6 days remain until Athletics Opening Day at the Toronto Blue Jays on March 27, 2026. With Las Vegas on the horizon, this daily countdown tracks the best A’s players by jersey number.
Today, March 21, 2026, the number is 6.
Sal Bando, No. 6
Sal Bando is the best Athletics player to wear No. 6 because he was the defining third baseman of the franchise’s championship core, a durable middle-of-the-order force who spent more than a decade in the organization and anchored the dynasty-era A’s.
Bando’s case is simple for this series: his peak value is elite, his Oakland run is long, and the number is inseparable from the best stretch of A’s baseball. He finished with 61.5 career WAR, and 52.1 of that came with the A’s across 11 seasons (1966-1976).
Why Bando gets No. 6
Bando gets No. 6 because he checks every box: longevity, leadership, and star-level production in an A’s uniform. He was a four-time All-Star, a key run producer, and a constant presence at third base while the club piled up pennants and titles.
His best seasons were in Oakland. From 1969-76, he repeatedly posted impact years, including a massive 1971 season when he hit .271 with a .377 OBP, 24 home runs, 94 RBI, and finished second in AL MVP voting. He followed that with more middle-of-the-order production during the 1972-74 title run, including 29 homers in 1973 and 103 RBI in 1974.
Career start and background
Bando was born Feb. 13, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio. He played at Arizona State University and was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the sixth round in 1965.
He debuted in 1966, then became an everyday player by the time the A’s arrived in Oakland. From 1968 forward, he was a fixture, playing 162 games in both 1968 and 1969, and he grew into one of the franchise’s core stars.
Other notable No. 6s
- Sal Bando
- Tony Phillips
- Mickey Tettleton
- Travis Buck
- Mitchell Page
Career check
No. 6 goes to Sal Bando. He wasn’t just a long-time Athletic. He was one of the franchise’s cornerstone players, a major bat and steady glove at third base, and a defining figure of the A’s championship era.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
