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Tim Keown, ESPN Senior WriterSep 20, 2024, 09:28 PM ET
- Senior Writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Columnist for ESPN.com
- Author of five books (3 NYT best-sellers)
OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s began their final homestand of their final season in Oakland on Friday night, and nobody can predict what might take place over the next six games and seven days.
After 57 seasons in the Coliseum, there will be emotion, but how that emotion will manifest itself is the main question on everyone’s mind.
“We’ve heard some rumblings, and we’re going to have some more meetings about it,” said left fielder Seth Brown, who, in his sixth season, is the longest-tenured Athletic. “The fans have always supported us, and we just hope they support us in a positive manner. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the time and give it its last hurrah, and at the same time we’re hoping it’s done the right way.”
The A’s hosted the Yankees on Friday, losing 4-2 in 10 innings. They play two more against New York before finishing the home portion of their schedule with three games against the Texas Rangers. The final game, on Thursday afternoon, will be the final major professional game in Oakland, which has lost three major franchises — the Warriors, the Raiders and now the A’s — in five years.
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Beginning next spring, the A’s will play a minimum of three seasons in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento before making a permanent move to Las Vegas.
The A’s have been forced to deal with one off-the-field distraction after another over the past two seasons, from the Las Vegas announcement last April to the Sacramento announcement this April.
“This isn’t really new for us,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “But the emotion last year was a lot greater in terms of the anger. This year has been really, really calm, and I don’t know if that’s because they’ve gotten the anger out. There’s still going to be that emotion as we near Thursday, but that’s part of whenever the healing process starts.”
Fans in Oakland have staged numerous protests aimed at owner John Fisher, who pulled out of a massive development deal in Oakland in April 2023 and announced the move to Las Vegas. There was a highly publicized “reverse boycott” last year and an Opening Day parking lot boycott — where fans congregated in the parking lot but refused to enter the stadium — this season.
Before Friday, the team had drawn 738,438 fans, the worst in Major League Baseball.
“The last three games are going to be pretty epic for us and the fan base,” outfielder JJ Bleday said. “I’m kind of looking forward to it, though. It’ll be exciting to play some games with a crowd. Obviously, I feel bad for the fan base, but we’ll be a part of history.”
“I wish we were staying here,” said A’s outfielder JJ Bleday, “but it’s not up to me. I do have a jar ready to fill up with some dirt, though.” Jed Jacobsohn/AP
The A’s have instituted some precautions for the final homestand, alerting the players to be aware of their surroundings in case fans decide to take the field. Players have also been told not to gather for photographs with family on the field after games.
“Just get on out of there,” Bleday said.
Before Friday’s series opener against the Yankees, fans taped the ubiquitous “SELL” signs to the railings in the right- and left-field bleachers. Another sign — “VIVEK REPENT” — was a reference to Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who also owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, who will share Sutter Health Park with the A’s.
Ranadive, a friend of A’s owner Fisher, engineered the deal to provide the A’s with a temporary home, rent-free.
“I wish we were staying here,” Bleday said, “but it’s not up to me. I do have a jar ready to fill up with some dirt, though.”
