1974.
One of the primary reasons for the
A’s success centered on the efforts
of third baseman Salvatore Leonard
Bando, a Cleveland native who
manned the hot corner for Finley’s
A’s for 11 seasons. A four-time all-
star, beginning in 1969, Sal Bando
never started the mid-season game
for the junior circuit due to the
presence of Hall of Famer Brooks
Robinson. But while Robinson and
his Baltimore teammates managed to
receive a pair of World Series rings,
Bando did his part to make sure the
Birds were nothing more than second
fiddle during a four-year run during
the first half of the decade.
Bando was a classic power-hitting
third baseman who served as the
glue of the Oakland infield. His best
season took place in 1973 when he
hit a career-best .287 with 29 home
runs and 98 RBIs while leading the
AL with 32 doubles. That
performance carried over to the post-
season, during which he hit two home
runs against Baltimore in Game 2 of
the ALCS and nearly hit a third, only
to be robbed on Al Bumbry’s
remarkable catch. He also victimized
the Orioles with two homers in the
1974 playoffs, with his long ball
against Jim Palmer in Game 3
serving as the contest’s lone run.
Bando also was not afraid to let his
feelings be known. He led the charge
for the team to wear black armbands
in the 1973 World Series in honor of
Mike Andrews after Finley ridiculed
the second baseman and ordered
him banished to the bench upon
making a couple of errors. Bando
also spoke out against manager Alvin
Dark during the 1974 season when
he suggested that Dark “couldn’t
manage a meat market.” Bando had
a chance to prove how capable he
was at running a baseball team when
he spent seven-plus seasons during
the 1990s as general manager of the
Milwaukee Brewers, the team with
which Bando spent the last five years
of his playing career, which
concluded in 1981.
(9/27/08)
by the Oakland A’s in the late 1960s
and early 1970s was just another
way for eccentric team owner Charley
Finley to "Stick it to the Man" (i.e.
Major League Baseball). And much
to the dismay of Commissioner Bowie
Kuhn, he was forced on three
straight occasions to congratulate
Finley for winning the World
Championship, from 1972 through
1974.
One of the primary reasons for the
A’s success centered on the efforts
of third baseman Salvatore Leonard
Bando, a Cleveland native who
manned the hot corner for Finley’s
A’s for 11 seasons. A four-time all-
star, beginning in 1969, Sal Bando
never started the mid-season game
for the junior circuit due to the
presence of Hall of Famer Brooks
Robinson. But while Robinson and
his Baltimore teammates managed to
receive a pair of World Series rings,
Bando did his part to make sure the
Birds were nothing more than second
fiddle during a four-year run during
the first half of the decade.
Bando was a classic power-hitting
third baseman who served as the
glue of the Oakland infield. His best
season took place in 1973 when he
hit a career-best .287 with 29 home
runs and 98 RBIs while leading the
AL with 32 doubles. That
performance carried over to the post-
season, during which he hit two home
runs against Baltimore in Game 2 of
the ALCS and nearly hit a third, only
to be robbed on Al Bumbry’s
remarkable catch. He also victimized
the Orioles with two homers in the
1974 playoffs, with his long ball
against Jim Palmer in Game 3
serving as the contest’s lone run.
Bando also was not afraid to let his
feelings be known. He led the charge
for the team to wear black armbands
in the 1973 World Series in honor of
Mike Andrews after Finley ridiculed
the second baseman and ordered
him banished to the bench upon
making a couple of errors. Bando
also spoke out against manager Alvin
Dark during the 1974 season when
he suggested that Dark “couldn’t
manage a meat market.” Bando had
a chance to prove how capable he
was at running a baseball team when
he spent seven-plus seasons during
the 1990s as general manager of the
Milwaukee Brewers, the team with
which Bando spent the last five years
of his playing career, which
concluded in 1981.
(9/27/08)
