The Great Ballpark Chase: Oakland’s Last Call

timothynrussell
Oakland Coliseum
Rickey Henderson Field at the Oakland Coliseum as seen from behind homeplate.

Let’s get one thing out of the way. The Oakland Coliseum ain’t pretty.

And there are several reasons behind that. It is old and it has been neglected by ownership, but it can still be an enjoyable place to watch a game.

Hear me out on this.

The Oakland Coliseum is the fifth-oldest stadium in the Major Leagues, hosting its first game in 1968. Only Boston’s Fenway Park, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, and Anaheim’s Angel Stadium are older.

While Athletics owner John Fisher has neglected the stadium as he tried to wrangle a new stadium from the city of Oakland. It doesn’t help that when the Oakland Raiders used the stadium, owner Al Davis built what is affectionately known as Mt. Davis in center field to hold more fans for football.

Mt. Davis aka the centerfield grandstands that increased capacity for Raiders’ football but blocked the view.

That monstrosity took away a gorgeous view of the California mountains and scenery.

But, while the stadium isn’t much, the game experience is much better. And that is a tribute to their fans, at least the ones that continue to attend games.

The A’s are only averaging about 6,500 fans per game, which would be the lowest for an MLB team in 45 years. During games, the fans in attendance are into the game, trying to cheer their team to a win. It can be a lively, entertaining time.

Sure, it may not be as loud as a sold out Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies) or as electric as a Cubs-Cardinals rivalry, but it is still an exciting time.

There seem to be two factions among the fans. Those that don’t want to give another dime to a cheap, penny-pinching owner. And those that want to fight to try to keep the A’s in Oakland.

Every so often, a group of fans designate a particular game as a reverse boycott, in other words, trying to pack the stadium, to show the owner that the fans can support the team.

Clockwise from upper left, it ain’t much, but this is the sign greeting fans at the Oakland Colisuem; fans, including the Elephant mascot, sit behind homeplate; fans along the left field line; and the right field line which also showcases the extended foul territory.

You can also see fans wearing green t-shirts with the word “SELL” in yellow in ALL CAPS, as a message to Fisher to sell the team.

Those fans that do attend the games, make for a lively, fun experience, despite the fact that they are losing their team at the end of the season. You can often hear fans call the Coliseum, “Baseball’s Last Dive Bar.”

Oakland reportedly is going to play three seasons in their AAA team’s stadium in Sacramento at Sutter Health Park. The Las Vegas stadium is slated to open in 2028.

Given that fact, it seems as the franchise is kind of phoning it in for their last season in Oakland. The main team store is less than half of most team’s secondary stores. Also, many high demand items, like lapel pins and patches, have been sold out for months.

Many concession stands sit empty, especially on the second level. The third level has been closed for most of the season. They do open it for a series when a bigger crowd is expected, like when the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town. (The August 3 game against the downstate Dodgers had an attendance of 35,000 and all 200 Level concession stands were open and even one on the 300 Level.)

To be expected, the last game at the Coliseum is almost sold out (just 265 seats remain the beginning of this week). That’s not including the seats on Mt. Davis. As of now, there is no plan to sell those seats. The capacity at the Coliseum is 46,847. If they open up Mt. Davis, the capacity jumps to 56,872.

Remaining tickets for the final game start at $104, probably even higher on the secondary market. Every fan in attendance at the final game will get a commemorative model of the ballpark.

The stadium is the last one to feature the bullpens in foul ground, one down each baseline. The park also features a very expansive foul territory. The distance from home plate to the backstop was initially 90 feet, but eventually reduced to 60 feet.

Here are the outfield dimensions of the park: 330 feet to left field, 388 feet to left-center, 400 feet to center field, 388 feet to right-center and 330 feet to right field.

The field itself is named after former A’s great and National Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. There are six gates to enter the park, two are named after former pitchers Jim “Catfish” Hunter and Dennis Eckersley.

In a final nod to A’s history, the team put up a light-up “Holy Toledo” sign to pay homage to broadcaster Bill King‘s catch phrase.

Bill Martin Tribute
A tribute to manager Bill Martin along one of the councourses at Oakland Coliseum.

Along the concourses, there are also mentions of Athletics’ history, including references to Billy Ball, when Billy Martin managed the team. There are also several mentions of past players like Henderson, Eckersley, Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Vida Blue, and Sal Bando.

Much like the first game on this tour in Seattle, the Baltimore Orioles provided the oppositon. Baltimore’s Albert Suarez went six strong innings, allowing just two runs on four hits with six strikeouts as the Orioles edged the Athletics, 3-2. Baltimore’s Austin Hays had an RBI double in the second inning and catcher Adley Rutschman drew a bases-loaded walk, which proved to be enough. Oakland catcher Shea Langeliers hit a solo home run in the seventh to cut the lead to one, but the A’s would get no closer. The attendance was 9,654.

Catfish Hunter Tribute
A tribute to Oakland Athletics’ National Baseball Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter along a concourse.

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