Sal Bando Stats

Sal Bando was born on Sunday, February 13, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio. Bando was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 3, 1966, with the Kansas City Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Sal Bando baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Third baseman Sal Bando captained the feisty Oakland Athletics during their dynasty of the early 1970s, providing his share of punch and leadership to an exciting and talented ballclub. Although he retired third in career home runs by an American League third baseman - 242, behind only Graig Nettles and Brooks Robinson - his strongest point was neither his hitting not his fielding, but his drive to succeed." - Silverman, Matthew. Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. Total Sports Publishing. May 2000. Sal Bando Page 52.

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Autograph on a 1981 Fleer Baseball Card (#510)

Sal Bando Autograph on a 1981 Fleer Baseball Card (#510)

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Birth Name:   Salvatore Leonard Bando
Nickname:   Captain Sal or Sal
Born On:   02-13-1944  (Aquarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Cleveland, Ohio
Year of Death Data Died On:   01-20-2023 (500 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Cemetery:   Not Yet Determined
High School:   Warrensville Heights High School (Warrensville Heights, OH)
College:   Arizona State University
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-00   Player Weight Chart Weight:   205
First Game:   09-03-1966 (Age 22)
Last Game:   10-03-1981
Draft:   1965 : 6th Round (119th) / Signing Bonus = $25,000

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Pitching Stats

1979 35 Brewers 1 0 0 0 0 .000 6.00 0 0 0 3.0 13 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
1 Year 1 0 0 0 0 .000 6.00 0 0 0 3.0 13 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Hitting Stats

1966 22 Athletics 11 24 1 7 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 .292 .320 .417
1967 23 Athletics 47 130 11 25 3 2 0 0 6 16 0 24 3 0 3 0 .192 .295 .246
1968 24 Athletics 162 605 67 152 25 5 9 0 67 51 6 78 6 5 7 12 .251 .314 .354
1969 25 Athletics 162 609 106 171 25 3 31 2 113 111 5 82 2 1 11 12 .281 .400 .484
1970 26 Athletics 155 502 93 132 20 2 20 0 75 118 5 88 7 3 6 12 .263 .407 .430
1971 27 Athletics 153 538 75 146 23 1 24 2 94 86 11 55 6 5 8 14 .271 .377 .452
1972 28 Athletics 152 535 64 126 20 3 15 1 77 78 17 55 6 3 9 13 .236 .341 .368
1973 29 Athletics 162 592 97 170 32 3 29 0 98 82 5 84 6 5 4 13 .287 .375 .498
1974 30 Athletics 146 498 84 121 21 2 22 1 103 86 4 79 1 13 5 10 .243 .352 .426
1975 31 Athletics 160 562 64 129 24 1 15 1 78 87 2 80 2 2 5 10 .230 .337 .356
1976 32 Athletics 158 550 75 132 18 2 27 0 84 76 1 74 7 3 4 7 .240 .335 .427
1977 33 Brewers 159 580 65 145 27 3 17 0 82 75 3 89 3 5 3 10 .250 .336 .395
1978 34 Brewers 152 540 85 154 20 6 17 0 78 72 4 52 4 7 6 11 .285 .371 .439
1979 35 Brewers 130 476 57 117 14 3 9 0 43 57 3 42 6 1 3 17 .246 .330 .345
1980 36 Brewers 78 254 28 50 12 1 5 0 31 29 2 35 3 4 1 7 .197 .278 .311
1981 37 Brewers 32 65 10 13 4 0 2 0 9 6 1 3 2 0 0 1 .200 .268 .354
16 Years 2,019 7,060 982 1,790 289 38 242 7 1,039 1,031 69 923 65 57 75 149 .254 .352 .408

