Barry Zito was with the Oakland A's for the first seven seasons of his career, and for a time, he was one of the elite hurlers of the American League.  Zito debuted in 2000 and was a 17-game winner in 2001.  The curveball specialist's best year came right after when he had a league-leading 23 Wins (against only five losses) had 182 Strikeouts with a 2.75 Earned Run Average.  He would win the Cy Young Award that year.

Tim Hudson was with the Oakland A's for the first six seasons of his MLB career.  Hudson was one of the highest regarded pitchers in his time in Oakland, and his 92-39 record there was one of the highest winning percentages in baseball.

There were a lot of great players that the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1900s and early 1910s, and this is likely why Danny Murphy has not received some of the due that he should have.

It can be argued that this may seem like a very high rank for Jason Giambi, as a lot of his career has been viewed as a disappointment.  It shouldn’t be, as when Jason Giambi played for Oakland, he was one of the best batters in the game.