Courtesy of the Oakland Athletics.
On Sept. 26, the Oakland Athletics had their last-ever home game at their home, Oakland Coliseum. It was an emotional day for both players and fans. The A’s are moving to Las Vegas, their new home city, by the start of the 2028 season. Until then, they will play at a minor league field in Sacramento.
The A’s final homestand took place from Sept. 24 through 26 against the Texas Rangers. The last game had a total attendance of 48,889, a sold-out crowd. This broke the record for the largest crowd ever to attend a last major league home game in a city, beating the Montreal Expos’ over 31,000 in 2004. Attendance was usually not this high, the A’s averaged just above 11,000 in attendance this season, some of the lowest numbers across Major League Baseball.
The A’s defeated the Rangers, 3-2, taking the series. Their starting pitcher, J.T. Ginn pitched five innings, while three players after him took the mound to throw their final pitches at their home stadium. None other than Mason Miller closed the game. Jacob Wilson scored two runs and Lawrence Butler scored one. After the game ended, manager Mark Kotsay spoke in front of the fans with the players, coaches, and trainers behind him. The crowd, including players, had a “Let’s Go Oakland” chant going.
Courtesy of Major League Baseball.
Fans showed their support and love for the team, lining up outside the stadium hours before the first pitch. Fans had signs, took pictures, and posted on social media. Stadium workers were helping fans get mementos of the stadium by giving them dirt from the field.
Players also posted their thoughts and feelings on social media about what this place meant to them. Butler posted pictures on Instagram with the caption, “Oakland you’ll always have a special place in my heart forever thank you.”
Courtesy of Lawrence Butler via Instagram.
The Oakland Coliseum opened in September 1966, and officially welcomed the A’s in April 1968. The team has been around since 1901, at the time known as the Philadelphia Athletics until 1954, then the Kansas City Athletics, until they settled in Oakland in 1967. Not only are the A’s one of the oldest MLB teams to date, but the Coliseum was one of the oldest ballparks in the league. There has been a lot of history at this ballpark since it opened, including the A’s four World Series titles from 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1989.
Edited by Brittany Snow
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