Athletics President re: keeping the team in Oakland

[Big John]

With apologies to any A's fans here, this circus is getting really fun to watch right now.

With the elephant in their logo

[gonealookin]

With apologies to any A's fans here, this circus is getting really fun to watch right now.

Oh, I've been an A's fan since I was in grade school in the East Bay and Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers were winning World Championships.  There's no need to apologize, the current ownership has certainly turned it into a "circus", which will get even more absurd if they somehow fail to complete their stadium deal in Las Vegas (they have a promise of $380 million courtesy of the Nevada legislature, but the rest of the financing is still up in the air).

In recent years the A's ownership has simply decided not to compete in Major League Baseball.  They had some good players in the 2018-2021 period, but as they gained enough service time and came due for salaries well above the MLB minimum, the A's traded all of them off for other teams' mediocre prospects who would work for cheap (and also be lousy enough to lose 112 games as the team did last season).  It stupefies me that someone would own a major league sports team and be satisfied to cash the checks from TV deals and not try their best to field a winning team; if that's your mentality you need to invest your assets in some other line of business.

If the Vegas ballpark deal were to fall apart I expect the other MLB owners would finally get fed up and force John Fisher to sell the team.  That wouldn't necessarily be any better for Oakland as someone from one of the other cities mentioned as future expansion candidates might step up to be the buyer, or a buyer might just take over the Vegas project.

[ZLoth]

From SportsNet:

Oakland A's relocating to Sacramento for next three seasons

The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time.

(text deleted)

The A's will now play the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, near the state capitol and the NBA arena where the Sacramento Kings play. The minor league stadium has 10,624 fixed seats and can currently hold 14,014 fans with lawn seating and standing room.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[SectorZ]

Probably not too worried about that low seating capacity in Sacramento when they can only get 6,000 to go to a game in Oakland right now.

I actively cringed just watching that three game series the Red Sox played against them, especially that game with five errors in three innings. I swear Margaret Whitton was reincarnated and watching the game from a luxury box applauding the effort.

[Max Rockatansky]

If the short term move to Sacramento goes down I'll probably incorporate a game into a city meet.  To my knowledge nobody has done Sacramento and the stadium is right near a lot of noteworthy road items.

[epzik8]

Congrats to Sacramento on finally getting their MLB team.

[Buck87]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

[gonealookin]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

It should be
BAL
A'S

One of the things they said in the announcement is that they will simply be known as the "Athletics" or the "A's" with no city affiliation in the name.  I imagine they might put some Sacramento patch on the uniforms but they won't have "Sacramento" in script across the front.

[Henry]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

It should be
BAL
A'S

One of the things they said in the announcement is that they will simply be known as the "Athletics" or the "A's" with no city affiliation in the name.  I imagine they might put some Sacramento patch on the uniforms but they won't have "Sacramento" in script across the front.

It's their last season in Oakland, so it's still going to be "BAL-OAK" like it's been for the last 57 years. I sort of expected them not getting an extension in Oakland, and it's just as well because the relationship between the two sides has deteriorated to the point of no return. Just like that, the Giants will have the Bay Area all to themselves for all eternity.

[LilianaUwU]

BAL
SAC

hehe ball sack

[Scott5114]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

The AARoads Forum experience in two posts:

It's their last season in Oakland, so it's still going to be "BAL-OAK" like it's been for the last 57 years.

hehe ball sack

[bwana39]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

It should be
BAL
A'S

One of the things they said in the announcement is that they will simply be known as the "Athletics" or the "A's" with no city affiliation in the name.  I imagine they might put some Sacramento patch on the uniforms but they won't have "Sacramento" in script across the front.

It's their last season in Oakland, so it's still going to be "BAL-OAK" like it's been for the last 57 years. I sort of expected them not getting an extension in Oakland, and it's just as well because the relationship between the two sides has deteriorated to the point of no return. Just like that, the Giants will have the Bay Area all to themselves for all eternity.

As it is, the A's wanted to move to the South Bay and the Giants said no.  It is like the Airport thing going on right now. Nobody wants to be associated with Oakland.

[Road Hog]

Maybe FCK-ARS if there is the possibility that FC Kaiserslautern return to the Bundesliga and make a Champions League appearance against Arsenal.

[SEWIGuy]

Not sure the As move to Vegas is going to go like the Raiders. The Raiders have a huge fanbase in southern California that will think nothing of driving up to Vegas for a weekend considering there are only eight or nine home games. NFL games are more a destination event.

The As don't have that following and baseball isn't quite like that.

[jeffandnicole]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

It should be
BAL
A'S

One of the things they said in the announcement is that they will simply be known as the "Athletics" or the "A's" with no city affiliation in the name.  I imagine they might put some Sacramento patch on the uniforms but they won't have "Sacramento" in script across the front.

So, it's "Thanks for hosting us; we won't give you any recognition"?  Sacramento should then say, sorry, the ballpark is no longer available for your use.

And yes, while not every team uses the host city in their name, a nice sign of appreciation for this limited-timed engagement would be to use the city name. It also helps with jersey sales, along with other apparel and souvenir sales.

