After nearly six decades, the Oakland Athletics played their final game in Oakland on Thursday, and the storied franchise finished its run in the East Bay in front of a sold-out crowd.
In an emotional game Thursday afternoon, the A’s closed out their final home series with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The team will play in Sacramento for the next three seasons before permanently relocating to Las Vegas in 2028.
Oakland, which has not seen packed stadiums in many years, had a full crowd for Thursday’s game, with 46,889 total A’s fans filling in the Coliseum. Thousands of fans lined up as early as 8 a.m. for the 12:30 p.m. game.
The emotional afternoon started off strong, with former A’s pitcher Barry Zito singing the national anthem and A’s legends Dave Stewart and Rickey Henderson throwing out the first pitch.
The game also aptly featured appearances from multiple classic Oakland characters, including A’s superfan Banjo Man (real name Stacy Samuels) and Krazy George, the former Oakland cheerleader who invented the Wave in the Coliseum in 1979.
Despite a slow start to the game, the crowd at the Oakland Coliseum was loud and animated. Chants of “Let’s go, Oakland” echoed through the stadium, along with chants of “Sell the team” — a phrase that has been repeated by fans since owner John Fisher announced the move to Vegas in 2023. Many fans throughout wore green shirts with the word “SELL,” repeating the sentiment.
Oakland opened the scoring in the third inning, loading the bases before bringing in two runs. The A’s scored again in the fifth after a Rangers error let Oakland shortstop Jason Wilson run in for his second run. Texas got two runs in the sixth after a potential double play was overturned, bringing the score to 3-2.
Center fielder JJ Bleday gave Oakland one last show with a brilliant, diving catch in the seventh, helping the A’s close out the top of the inning.
Right after that stunning play, Oakland fans sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for the final seventh-inning stretch in the Coliseum.
With the score still 3-2 at the top of the ninth, Oakland had a chance to close out the game with a win. Despite a few interruptions from fans — and a smoke bomb — on the field, reliever Mason Miller got things done, getting three quick outs to close out the game and finish the A’s stint in Oakland with a victory.
Throughout this final series, which began Tuesday, fans took the opportunity to take pieces of the stadium with them. The Oakland grounds crew helped fans get some of the dirt from the Coliseum field as a keepsake.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay reportedly planned to take home three bases after the game, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. Oakland groundskeeper Clay Wood said he would take the first-inning bases as his keepsake.
Mark Kotsay is taking three bases home with him today. They’re using 27 bases – Clay Wood is taking the first-inning bases as befits the best grounds keeper in the game.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 26, 2024
On Tuesday, some fans went as far as taking seats from the Coliseum.
Prior to throwing the pitch, Stewart, who won two World Series with the A’s as a pitcher, said that it felt like a funeral.
“It’s kind of like you go to the wake, you view the body, and then after you view the body, you have your kind words, and people have their good sayings and talk about memories,” Stewart told NBC.
Fisher, who became the A’s owner in 2005, wrote a poorly received statement on Monday, saying that the franchise “did our very best” to keep the team in Oakland.
Multiple reports said that Athletics players and coaches were advised to leave the stadium immediately after Thursday’s game, as the team was unsure how fans would react following the conclusion of the game. Despite this, Kotsay spoke to fans after the game, thanking them for their support and for joining the team for this final game.
“I think we all should pay homage to this amazing stadium that we’ve had the privilege and pleasure of enjoying for 57 years,” Kotsay said before starting the crowd in one last “Let’s go, Oakland” cheer.
