LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The 2023 Major League Baseball season hasn't been memorable for the Oakland Athletics, but the franchise has had many highlights during its 50-plus years in the Bay Area.
As the team continues its quest to relocate to Las Vegas — a process that is now in the late innings — Channel 13 decided to look back at some of the franchise's greatest hits in Oakland.
A westward move
Relocation to Southern Nevada wouldn't represent the first move for this franchise, which started play in 1901.
The A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland following the 1967 season. For 12 years before that, the team played at Kansas City's old Municipal Stadium.
From just after the turn of the century through the 1954 baseball season, the A's called Philadelphia home, and they had a lot of success there — five World Series titles during those decades.
After reaching the World Series in 1931, however, the A's encountered a dry spell. The team wouldn't win another championship until the "Swingin' A's" won it all in 1972, beginning a run of three straight world titles.
Another championship followed in 1989, though that collection of A's players — a roster that oozed talent — probably should have won two or three more titles during that era.
"There's major history here (in Oakland)," says Casey Pratt, a sports journalist for ABC7 in the Bay Area. "Four world championships, tons of fans and family values and memories and lots of very famous A's fans like Tom Hanks and M.C. Hammer. There's a lot they would lose here in this market if they left."
One of the most colorful players from those talented late 1980s and early 1990s A's teams was Jose Canseco, who now lives in Las Vegas.
"Great memories," Canseco says of his time with the A's. "Great experiences. I won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP, and it was a really good time over there."
In 1988, Canseco became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 40 home runs and steal at least 40 bases in a single season. During that era, Canseco was arguably the biggest star in the game, and his popularity extended to pop culture. He famously dated Madonna for a time and even was portrayed on an episode of "The Simpsons."
"We were a dynasty team," Canseco says. "We were winning championships and going to the World Series."
The list of notable players who graced Oakland's roster during the '70s, '80s and '90s is long.
It included all-time MLB stolen base leader Rickey Henderson, slugger Reggie Jackson, feared relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley, pitcher Vida Blue, Canseco and his "smash brother" Mark McGwire, and many others.
Since that 1989 title, the A's haven't won a World Series, but the club has made numerous playoff runs, including in 2002 when Oakland won an American League record 20 consecutive games, one of the most memorable streaks in baseball history.
From 2002 through the 2020 season, the A's tallied six AL West Division championships.
Former MLB player and current television analyst Dexter Fowler says he feels bad for Oakland fans because it's likely they'll lose their team.
"The (NBA's) Warriors moved across the bay (to San Francisco), the Raiders left, and now the Athletics leaving...I do feel bad for the city," Fowler says.
A disappearing act
One of the oldest and inarguably the most run-down ballparks in baseball, the Oakland Coliseum has been the A's home during their entire stay in the Bay Area.
Long outdated as far as fan experiences go — not to mention creature comforts for players — the stadium is deemed by most observers as the worst in the majors, though former players do remember games from days gone by where A's fans showed up and showed out for their team.
"I've been in Oakland in late September and October when they're in the playoff hunt, and that place gets rocking," says Adam Jones, a five-time all star who played for Seattle, Baltimore and Arizona before retiring after the 2019 season. "Those fans are passionate."
For the 2022 season, the A's averaged just under 8,000 fans per game, however, lowest in the big leagues.
The team hasn't been able to reach a deal with civic leaders in Oakland to help finance a new ballpark there, though talks have been going on for well over a decade.
The aging stadium in Oakland and paltry attendance figures represent two of the biggest reasons why the team wants to move to a new city.
In Las Vegas, the team plans to play in a sparkling new 30,000-seat ballpark that would sit at the current site of the Tropicana hotel on the Strip.
Nevada lawmakers earlier this year approved up to $380 million in public funds to help pay for what would be a $1.5 billion baseball palace at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Tony DeFrancesco is a former coach for the A's who also managed the Las Vegas 51s, the minor league franchise now known as the Las Vegas Aviators.
"When the Coliseum was sold out, it was great, but I think the reality is that the players want new," DeFrancesco says. "That stadium is very aged, both from the outside and on the inside in the locker rooms and the player lounges. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out in Oakland."
Irreconcilable differences
As with many divorces, the likely split between the A's and their home city for the past half-century will prove to be difficult for some.
Jones says part of the reason why the A's haven't drawn many fans in recent years is because of the product on the field.
The team is on pace to lose well over 100 games in 2023 after losing 102 games last season.
Prior to 2022, the A's had lost over 100 games once — in 1979 — since moving from Kansas City.
For many recent seasons, the A's have had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.
"They haven't spent a lot of money the past couple of years," Jones says. "They're running out a lot of rookies. They traded guys like Matt Olson and Sean Murphy, guys who were due to start making some big money. They aren't paying their guys."
A's ownership has promised to spend more on payroll if and when they move to Las Vegas. That's partly because a brand-new stadium would undoubtedly add revenue streams the team says will help fund player salaries.
"At the end of the day, it's business, but business thrives because of the support of the fans," Jones says. "Oakland is a proud city. The fans in Oakland are just getting their hearts ripped out."
Questions and answers
While the A's try to land a new stadium on the iconic Las Vegas Strip, many questions remain — and we want to help answer them.
As our series continues, Bryan Horwath answers some of the questions you've asked about the relocation:
READ MORE FROM OUR "STEALING VEGAS" SERIES:
