 As an independent club in 1984, led by manager Ron Mihal, they posted the league's worst record (23-47).The next season they became an Oakland Athletics affiliate and improved slightly to 24–45 under manager Dave Hudgens, who led them to a third-place finish out of four clubs in the Southern Division.One bright spot that year was the play of shortstop Walt Weiss, who made the league's 1985 All-Star team.