Infield: Sal Bando (1968-81) win the starting third base job in a spirited battle over Scott Brosius, Steve Buechele and Sean Burroughs. Bando was a fine hitter, drove in 1,000 runs in his career, played good defense and was the clubhouse leader of the A's team that won three straight World Series titles. Across the diamond, left-handed Sid Bream (1983-94) platoons with righty slugger Steve Bilko (1949-62), who hit 76 home runs in the majors but also mashed more than 300 in the minors (including 111 in back-to-back PCL seasons). The double play combo is second baseman Sam Barkley (1884-89), who hit a lot of doubles, and shortstop Sammy Bohne (1916-26), who was primarily a glove man.
Outfield: Steve Brodie (1890-1902), not to be confused with the guy who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, was a colorful center fielder who could hit a little and run a little. Popular with teammates and fans, he was a bright man who would quote Shakespeare at the plate and carry on running conversations with himself in the outfield for the benefit of the fans. He finished his career with a .303 average, 900 RBI and almost that many runs scored. Left fielder Shad Barry (1899-1908) bounced around seven teams but generally played pretty regularly. Right fielder Steve Brady (1874-1886) played for a couple of years, then took seven years off before returning to play four years with the New York Metropolitans.
Catcher: Smokey Burgess (1949-67) was a fat, slow guy who could hit the ball really hard. When he was in his late 30s and too fat to catch anymore, he hung around as a pinch-hitter for a couple of years (236 games, 244 plate appearances) because he could still spank the ball.
Rotation: The rotation begins with the Three Steves With Hard Luck. Steve Blass (1964-74) was a very good pitcher. He won Game 7 of the '71 World Series, then came back and won 19 games the next year. Then suddenly, at age 30, he developed a mental block and could no longer throw anything close to the strike zone, bringing his career to an abrupt halt. No one ever figured out what happened to him, but whenever a pitcher suddenly loses the strike zone (such as Rick Ankiel or Mark Wohlers), it is known as "Steve Blass Disease." Steve Busby (1972-80) had won 59 games and thrown two no-hitters by the time he turned 26, but he got overworked at a young age, tore up his arm and became the first big-league pitcher to have rotator cuff surgery. The surgery was a success in that he returned to pitch again, but he wasn't very good any more and he didn't last long. Blass and Busby won 173 games between them, but it's not hard to imagine, with better luck, them winning more like 400. By contrast, Steve Barber (1960-74) was nowhere near as dramatic, and he had a long career, but he was still a young guy with terrific stuff who developed arm troubles early in his career and was never quite as great as people expected. Scott Baker (2005- ) is in mid-career with the Twins and seems to be a very solid starter. Sheriff Blake (1920-37) was a dependable starter for some good Cubs teams on which he was usually overshadowed by pitchers who were just a little bit better.
Bullpen: Closer Steve Bedrosian (1981-95) saved 184 games and won a Cy Young Award. Stan Belinda (1989-2000) was a fine, durable right-hander. Stan Baumgartner (1914-26) was a decent lefty for the Philadelphia Phillies and A's. Salome Barojas (1982-85) didn't last long, but he had a great year out of the pen in 1982 to help the White Sox win their division. Stan Bahnsen (1966-82) was a solid swingman who looked completely drunk on his 1978 Topps card. We have no idea if Mr. Bahnsen was a drinker, and this has nothing to do with his abilities as a pitcher (he won 146 games), but it was an awfully funny picture on that card. Scott Bankhead (1986-95) was one of those guys who always seemed to be able to get batters out when he was healthy, but who most of the time seemed to be either hurt or coming back from an injury. Sean Burnett (2004- ) is a contemporary lefty who seems to be OK.
Bench: Outfielder Steve Braun (1971-85) was a decent lefty hitter who started for Minnesota early in his career and then spent his thirties playing for Whitey Herzog as a solid pinch-hitter. Between Braun and the Bream/Bilko platoon at first, there will always be good pinch-hitters available. Sammy Byrd (1929-36) used to pinch-run for Babe Ruth a lot and replace him in the field, so much so that his nickname was "Babe Ruth's Legs." That sells him short, though. He wasn't a bad player at all, and when he was done with baseball he became a pro golfer and won a half-dozen tour events. He is the only person ever to play in a World Series (1932) and The Masters (his best finish was third in 1941). Scott Bradley (1984-92) was a good enough catcher that he'll be able to give Ol' Smoke a few days off here and there. Skeeter Barnes (1983-94) was a utility guy who played outfield and infield and could actually hit a little bit.
Manager: Steve Boros managed the 1983 A's and the 1986 Padres to identical 74-88 records. Whether he can improve on that record with this team will depend heavily on the health of his starting pitchers.
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