A Brief History of Bay Area MLB Right Fielders

By Rich Campbell

In the last year in this space, we have looked at best shortstops, third basemen, second basemen, first basemen, left fielders and center fielders to have played in the Bay Area. This month we look back at the best to ever play right field in Oakland and San Francisco, to finish out our coverage of the outfield. Future articles will tackle catchers, designated hitters, starters and relievers.

The list below is based on the number of games played with the franchises. Interestingly, all four right fielders appeared in over a thousand games for their respective clubs. The WAR (Baseball Reference version) presented is the value accumulated by each player in their time in the A’s/Giants, not their career overall.

Let’s get started:

Reggie Jackson, A’s, 10 seasons, 1346 games, 48.1 WAR, 4.8 WAR per season

Reggie, the only Hall of Famer on this list of Bay Area right fielders, had a spectacular run in Oakland including six All-Star appearances, slashing .262/.355/.496, for an OPS+ of 145 (league average is 100). During those years donning the Green and Gold (1967-75 and 1987), he won an MVP, finished top five two more times, played on three World Series Champions and won the World Series MVP in 1973.

After leaving Oakland he played for the Orioles, Yankees (winning another World Series MVP) and Angels before returning to Oakland for his final season. While his HOF plaque and constant highlights on MLB Network might have younger fans believe his best years came in New York, he had just one top-five MVP finish (second in 1980) and amassed just 17.2 WAR in the Bronx in five seasons (3.4 per season) compared to 48.1 WAR (4.8 per season) in Oakland. He finished his career with 74.0 WAR and 14 All-Star selections.

Baseball player Reggie JacksonPhoto byphotographer Martyna Borkowski

Jose Canseco, A’s, 9 seasons, 1058 games, 27.2 WAR, 3.0 WAR per season

Canseco, famously the first ever 40-40 player, was a September call-up in 1985 during his age 20 season and went on to win Rookie of the Year Honors in 1986. In his first tour of duty with the A’s he made five All-Star Teams and the 1988 MVP, as well as appearing in three World Series, including the 1989 title-winning season. He was traded to the Rangers in 1992 and after a stop in Boston, he returned to Oakland in 1997. He went on to play for the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Yankees and White Sox before retiring. His slash line for Oakland years was .264/.344/.507, good for an OPS+ of 136. His career WAR totaled 42.4 WAR and he appeared in six Midsummer Classics and won four Silver Sluggers, three in Oakland.

Jack Clark, Giants, 10 seasons, 1044 games, 30.7 WAR, 3.1 WAR per season

Clark debuted in 1975 as a 19-year-old in San Francisco and roamed right field in Candlestick through his age 28 season. During his time in San Francisco, he garnered two All-Star appearances and a pair of top-seven MVP finishes, whilst slashing .277/.359/.477, good for an OPS+ of 134. After leaving the Bay Area, he played for the Cardinals, Padres, Red Sox and Yankees. After having never walked more than 83 in a season for the Giants, he led the league in walks three times, including 136 free passes in 1987, when he finished third in MVP voting in St. Louis. He ended his career with 53.1 WAR and four All-Star games.

Bobby Bonds, Giants, 7 seasons, 1014 games, 38.0 WAR, 5.4 WAR per season

Bobby Bonds, known primarily to younger fans as Barry Bonds’ father, was a great player. His seven seasons (1968-74) in San Francisco included a pair of top-four MVP finishes, three Gold Gloves, an OPS+ of 131 and a slash line of .273/.356/.478. After playing at Candlestick in his age 22 to age 28 seasons, he went on to play for the Yankees, Angels, White Sox, Rangers, Indians Cardinals and Cubs. Bonds the Elder finished his career with 57.8 WAR in 14 big league seasons and three All-Star nods.

Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.