A's Play Final Home Game in Oakland; Beat Rangers 3-2

The A's played their final home game in Oakland this afternoon in front of a rare sellout crowd defeating the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers 3-2.

This day was a long time in coming yet is a familiar story for the A's who I have characterized as baseball's vagabonds. The team has moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City to Oakland and is heading for Las Vegas via Sacramento. For all of the problems the Chicago White Sox have had they still have a home. 

Although the A's won most of their World Series titles in Philadelphia, they were in Oakland longer than anywhere else coming out west in 1968. During their time in Oakland, the A's won 4 World Series titles and 6 AL pennants although it has been 35 years since they won a championship. The A's have made the post-season 11 times this century but never got past the ALCS. 

While current owner John Fisher deserves a great deal of blame for tanking the team successive city administrations in Oakland and broad swaths of its community were unwilling to replace a decrepit ballpark to keep the team. After all, the Raiders left for Vegas while the Warriors now play in San Francisco. Speaking of San Francisco, the Giants also deserve some of the blame for the A's leaving the Bay Area. And what if Bud Selig had let the group organized by A's legend Reggie Jackson make a bid for the team in 2005?

Of course, there is the issue of the MLBPA not approving plans to relocate to Sacramento due to concerns with Sutter Health Park not being up to MLB standards although they do not have a veto. It's also unclear how the A's plan to pay for a ballpark yet to be built in Las Vegas.

Nevertheless, there are some heartbroken fans who have been with the team since the days of Charlie Finley, Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Joe Rudi, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers thru Tony La Russa and the Bash Brothers onto the Big Three during the Moneyball era. 

While the A's were not contenders in 2024, they are far better than the team which went 50-112 a year ago. The A's play their final three games as the Oakland A's in Seattle. Should they sweep the Mariners, the team will have a 20-game improvement finishing 70-92. Unfortunately, that is very cold comfort in Oakland tonight.