The final series that will ever be played at Oakland Coliseum began on Sept. 24. The A's and Texas Rangers will face off in an American League West rivalry series to officially close the book on Major League Baseball in Oakland.
Athletics ownership has been notoriously stingy since purchasing the team in 2005. Owner John Fisher has explored multiple different stadium rebuild plans to keep the team in Oakland, but nothing came of any of them. The A's are set to move to Sacramento for a three-year stint before the team officially relocates to Las Vegas, but there are no real, solid plans for the move yet.
Oakland fans have been displeased with Fisher's ownership of the team for years — for Boston Red Sox fans, think recent John Henry, but 10 times worse. Fisher traded away homegrown talent that now thrives in other organizations, let the ballpark fall into disrepair, and, finally, took Oakland's last sports team away just four years after the Raiders' departure.
The Athletics have been a Northern California staple since 1968. The team originated in Philadelphia in 1901 before it moved to Kansas City in 1955. The green and gold became legendary just a few years after its most recent move.
The A's won three consecutive World Series from 1972-74 and were led by future Oakland icons. Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers were the biggest stars of the three-peat squad. The Athletics found their way back to the Fall Classic in 1989, and the team was star-studded. Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Red Sox legend Dennis Eckersley brought three consecutive pennants and a World Series back to Oakland.
Dennis Eckersley reminisces on his career with the Athletics, memories at Oakland Coliseum
Eckersley, a four-time All-Star, 1992 Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer, posted a 24-year career in MLB. Nine years of his career were spent in Oakland and he clocked eight with the Red Sox. Eckersley retired as the color commentator on NESN's Red Sox broadcast in 2022 to move back to his native Northern California, and he hoped to attend many more A's games before their move. He shared his thoughts in an emotional interview with Rob Bradford of the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast.
"I've been in denial for so long," Eckersley said. ". . . All of a sudden, there's an urgency to go the ballpark. . . you start to think how meaningful it was."
The former closer grew up a Raiders fan and is all too familiar with his favorite team leaving his hometown. Now, the team with which he built his Hall of Fame career will cease to exist.
"I hate to get into more of it, the saying whose fault it is and all that, because we all have opinions about it. It's just not right, it's just not right, regardless. You know it's money, ultimately," Eckersley said.
A's fans — and baseball fans, in general — deserve better than what John Fisher and cheap ownership give
Oakland fans have tried to give Fisher and A's ownership a piece of their mind, but like Sox owner Henry, Fisher is reclusive (probably because his spending decisions are indefensible.) Oakland Coliseum has been mostly empty during home games for years because the organization trades away all its top talent to keep the seats clear. But fans staged a reverse boycott in 2023 and packed the stands for a few games. Green shirts labeled "SELL" and "sell the team" chants rang through the air during the Athletics' June 13 game against the Rays. Nothing has changed the ownership's philosophy.
During his interview with Bradford, Eckersley made a salient point — the Oakland A's will not be forgotten. Some Athletics fans will have memories of the legendary teams that played at the Coliseum in its heyday, but the fans born after the 80s don't get to share in those moments. Their team is just gone.
On Sept. 23, the day the final series at the Coliseum began, Fisher released a hollow letter to A's fans. In it, he apologizes for the departure of the team and says he hopes to make Oakland fans proud in the team's next life. But Fisher was never in it for the fans — A's die-hards know it, and baseball fans, in general, do too.
Eckersley is one of the precious few A's fans who may actually get something from the Oakland Coliseum closing on Sept. 26. Bradford encouraged him to take his namesake gate or retired number plaque when he leaves the park for the last time.
But all Athletics fans got out of Fisher's ownership were the side effects of greed. They were priced out of a sport they love, and they'll now be deprived of a legendary team and its history. Greed hurts baseball, and it's not fair to the players and fans of teams with neglectful ownership.