Oakland A's
Immediately upon joining his new club, Page assumed the job of everyday left fielder, and showed poise with a promising career ahead of him when he batted .307 with 21 home runs and 75 runs batted in for the Oakland Athletics his rookie year. He collected nine first place votes to Murray's twelve to finish second in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
Page had a respectable 1978 season, batting .285 with seventeen home runs and 70 RBIs. He got into a contract dispute with A's owner Charlie Finley during Spring training 1979, and wound up getting suspended by the owner for refusing to play in exhibition games. He was used as the designated hitter during the regular season as injuries had limited his range in the outfield. He produced just a .247 batting average with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in his new role.
Page batted just .146 with four home runs and thirteen RBIs in the first half of the strike shortened 1981 season. When play resumed in August, Page saw just three more at-bats for the rest of the season, spending most of his time with the triple A Tacoma Tigers. The A's won the first half of the season; Page was kept off the roster for 1981 American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals and the 1981 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. Page spent most of 1982 with Tacoma and 1983 on the disabled list.
Read more about this topic: Mitchell Page