Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  We are pleased to present our pre-2026 revision of our top 50 Athletics

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following: 

1.  Duration and Impact.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the Major League Baseball.

3.  Advanced Statistics.

4.  Playoff performance.

5. Their respective legacy on the team.

6. How successful the team was when he was there.

7. Respecting the era in which they played.

Criteria 1-4 will make up the lion’s share of the algorithm.  Please note that we have implemented this for the first time.  This has changed the rankings all throughout the board.

Last year, the Athletics began their three-year residency in Sacramento, where they are currently known simply as “The Athletics”.  The team had a losing record of 76-86 and finished fourth in the American League West.  There are no players from last year on the list, nor did anyone from last year make it.  The only new addition came from a former player due to the algorithmic change.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes.

1. Rickey Henderson
2. Lefty Grove
3. Eddie Plank
4. Jimmie Foxx
5. Al Simmons

You can find the entire list here.

The only new entrant was former pitcher Mark Mulder, who replaced former infielder Matt Chapman at #50.  Again, this is due to the new algortihm. 

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Mark Mulder entered the league with massive expectations as the second overall pick in 1998 out of Michigan State. The smooth-throwing lefty didn't waste time, fast-tracking his way to the Coliseum by 2000.

That rookie campaign was rough around the edges, yielding a 5.44 ERA over 27 starts, but it served as the necessary baseline for what would become a rapid transformation.

Everything clicked in 2001. Mulder anchored the rotation with a league-leading 21 wins, commanding the strike zone with an aggressive sinker-splitter combination that kept hitters completely off-balance. He finished as the American League Cy Young runner-up to Roger Clemens—the highest point of award recognition he would reach, but far from his only productive summer in the green and gold.

As the southpaw component of Oakland’s famed "Big Three" alongside Tim Hudson and Barry Zito, Mulder became a model of efficiency. He rattled off three consecutive seasons of at least 15 wins following his breakout year, earning back-to-back All-Star selections in 2003 and 2004.

During his five-year peak with the Athletics, Mulder was an absolute workhorse, pitching to an 81-42 record with 668 strikeouts and leading the league in complete games twice.

Because the front office operated under strict small-market financial constraints, the roster churn was inevitable. Before his arbitration costs could skyrocket, Oakland traded Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2005 season. He delivered one final, stellar 16-win campaign in the National League, helping push the Cardinals into the postseason.