The Oakland Athletics announced Monday the club has agreed to terms with Manager Bob Melvin on a two-year contract extension through the 2016 season.
Melvin, the 2012 American League Manager of the Year, directed the A’s to a 94-68 record and AL West Division championship last season. He was originally named Oakland’s interim manager June 9, 2011 and subsequently signed a three-year contract through the 2014 season on Sept. 21, 2011.
The Athletics’ 94 victories represented a 20-game improvement from the previous season (74-88), the third biggest one-year turnaround in Oakland history. Melvin became the second manager in Oakland history to earn the BBWAA’s Manager of the Year award, joining Tony LaRussa (1988 and 1992). He also became only the 14th manager in history to win the award at least twice in a career, and only the sixth manager to win the award in both leagues. Previously, Melvin was named National League Manager of the Year with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007.
Oakland trailed Texas by five games with nine to play last season and became the first team in Major League history to rally from a deficit of five or more games with fewer than 10 games remaining to win a division or pennant. The A’s were also 13 games behind the Rangers on June 30, thus becoming only the fifth team in Major League annals to win a division or pennant after trailing by that large of deficit.
Under Melvin’s leadership, the A’s registered the best record (72-38) in the Majors after June 1. His 2012 club staged a Major League-leading 14 walk-off victories, including eight within a 16-game home stretch from June 21 through July 22. Yet, Oakland saved its best walk-off for last, rallying from a 3-1 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4 of the ALDS against Detroit to shock the Tigers and extend the series to a fifth game.
Melvin, a native of Palo Alto who attended both Cal and Menlo-Atherton High School, has posted a 141-120 record (.574) since taking over the A’s reins. In his nine seasons of managing Seattle (2003-04), Arizona (2005-09) and Oakland (2011-12), he has registered a Major League career record of 634-628 (.502).