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Fielding Stats

1966 Athletics 3B 7 6 169 30 4.3 28 5 23 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .933 4.47
1967 Athletics 3B 44 38 1,022 145 3.3 139 43 96 6 7 n/a n/a n/a .959 3.67
1968 Athletics 3B 162 159 4,244 477 2.9 460 188 272 17 27 n/a n/a n/a .964 2.93
1968 Athletics LF 1 0 9 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1969 Athletics 3B 162 162 4,442 523 3.2 499 178 321 24 36 n/a n/a n/a .954 3.03
1970 Athletics 3B 152 150 3,982 436 2.9 416 158 258 20 22 n/a n/a n/a .954 2.82
1971 Athletics 3B 153 153 4,105 420 2.7 408 141 267 12 22 n/a n/a n/a .971 2.68
1972 Athletics 2B 1 0 2 2 2.0 1 1 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .500 13.50
1972 Athletics 3B 151 151 4,032 479 3.2 460 123 337 19 29 n/a n/a n/a .960 3.08
1973 Athletics 3B 159 159 4,089 429 2.7 407 126 281 22 24 n/a n/a n/a .949 2.69
1974 Athletics 3B 141 139 3,591 423 3.0 400 113 287 23 28 n/a n/a n/a .946 3.01
1975 Athletics 3B 160 159 4,113 451 2.8 436 122 314 15 36 n/a n/a n/a .967 2.86
1976 Athletics 3B 155 155 3,991 446 2.9 429 125 304 17 26 n/a n/a n/a .962 2.90
1976 Athletics SS 5 0 32 8 1.6 8 2 6 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 6.75
1977 Brewers 2B 1 0 6 4 4.0 4 1 3 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 18.00
1977 Brewers 3B 135 135 3,489 386 2.9 373 96 277 13 31 n/a n/a n/a .966 2.89
1977 Brewers SS 1 0 21 4 4.0 4 1 3 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 5.14
1978 Brewers 1B 5 4 114 47 9.4 46 43 3 1 4 n/a n/a n/a .979 10.89
1978 Brewers 3B 134 131 3,444 432 3.2 418 89 329 14 25 n/a n/a n/a .968 3.28
1979 Brewers 1B 4 2 60 20 5.0 20 18 2 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1979 Brewers 2B 1 0 6 2 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1979 Brewers 3B 109 107 2,803 321 2.9 309 87 222 12 16 n/a n/a n/a .963 2.98
1979 Brewers P 1 0 9 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1980 Brewers 1B 7 1 56 19 2.7 18 16 2 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .947 8.68
1980 Brewers 3B 57 53 1,370 167 2.9 156 46 110 11 12 n/a n/a n/a .934 3.07
1981 Brewers 1B 9 5 153 61 6.8 61 58 3 0 6 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 10.76
1981 Brewers 3B 15 10 290 30 2.0 29 7 22 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .967 2.70
3B Totals 1,896 1,867 49,176 5,595 3.0 5,367 1,647 3,720 228 345 n/a n/a n/a .959 2.95
1B Totals 25 12 383 147 5.9 145 135 10 2 15 n/a n/a n/a .986 10.22
SS Totals 6 0 53 12 2.0 12 3 9 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 6.11
2B Totals 3 0 14 8 2.7 7 3 4 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .875 13.50
LF Totals 1 0 9 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
P Totals 1 0 9 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
16 Years 1,932 1,879 49,644 5,762 3.0 5,531 1,788 3,743 231 362 n/a n/a n/a .960 3.01

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Miscellaneous Stats

1966 Athletics 0 0 .000 4 0 n/a 0.0 8.0 24.0 - - -
1967 Athletics 1 0 1.000 5 0 n/a 0.0 5.4 21.7 - - -
1968 Athletics 13 4 .765 0 0 n/a 67.2 7.8 9.0 - - -
1969 Athletics 1 4 .200 0 0 n/a 19.6 7.4 5.4 - - -
1970 Athletics 6 10 .375 2 3 n/a 25.1 5.7 6.7 - - -
1971 Athletics 3 7 .300 0 0 n/a 22.4 9.8 5.7 - - -
1972 Athletics 3 1 .750 1 0 n/a 35.7 9.7 6.9 - - -
1973 Athletics 4 2 .667 0 0 3 20.4 7.0 6.0 - - -
1974 Athletics 2 3 .400 5 0 3 22.6 6.3 4.8 - - -
1975 Athletics 7 1 .875 1 0 0 37.5 7.0 7.2 - - -
1976 Athletics 20 6 .769 1 1 2 20.4 7.4 6.5 - - -
1977 Brewers 4 2 .667 0 0 24 34.1 6.5 7.1 - - -
1978 Brewers 3 2 .600 4 0 12 31.8 10.4 6.9 - - -
1979 Brewers 2 0 1.000 1 0 19 52.9 11.3 11.1 0.00 0.00 0.00
1980 Brewers 5 3 .625 7 0 15 50.8 7.3 8.2 - - -
1981 Brewers 1 1 .500 11 1 2 32.5 21.7 7.2 - - -
16 Years 75 46 .620 42 5 80 29.2 7.6 6.8 0.00 0.00 0.00

Sal Bando

Sal Bando Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1966 Kansas City Athletics 6 $12,000.00 - -
1967 Kansas City Athletics 6 $14,000.00 - -
1968 Oakland Athletics 6 $16,500.00 - -
1969 Oakland Athletics 6 $18,000.00 Stats -
1970 Oakland Athletics 6 $35,000.00 - -
1971 Oakland Athletics 6 $45,000.00 - -
1972 Oakland Athletics 6 $48,120.00 Stats Stats
1973 Oakland Athletics 6 $60,000.00 Stats Stats
1974 Oakland Athletics 6 $100,000.00 Stats Stats
1975 Oakland Athletics 6 $100,000.00 - -
1976 Oakland Athletics 6 $180,000.00 - -
1977 Milwaukee Brewers 6 $281,200.00 - -
1978 Milwaukee Brewers 6 $281,200.00 - -
1979 Milwaukee Brewers 6 $281,200.00 - -
1980 Milwaukee Brewers 6 $281,200.00 - -
1981 Milwaukee Brewers 6 $281,200.00 - -

