City of Oakland Bids Emotional Farewell To The A’s
Don’t you just hate to see the end of an era, the loss of a great tradition? But yesterday that’s what we had to endure. As the city of Oakland bid an emotional farewell to their beloved A’s. They played their last game at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday Sep. 26 2024. It was a sad day although we knew for sometime that it was coming. But that didn’t make it any less painful for the faithful A’s fans. Those same fans had packed the parking lot by 8 a.m. PT. Manager Mark Kotsay put on a full uniform and stopped to chat and take pictures with them. Some described it as an electric atmosphere.
In front of a crowd of 46,889, former A’s pitcher and 2002 Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito sang the National anthem. The A’s then closed out the final chapter of their story with a 3-2 win over the Rangers. Thus ending a 57 year-long love affair with Oakland in which four World Series championships, six pennants and 17 division titles were delivered to the Bay Area. After the game Kotsay gave a short speech:
“It was difficult,” Kotsay said. “Today was an emotional day all around, from the time I drove in to right now. I’m still kind of reeling right now. … The speech comes from the heart. I’m as much an Oakland A as a Major League player and manager, because this is where home began and this is, hopefully, where home finishes. “I couldn’t be more proud to represent this organization on this day and being able to honor it in the way that we did with a win.”
He led the crowd in a “Let’s go Oakland” chant with all the players, coaches and trainers standing behind him.
City of Oakland Bids Emotional Farewell To The A’s
A’s legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart threw out ceremonial first pitches. Stewart went on to describe how he felt:
“It’s like going to view the body,’’ Athletics pitching legend Dave Stewart said. “Then, you go to the funeral. And after the funeral, you have the meltdown.
“I just had my meltdown.’’
The Athletics, after playing for the final time in the Coliseum Thursday, will play the final three games of the season in Seattle. Then they will relocate to Sacramento and play in a minor-league facility for at least three years, before moving permanently to Las Vegas. Leaving behind depressed and broken-hearted fans who never wanted this day to come.
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