'Will stick with me forever': After 57 years, A's say farewell with heartfelt win
Mart¨ªn Gallegos
@MartinJGallegosOAKLAND -- There was nothing Mark Kotsay felt like he could do to fully repay the fans for the love and support they have shown him since his arrival to the A¡¯s organization as a player in 2004, but he sure was determined to try his best.
About four hours before the A¡¯s closed the chapter on their 57-year tenure in Oakland by playing their final game at the Coliseum on Sept. 26, Kotsay emerged from his office in full uniform and made his way out to the parking lot. The A¡¯s skipper soaked in the electric atmosphere of a parking lot that was packed by 8 a.m. PT, stopping to talk and take pictures with fans and employees.
¡°I¡¯ve never been to a World Series before, but I feel like today is one of those days that you can kind of experience the emotion of that,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°The magnitude of it, driving in today and seeing the fullness of a parking lot and feeling the energy and emotion, that¡¯s something I¡¯ll treasure for the rest of my life.¡±
Leading a young team on the rise, Kotsay was the perfect figure to represent the A¡¯s on this emotional day at the Coliseum, which has been his home away from home for 14 years as a player, coach and now manager of the club. So once All-Star closer Mason Miller shut the door on the Rangers for a 3-2 win, Kotsay was handed a microphone on the field addressed the Oakland crowd -- an announced attendance of 46,889, the largest crowd for a Major League team¡¯s final home game in a city -- to say his final goodbyes.
¡°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.¡±
Every A¡¯s player, coach and trainer stood behind Kotsay and tipped their cap to the crowd and joined in on the ¡°Let¡¯s go Oakland¡± chant sparked up by the manager at the end of his speech. A few moments later, they all convened on the Coliseum mound for a group photo to commemorate the day.
¡°You can just tell how much this organization and this place means to him,¡± said A¡¯s starter J.T. Ginn, who earned his first Major League win after limiting Texas to two runs on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. ¡°That¡¯s the biggest thing you take away from it. He puts his soul into it every day. That¡¯s something we see, and I¡¯m glad the people got to see that in his speech. You can tell he was getting emotional. It¡¯s pretty incredible, just his ties to this place.¡±
The next time the A¡¯s play a home game, it will be in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, where they are set to play through at least the 2027 season before a planned relocation to a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
This day, however, was all about paying tribute to Oakland and its rich baseball history dating back to 1968. A¡¯s legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart threw out ceremonial first pitches to Lawrence Butler and Miller, while former Big Three ace Barry Zito returned to sing the national anthem.
Fans lined up to enter the stadium over five hours before first pitch and filled the Coliseum for batting practice. Once the game started, from Ginn¡¯s first pitch to leadoff hitter Marcus Semien to Miller¡¯s final pitch -- a blazing 103.5 mph fastball to Travis Jankowski -- the raucous Oakland crowd fiercely and passionately cheered on their team to one last victory on their home field.
¡°That was by far the coolest game I¡¯ve ever played in,¡± Butler said. ¡°The coolest crowd I¡¯ve ever played in front of. Greatest atmosphere I¡¯ve ever played in front of. This last game will stick with me forever.¡±
With the win, the A¡¯s pushed their record at the Coliseum to 2,492-2,000 during the regular season. In addition to Ginn earning the final win, here¡¯s a rundown of the rest of the ¡°lasts¡± for the A¡¯s at Coliseum:
- Save: Miller
- Hit: Seth Brown¡¯s eight-inning single off Jack Leiter
- Run: Jacob Wilson on JJ Bleday¡¯s fifth-inning single
- RBI: Bleday
- Walk: Tyler Soderstrom in the eighth off Leiter
- Strikeout: Miller vs. Leody Taveras in the ninth
The 2024 season did not end here. The A's played three more games in Seattle to officially end their Oakland era. But this day was all about celebrating an Oakland fan base that showed up in full force.
¡°Just simply amazing,¡± Kotsay said of the fan support. ¡°They had the passion. They had the love. You could feel the love for every one of us in this uniform representing this city of Oakland. They were grateful for the effort that we¡¯ve put in this season. To honor them today in the way that we did, they were also very thankful for that.¡±