2002 Oakland Athletics season
| 2002 Oakland Athletics | |
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| 2002 AL West Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 103–59 (.636) |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Stephen Schott & Kenneth Hofmann |
| General manager(s) | Billy Beane |
| Manager(s) | Art Howe |
| Local television |
KICU-TV FSN Bay Area (Ray Fosse, Greg Papa) |
| Local radio |
KFRC (Bill King, Ken Korach, Ray Fosse) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The Oakland Athletics' 2002 season was the team's 35th in Oakland, California. It was also the 102nd season in franchise history. The Athletics finished first in the American League West with a record of 103-59.
The Athletics' 2002 campaign ranks among the most famous in franchise history. Following the 2001 season, Oakland saw the departure of three key players. Billy Beane, the team's general manager, responded with a series of under-the-radar free agent signings. The new-look Athletics, despite a comparative lack of star power, surprised the baseball world by besting the 2001 team's regular season record. The team is most famous, however, for winning 20 consecutive games between August 13 and September 4, 2002. The Athletics' season was the subject of Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (as Lewis was given the opportunity to follow the team around throughout that season); A film adaptation of the book, also titled Moneyball, was released in 2011.
Oakland's 2002 campaign began on a tumultuous note. During the 2001–02 offseason, the team lost three key free agents to larger market teams: 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees, outfielder Johnny Damon to the Boston Red Sox, and closer Jason Isringhausen to the St. Louis Cardinals. Faced with a number of significant roster holes, general manager Billy Beane sought to replace Damon and Giambi with free agent hitters Scott Hatteberg, David Justice, and Ray Durham (among others). Beane also made a number of key pitching acquisitions; most notably, he traded for Toronto Blue Jays reliever Billy Koch. Koch ultimately succeeded Isringhausen as the team's closer. Beane also traded for then-unheralded starter Ted Lilly. Additionally, the season saw the MLB debuts of second baseman Mark Ellis and eventual starter Aaron Harang.
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