In addition to McGwire and Canseco, Oakland's lineup included other power hitters such as Jason Giambi, Gerónimo Berroa, and Matt Stairs.
Ariel Prieto, who had a 4.41 career ERA, was named the Opening Day starter; a succession of poorly regarded players filled out the rest of the starting rotation and bullpen.
In light of this, General Manager Sandy Alderson traded Mark McGwire (who, at the time, was on pace to break Roger Maris' single-season home run record) to the St. Louis Cardinals for T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein, and Eric Ludwick.
Their 65-97 finish (the club's worst since 1979) led to the removal of Sandy Alderson as General Manager on October 17, he was replaced by Billy Beane.
The continued rise of Jason Giambi, the debuts of Ben Grieve and Miguel Tejada, the acquisition of Tim Hudson in the 1997 MLB draft, and the ascension of Billy Beane to the position of general manager paved the way for a lengthy period of success from 1999 onwards.
Infielders Manager Coaches Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg.