1st January 1881
The fans were hoping that last season's struggles would lead to some changes in the front office to freshen things up. What they got was the opposite as the owner decided that he was happy with things as they were and not to rock the boat.
The AL awards dinner saw 4 Athletics players earn recognition with Golden Glove awards for making the AL defensive team. These were Pitcher Tom Healey, Catcher Pop Snyder, Third Baseman George Bradley and Centre Fielder Paul Hines.
The front office went to work on the playing staff to put the changes the fans want into place.
The first move they made was to trade 31 year old Pitcher Joe McDermott to the Cincinnati Red Stockings receiving 22 year old minor league Catcher Jim Keenan in exchange.
They also traded 32 year old First Baseman Jim Foran to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 23 year old minor league First Baseman John McGuinness and 21 year old minor league Catcher John Kelly.
The team then continued to clear the pitching staff as they traded 33 year old Pitcher Dick McBride to the St Louis Brown Stockings and gained 24 year old Second Baseman George Strief and 22 year old minor league First Baseman Charlie Ahearn and 24 year old Second Baseman Pop Smith in return.
The final move saw a third pitcher traded in the form of 28 year Dory Dean who went to the St Louis Brown Stockings in exchange for 23 year old minor league Centre Fielder John Magner, 24 year old Right Fielder Frank Whitney and 24 year old Centre Fielder Tom Loftus.
These moves have left the fans worried that the team may have left them selves exposed in the pitching department as they are down to only 4 experienced pitchers.
The team lost 4 players to retirement during the off season.
The most notable of these was First Baseman Everett Mills. Mills made 207 starts in 264 games played for the Philadelphia Athletics along with 2 all star selections during his 10 year career. He hit the ball 248 times to gain 150 runs and 144 RBI's to finish with an average of .256 (real life stats 337 games, 433 hits, 283 runs and 203 RBI's for an average of .284)
The other 3 players to retire were all bit part players who made very few MLB appearances. Frank Barrows played 12 games with 1 start for an average of .182 with 2 hits, 1 run and 1 RBI (real life stats 18 games for 13 hits, 13 runs and 11 RBIS with an average of .151). Charles Bierman pitched in 1 game for 3.2 innings and an ERA of 4.91 (real life stats 0 games). Phonney Martin played 8 games for 2 hits, 3 runs and 4 RBI's with an average of .333 (real life stats 74 games with 79 hits, 52 runs and 37 RBI's for an average of .236)
The team Acquired Catcher Dave Pierson from the Baltimore Orioles through the rule 5 draft.
The First Year Player draft saw the team pick up three players. The first round pick was pitcher George Denby. The full draft log is shown below
All draftees signed the by the deadline day.