The author Amaury Pi Gonzalez (left) and New York Yankees pitcher Jim Catfish Hunter in 1975 at the Oakland Coliseum (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2024

The Final Season at the Oakland Coliseum -(Part II)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

One of the many great moments in the history of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum happened in 1975 when ex-A’s Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter visited the Coliseum, this time wearing his New York Yankee uniform.

A year before this visit, he traded his bright yellow A’s uniform for Yankee pinstripes after a dispute over a technicality in his contract with A’s owner Charles O. Finley. His last year with the Oakland A’s (1974), Hunter ended with a record of 25-12 and a 2.49 earned run average, starting 41 games and winning the American League Cy Young Award.

Then Hunter signed a five-year contract estimated at $3.75 million, ending American sports history’s most celebrated bidding war. The total value of the pact sets a record for baseball. January 1, 1975. At the end of that 1975 season, Jim “Catfish” Hunter had a record of 23-14 with a 2.58 earned run average in 30 starts. Jim “Catfish” Hunter owns the All-Time pitching record in wins at the Oakland Coliseum (including with A’s and visiting team) a total of 80 games won at the Coliseum.

In 1987 and with the Oakland A’s uniform, Jim “Catfish”Hunter was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Jim “Catfish”Hunter pitched from 1965 to 1979 (15 years) with Kansas City and Oakland A’s then with the New York Yankees.

Hunter’s Record: 224-166, 3.26 earned run average, 181 complete games over 3,449 1/3 innings pitched. PERFECTO: On May 8, 1968, Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland Athletics pitched the ninth perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the Minnesota Twins …

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI and 990 KATD Pittsburgh and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com