The 1978 Oakland Athletics season was the team's eleventh in Oakland, California. The team sought to rebound from its first losing season in a decade (a 63-98 result in 1977). Despite low expectations, the Athletics remained competitive for nearly three-quarters of the season. Despite posting a respectable 61-56 mark through 117 games, the Athletics collapsed in the season's final weeks; their 8-37 finish ensured a second consecutive season of fewer than 70 wins. Only one player (Billy North) remained from the team's 1974 championship season. He would be traded to the Dodgers in May. Prior to the season, owner Charlie Finley nearly sold the team to buyers who would have moved them to Denver. Offseason February 25, 1978: Doug Bair and cash were traded by the Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds for Dave Revering. March 15, 1978: Vida Blue was traded by the Athletics to the San Francisco Giants for Gary Alexander, Gary Thomasson, Dave Heaverlo, Alan Wirth, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, a player to be named later, and $300,000. The Giants completed the deal by sending Mario Guerrero to the Athletics on April 7. March 25, 1978: Sheldon Mallory was traded by the Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Staggs. March 28, 1978: Dick Allen was released by the Athletics. March 28, 1978: Mark Williams was released by the Athletics. Vida Blue trade The trade of Vida Blue was a very complicated deal for A's owner Charles O. Finley. At the end of the 1977 season, Finley attempted to trade Vida Blue to the Cincinnati Reds for a player of lesser stature and cash, but baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the deal. The commissioner claimed that it was tantamount to the sale of the star pitcher to the Yankees that the commissioner voided during 1976. The commissioner claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race. Instead, Blue was traded across the bay to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player trade that received the commissioner's blessing. Proposed sale After the 1977 season, Charlie Finley had heart bypass surgery and his health was in decline. He had received offers from groups in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., and from billionaire oilman Marvin Davis from Denver. In December 1977, Finley agreed to sell the Athletics to Marvin Davis for 12.5 million dollars. The franchise would