The Treehouse entertainment area behind the left-center field fence was bustling between games of an Oakland Athletics doubleheader, as the team’s fans tried to enjoy the sunshine beaming over the bay of San Francisco while playing table tennis or sipping a soft drink.
They are rare, but very vocal these days, the small groups of longtime team fans who are determined to make the most of every moment before the team moves to Sacramento for the next three seasons, before finally settling down. in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Those who make the effort to travel to the old Colosseum have seen victories lately. The A’s lost 112 games last season, and 102 the year before. They are currently 18-21, heading into a series against the Seattle Mariners this weekend.
It’s an encouraging start to the season for a club expected to finish in last place, having started the campaign with a 1-7 record. They recorded their 18th victory on June 12 last season.
“The guys are optimistic,” noted pitcher Alex Wood. I believe that every player in this locker room, I sincerely believe that they wanted at all costs to avoid reliving what they experienced last year. There is a real desire to play well on the field, to fight for victory every night, and that’s what you see in each of the guys here. And I think what’s cool about the guys here is that we’re all very young, and we’ve been around each other for a long time.”
All this, even though very few fans witness the chemistry between the players that finally begins to pay dividends.
The first game of the series against the Texas Rangers on Monday attracted only 2,895 spectators. The next day, 3,965 spectators came, then 8,230 on Wednesday, to bring the Athletics’ average to 6,222 after 22 home games this season.
Last year, the A’s averaged 10,276 spectators per game. Crowds are always larger in the summer, after school has ended, while April is always a particularly difficult month in terms of success at the turnstiles.
Manager Mark Kotsay praised his players for their focus, despite all the distractions off the field, such as the size of the crowds at games at the Coliseum.
“Nobody quits in this group,” he said.
Childhood friends Diego Valdez, Aubrey Porter and John Solis have attended countless home openers at the Coliseum, and now they’re trying to make the most of the A’s final season in Oakland.
“It’s sad, to be honest,” said Porter, a 43-year-old from San Jose. I’ve been going to games since I was a kid. I was here when Rickey Henderson broke the record (for stolen bases). We used public transit (BART) when I lived in Fremont, and my father would often come and give me rides whether I wanted him to or not, and that’s where my love for athletics grew. . That’s one of the reasons why I’m very sad that they’re leaving.”
Porter and his friends understand the bitterness of the fans, and why they shun the team.
“It’s frustrating; the A’s are leaving for Las Vegas, and stopping in Sacramento next year, Valdez said. We lost the Warriors (NBA), the Raiders (NFL), so I’ll try to go to four or five more games between now and the end of the season.”
For his part, Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien is happy with his former club’s recent success, and he’s well aware that his next visit to the Coliseum near the end of September will likely be his last — it will be three last home games of the A’s.
“This is where my family came to see me play, so we’ll have to find a way to enjoy the moment,” said Semien, who grew up nearby in Albany and attended the University of Texas. California in Berkeley. I played many matches here, and I often trained there during the winter. It’s sad, but like I always say, business is business.”
2024-05-09 17:22:25
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