The A’s are one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball. Established in 1901, they won three World Series through the 1913 season as the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1955, they became the Kansas City Athletics and then moved out west to become the Oakland Athletics in 1968. On Thursday, in front of 46,889 fans, they played their last game in Oakland before moving to Sacramento for a few years and then Las Vegas.
“I want to take a minute to share with all you how privileged and honored I feel to stand on this field,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said while addressing the crowd after Thursday’s game, a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers. “It hit me last night. I know it’s been hitting all of us at different times. For me, it was after the game last night. I walked into the stadium last night, my amazing wife dragged me on to this field, and we took it all in.
“To the staff, you dedicated your lives to the Oakland A’s. Especially those who aren’t coming with us, I am forever grateful. I will never forget you. To all of you, on behalf of my staff, myself, the team, all the past players and coaches, everyone who’s worn the green and gold, there are not better fans than you guys. Thank you all for loving the game of baseball. Thank you for your lifelong support of the Oakland A’s.
“Last, I want to thank you guys for coming out today to share this moment with the club I’m so proud of. We played our asses off this year — we still got three left, gentlemen. I think we should pay homage to this amazing stadium that we’ve had the privilege of enjoying for 57 years. And I ask you for one last time to start the greatest cheer in baseball: Let’s go Oakland!”
Fans lined up hours before gates opened for the afternoon game, wrapping down the street for one last look. This tandem of fans had an interesting idea for jerseys to wear to the final game:
Former A’s pitcher and current broadcaster Dallas Braden made some time for the fans outside the ballpark before the game.
Groundskeepers were also spotted collecting dirt for fans to take home with them, a piece of Oakland Coliseum as they once knew it.
The Oakland grounds crew used a new set of bases for each of the nine innings, creating 27 new pieces of memorabilia. Kotsay is getting a set, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, and head groundskeeper Clay Wood is taking one home as well.
Three-time All-Star and 2002 Cy Young winner Barry Zito sang the national anthem before the game.
World Series champions Dave Stewart and Rickey Henderson threw out the ceremonial first pitch(es).
Henderson set the MLB record with 130 steals in a season for the A’s and won the 1990 MVP. The majority of his career as the greatest leadoff man ever was spent with the Oakland Athletics. Stewart won 20-plus games in four straight seasons for the A’s, finishing in the top four of Cy Young voting all four times. He won the 1990 ALCS MVP and 1989 World Series MVP.
“This day is here and I’ll be honest I don’t know what to do with it, how to think,” Dave Stewart, who played for the A’s for eight years and also worked under Sandy Alderson in the Oakland front office, tweeted Thursday. “What I feel is hurt. A huge piece of my life is being transplanted to someplace else. This is not your fault, but it sure hurts to my core. I hope it’s not the end of our relationship, just our relationship as Oakland Athletics. I love you Oakland Coliseum and A’s Baseball.”
There were a few interruptions in the late innings of Thursday’s Oakland finale, with one fan running on the field in the ninth inning and others thrown beer cans on the outfield grass. Overall though, the atmosphere was joyful and celebratory more than somber. After 80 games of bemoaning owner John Fisher, the A’s faithful used the final home game to say goodbye to the team.
All told, the A’s went 2,492-2,000 (.555) in the Oakland Coliseum, a 90-win pace across a 162-game schedule. The team won four World Series titles in Oakland (1972-74, 1989), including clinching the 1973 and 1974 titles at the Coliseum.
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