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Salvatore Leonard Bando was a Major League Baseball player with the Kansas City Athletics (1966-1967), Oakland Athletics (1968-1976), and Milwaukee Brewers (1977-1981). When Sal, his nickname, made his big league debut on September 3, 1966, he became the first former student from Warrensville Heights High School (Warrensville Heights, OH) to play in the majors.

Sal Bando Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Sal Bando Rookie Card | 1967 Topps Baseball Card (#33 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

The Back of the Baseball Card
SAL BANDO—3rd BASE. The Athletics have high hopes for this 23 year old infielder. A six foot righthanded batter, Sal hit .292 for Kansas City after joining the club late in '66.

On April 10, 1968, the Athletics played their first game in Oakland. The franchise had spent 53 years in Philadelphia, then 12 years in Kansas City, before relocating to Oakland. That day:

Sal Bando was the first third baseman in that first game for the Oakland Athletics, the first Oakland Athletics player to wear #6, and in the second inning Tom Phoebus grounded into a double play that was the first turned in Oakland — Sal Bando (3B) to John Donaldson (2B) to Ray Webster (1B).

Oakland Athletics First Game | Baseball Almanac

Oakland Athletics First Game (Box Score) | Pottstown Mercury | April 11, 1968 | Page 34
Baseball Almanac Research Library

In 1969, Sal Bando finished the season with 113 runs batted in, second on the team to Reggie Jackson who had 118 runs batted in — the two "RBI Machines" were the first players from the Oakland Athletics to post a 100+ RBI season. Four of Captain Sal's RBIs came courtesy of a grand slam Bando hit off George Brunet on April 16, 1969, the first grand slam ever hit in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Sal Bando was the only player on the inaugural 1968 Oakland Athletics to play in all 162 games. He led the American League in games played that season along with Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. A year later, Bando led the American League again, and this time he led alongside two different hall of famers, Harmon Killebrew & Carl Yastrzemski!

Sal Bando might be the only baseball player in history to hang up his cleats and become the Chief Executive Officer of a doll company. An excerpt from Sports Illustrated: Where Are They Now:

In a way, A's owner Charlie Finley treated his players like dolls. He dressed them in gaudy uniforms and white shoes, paid them to grow facial hair and frequently pulled their strings -- to get them not to talk. Ironic, then, that Sal Bando, the tough-as-nails A's captain who often clashed with Finley, is now in the doll business -- the CEO of the Hartland, Wis.-based Middleton Doll Company.

Bando says Finley's management style influenced his own. "He taught me to make sure you get talented people to work for you," says Bando, 63. "What I learned not to do is treat people unfairly." The power-hitting third baseman led the A's in a near revolt in 1976 after Finley refused to allow ace Vida Blue, closer Rollie Fingers and outfielder Joe Rudi to play, as a protest against commissioner Bowie Kuhn's ruling that Finley couldn't sell the three. "Finley aired me out on the radio," says Bando. "You learn that's not the way you do business."

Sal Bando, The Simpsons | Baseball Almanac

Sal Bando | The Simpsons | May 7, 2007
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Sal Bando was the voice of Sal Bando (pictured above / he is driving) in an episode of the Simpsons (Regarding Margie) which Sports Illustrated for Kids featured in an issue Sports Figures on The Simpsons, writing in part:

Episode: Regarding Margie First aired: May 7, 2006 Memorable Moment After Homer refuses to pay Bart for spray painting their address (742) on the curb, Bart leaves the 2 off. Homer finishes painting the curb so it reads: 74 Oakland A's - Best Team Ever Lisa: "Dad, all you had to do was paint one number, now no one is going to be able to find our house!" Homer: "But sweetie, I just wanted to tell the '74 Oakland A's how I felt about them." Sal Bando, Gene Tenace and several members of the '74 A's roll up in a convertible. Sal Bando: "Look, that guy remembers us!" Gene Tenace: "Hey Sal Bando, give him a '74 A's thank you honk!" Sal Bando honks the horn and drives off. Homer: "My work here is done."

After hanging up his cleats, Sal Bando became a Special Assistant to the Milwaukee Brewers General Manager, Harry Dalton. In 1991, he took over as GM, the sixth in franchise history. On Friday, January 20, 2023, Sal Bando died of cancer in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Captain Sal was 78 years old.