FanNation - The Republic of Sport

By Thomas Wayne May 4th marked the 34th anniversary of the end of one of former maverick Athletics owner Charlie Finley???s more obscure experiments: the designated runner. Finley had already made quite the name for himself as an owner with a flair for the unusual when he moved the team from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968. Among his many on and off field oddities were: Non-traditional green and gold uniform colors The paying of players to grow facial hair to increase their popularity with younger fans (Rollie Fingers anyone) Bestowing strange nicknames on players to make them appear more colorful (Catfish) Playing games with orange baseballs for better vision (it didn???t work) Attempting to use a mechanical rabbit to deliver new baseballs to the home plate umpire when he ran out (that failed miserably) Installing a live mule as the team???s mascot, named appropriately after the owner himself. So it???s easy to see how the designated runner concept could get lost in all of this??? (clears throat)???baseball. On April 4, 1974 Herb Washington made his major league debut for the A???s against the Texas Rangers. Washington, a then world record holder in several sprinting events and four time track and field All American at Michigan State, was signed by Oakland for one reason and one reason only: his world class speed. The concept was simple, Washington would be used to pinch run in certain situations to steal bases and score runs when an afterburner was needed. The results were mixed. Washington???s speed was so good that in the most limited of part time duties he managed to score 29 runs and steal 29 bases (good for 7th in the AL that year) without ever making an official plate appearance. Conversely, his total lack of baseball training saw him picked off and/or thrown out attempting to steal 16 times. For his career, Washington???s 162 game averages are, believe it or not, as follows: At Bats: 0 Hits: 0 AVG: .000 OBP: .000 SLG: .000 RBI: 0 Runs Scored: 51 Stolen Bases:48 Caught Stealing: 26 You may never find a kookier career 162 average stat line than that. To top it off, Washington never once played in the field for defensive purposes. He was exactly what Finley wanted him to be: a designated runner. As quickly as the experiment began, it ended. His incredible speed was not enough to warrant keeping him on the roster with his overall limited baseball skills. Washington played in 13 games in 1975, stealing a pair of bases before his release on May 4th. Washington???s career ended with 33 runs scored, 31 stolen bases, a 1974 World Series ring and the honor of being the one and only man in the history of baseball cards to have his position listed on the card as ???pinch runner??? (1975 Topps #407). After the A???s dynasty of the early 1970???s was slowly torn apart (read: sold player by player) Finley finally sold the franchise to Levi Strauss President Walter Haas Jr. in 1981. After a life of many crazy, odd and highly lucrative business ventures, Charlie O. passed away in February of 1996. Herb Washington went on to an extremely successful career in business, buying and selling several McDonald???s franchises in Youngstown, Ohio over the last two decades as well as purchasing and operating the Youngstown Steelhounds, a minor league hockey franchise. His amateur track records aside, he will probably be best remembered, especially by the baseball world, for his time as the designated runner; a man whose career baseball stat line is completely and strangely devoted to the art of pinch running. If you know of an odder 162 game average stat line, we???d like to hear from you.