In a heartfelt farewell to Oakland, the Athletics celebrated 57 years of baseball at the Coliseum with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday, drawing a sellout crowd of 46,889.
The emotional atmosphere began as former A’s pitcher Barry Zito performed the national anthem. Franchise legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart participated in the ceremonial first pitch, with Henderson’s name prominently displayed on the field.
The A’s scored their runs through a mix of luck and skill, including the final run by Jacob Wilson, who capitalized on a misplayed fly ball by Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford.
Longtime fan Krazy George energized the crowd one last time, while rookie closer Mason Miller secured the victory with a clean save in the ninth inning. A’s broadcaster Ken Korach captured the moment on air.
Postgame, the A’s acknowledged their fans, with manager Mark Kotsay, a former player, leading a final “Let’s Go Oakland!” chant. “I’m still kind of reeling (emotionally). This win was big for us,” Kotsay stated.
Dallas Braden, who pitched a perfect game for the A’s, expressed his emotions during the postgame ceremonies. The last hit at the Coliseum came from Seth Brown in the eighth inning, while Texas’ Adolis García recorded the final home run the previous day.
The A’s will conclude their Oakland tenure with three games in Seattle over the weekend before moving to Sacramento for at least three seasons, eventually relocating to Las Vegas. The franchise, which began in Philadelphia in 1901 and moved to Kansas City in 1955, has won four of its nine World Series titles and six AL pennants during its nearly six-decade presence in Oakland. With this move, the A’s will be the first MLB team to relocate since the Montreal Expos transitioned to Washington 20 years ago, and they will soon be the first team to have called four different cities home.
