Former Athletics third baseman Sal Bando passes away at age 78

Former Oakland Athletics third baseman Sal Bando of Cleveland, Ohio passed away on Friday at the age of 78 according to Jacob Lev of CNN Sports on Monday. The cause of death was cancer.

Bando played 11 seasons with the Athletics organization (two seasons with the Kansas City Athletics in 1966 and 1967, and nine seasons with the Oakland Athletics from 1968 to 1976). He also was with the Milwaukee Brewers for five seasons from 1977 to 1981.

Career Statistics

Bando batted .254 with 242 home runs and 1039 runs batted in. During 2019 games, 8289 plate appearances and 7060 at bats, Bando scored 982 runs and had 1790 hits, 289 doubles, 38 triples, 75 stolen bases, 1031 walks, 2881 total bases, 65 sacrifice bunts, and 57 sacrifice flies. He was hit by a pitch 75 times, and had an on base percentage of .352, and a slugging percentage of .408.

American League Leader

Bando led the American League in doubles (32), and total bases (295), while with the Oakland Athletics in 1973. Then the following year, Bando led Major League Baseball with 13 sacrifice flies.

Four-time All-Star

Bando represented the Oakland Athletics in the 1969, 1972, 1973 and 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Games. He had career-highs in home runs (31), runs batted in (113), runs (106), hits (171), and total bases (295) with the Oakland Athletics in 1969.

American League MVP runner-up

In 1971, Bando was second in the American League Most Valuable Player runner-up voting with 182 points. He was only behind his Athletics’s teammate and starting pitcher Vida Blue of Mansfield, Louisiana, who had 268 points. Bando batted .271 with 24 home runs and 94 runs batted in that season.

Three Straight World Series titles

Bando was part of the Athletics squad that won three straight World Series titles from 1972 to 1974. In 1972, the Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds and the Big Red Machine in seven games. In 1973, the Athletics beat the New York Mets in seven games, and in 1974, the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. In 44 playoff games, Bando batted .245 with five home runs and 13 runs batted in.

Photo courtesy: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons