Claudell Washington, the broad-shouldered kid from Berkeley who burst on the scene as a 19-year-old with his hometown A’s and grew into a world champion and two-time All-Star, died on Wednesday. He was 65.
Washington, who enjoyed a 17-year major league career that ended in 1990 with the Yankees, revealed in 2018 he was battling prostate cancer and had chosen to discontinue treatment for the disease.
“If I go tomorrow, I’m good,” Washington told The Athletic two years ago. “I’m at total peace with my life. I wouldn’t change my script for nothing in the world.”
Former A’s star pitcher Vida Blue, a teammate and friend of Washington’s, was among those who were hit hard by Wednesday’s news.
“I’ve got a heavy heart,” an emotional Blue said. “We lost a good man and I lost a good friend. They say you have four or five people in your life who you have unconditional friendships with. Claudell was one of those friends for me.
“But Claudell wouldn’t want us to feel sorry for him or moan his death,” Blue added. “He’d want us to celebrate his life to the fullest and just tell stories about the good old days.”
Blue laughed when he recalled how he and his teammates used to marvel at how broad Washington’s shoulders were.
“Most guys with long names, the letters on the back of their uniform would stretch down to their armpits,” Blue said. “Claudell’s shoulders were so wide that he could have his entire name on the back of his uniform and the letters would still go in a straight line.”
Those shoulders helped Washington become a 40-40 guy long before Jose Canseco arrived in Oakland. Blue remembered asking Washington about the extra large bat he carried as a rookie — a 40-inch, 40-ounce piece of lumber too big for most players to swing.
“He was just a big, strong dude, man,” Blue said while breaking into a short laugh before pausing and again adding, “My heart’s heavy, man.”
Mike Norris, Washington’s former A’s teammate and longtime friend, told Sports Illustrated “It’s a sad day.”
The A’s released a statement Wednesday morning following the announcement of Washington’s passing.
“The A’s are saddened by the loss of World Series Champion Claudell Washington. Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.”
Washington’s successful big-league career was littered with unique feats. He was one of the youngest All-Stars in baseball history when he made the American League team as a 20-year-old in 1975 with the A’s. While with the Yankees, Washington hit the 10,000th home run in New York Yankees history in 1988, making them the first franchise to reach that mark. He also was the third player in MLB history — after Babe Ruth and Johnny Mize — to hit three home runs in a game in both the American League and National League.
He even played a small role in the cult classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” as it was Washington’s foul ball that Bueller caught in the movie.
The well-traveled Washington played for seven different teams and wound up hitting 164 home runs with a .278 batting average and 824 RBIs. He had the distinction of twice being traded for the fathers whose sons hit at least 500 home runs. Washington was dealt from the Rangers to the White Sox for Bobby Bonds in 1978, and later shipped from the Braves to the Yankees for Ken Griffey Sr. in 1986.
As perhaps a testament to his baseball longevity, Washington struck out more against strikeout king Nolan Ryan than any other player — the Ryan Express got him 39 times.
Although he never even played baseball at Berkeley High, Washington’s athletic prowess was on full display while playing during the summer and he caught the eye of an A’s scout. The A’s signed him as a non-drafted free agent in 1972. Less than two years later, Washington was in the big leagues.
He played over 1,900 games during his career, but perhaps none was more memorable than his second game in the major leagues. With a raucous, sold out crowd of 47,582 filling the Oakland Coliseum, the hometown hero electrified the fans with a triple and later a walk-off hit against the Indians’ Gaylord Perry, who was bidding for his AL-record 16th straight win.
Blue, who was the winning pitcher on that night thanks to Washington’s 10th inning single, was thrilled the A’s had called up Washington a couple days earlier.
“I had been the youngest player on the team for three or four years, and then he came up to the A’s at 19 (years old),” said Blue.
In a 2004 interview, Washington told the San Francisco Chronicle that night — July 5, 1974 — was one of the two best moments of his long career. His other best moment would come months later when, as a rookie, he batted .571 to help the A’s beat the Dodgers for their third consecutive World Series championship.
Washington also had some dark times during his career, mainly a battle with cocaine dependency in the mid-1980s. Washington was one of 21 players implicated in a cocaine scandal in Pittsburgh in 1985. He was originally suspended 60 days but was allowed to keep playing since he agreed to donate five percent of his salary and complete community service.