Seems like the owners have no idea how marketing works.

[SEWIGuy]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

It should be
BAL
A'S

One of the things they said in the announcement is that they will simply be known as the "Athletics" or the "A's" with no city affiliation in the name.  I imagine they might put some Sacramento patch on the uniforms but they won't have "Sacramento" in script across the front.

So, it's "Thanks for hosting us; we won't give you any recognition"?  Sacramento should then say, sorry, the ballpark is no longer available for your use.

And yes, while not every team uses the host city in their name, a nice sign of appreciation for this limited-timed engagement would be to use the city name. It also helps with jersey sales, along with other apparel and souvenir sales.

Seems like the owners have no idea how marketing works.

I agree about the marketing, but I think Sacramento turning this deal down because they won't refer to themselves as the Sacramento As is a little short-sighted.

[1995hoo]

In case the image doesn't display properly, here is a link to the source, and if THAT doesn't work, search Twitter for @ToddRadom.

https://twitter.com/ToddRadom/status/1775932164749644157

[Max Rockatansky]

Too bad Fresno didn't put in a pitch to have the As here.  Chukchansi Park is a similar size to Sutter Health Park.  I'd probably go to an As game every week if they were here.

[1995hoo]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

Whereas if the Nats were to play there, it would just be good advice:

WSH
SAC

The Mariners, on the other hand....

[SectorZ]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

Whereas if the Nats were to play there, it would just be good advice:

WSH
SAC

The Mariners, on the other hand....

When the White Sox come to town it becomes a dog toy. TB can also be an imaginative one as well.

[NWI_Irish96]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

The TV score bugs show team logo/score/score/team logo, so every time the Phillies and Pirates play, we start with

P 0 0 P

[epzik8]

When the Orioles play there will the scoreboards and TV score bugs show:

BAL
SAC

The TV score bugs show team logo/score/score/team logo, so every time the Phillies and Pirates play, we start with

P 0 0 P

Best idea yet.

[ZLoth]

From Sportico (posted May 7th):

NO A'S IN ATTENDANCE: OAKLAND TRAILS A WHOPPING 553 U.S. TEAMS

What do the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League and the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League have in common besides the name?

They both outdraw the Oakland Athletics.

The A's are averaging 6,410 fans per game in what is expected to be their final season in Oakland. It would be the lowest home attendance figure for an MLB team in 45 years, and a total that would look more at home in leagues that you've likely never heard of.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

From KGO (posted May 9th):

Here's how empty the Coliseum is for A's last season in Oakland

Attendance for Oakland A's games at the Coliseum are much lower so far compared to last season, according to MLB data.

The peak attendance for the first 21 games this season was Opening Day at around 13,500 fans. The lowest attendance was Monday, when it was less than 2,900. Last season, opening day had over 25,000 fans.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[epzik8]

From Sportico (posted May 7th):

NO A'S IN ATTENDANCE: OAKLAND TRAILS A WHOPPING 553 U.S. TEAMS

What do the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League and the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League have in common besides the name?

They both outdraw the Oakland Athletics.

The A's are averaging 6,410 fans per game in what is expected to be their final season in Oakland. It would be the lowest home attendance figure for an MLB team in 45 years, and a total that would look more at home in leagues that you've likely never heard of.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

From KGO (posted May 9th):

Here's how empty the Coliseum is for A's last season in Oakland

Attendance for Oakland A's games at the Coliseum are much lower so far compared to last season, according to MLB data.

The peak attendance for the first 21 games this season was Opening Day at around 13,500 fans. The lowest attendance was Monday, when it was less than 2,900. Last season, opening day had over 25,000 fans.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

I feel like the city of Oakland had multiple chances to improve their stadium situation, and blew them all.

[DTComposer]

From Sportico (posted May 7th):

NO A'S IN ATTENDANCE: OAKLAND TRAILS A WHOPPING 553 U.S. TEAMS

What do the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League and the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League have in common besides the name?

They both outdraw the Oakland Athletics.

The A's are averaging 6,410 fans per game in what is expected to be their final season in Oakland. It would be the lowest home attendance figure for an MLB team in 45 years, and a total that would look more at home in leagues that you've likely never heard of.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

From KGO (posted May 9th):

Here's how empty the Coliseum is for A's last season in Oakland

Attendance for Oakland A's games at the Coliseum are much lower so far compared to last season, according to MLB data.

The peak attendance for the first 21 games this season was Opening Day at around 13,500 fans. The lowest attendance was Monday, when it was less than 2,900. Last season, opening day had over 25,000 fans.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

I feel like the city of Oakland had multiple chances to improve their stadium situation, and blew them all.

Oakland had some missteps, absolutely, but this is squarely on John Fisher. It's obvious that staying in Oakland was never his goal - otherwise the Howard Terminal project would be a reality by now (it had something like 90% of the funding already in place). He saw the potential dollars in Vegas and never seriously considered anything after that.

In spite of the A's not using the city name, I hope Sacramento makes every effort to make the A's feel welcome. I think there's a non-zero chance the Vegas deal falls apart, and if San Jose or Oakland are no longer options, Sacramento is a solid landing spot.