Mark Kotsay treated this moment, this daunting day, like the World Series he has never had as a player or manager.
Kotsay fought tears, just like so many others Thursday, as the A’s bid an emotional farewell to their beloved coliseum they’ve called home since 1968, complete with all its quirks like plumbing problems and rally possums — and those stray cats who helped inspire Hall of Famer Tony La Russa’s former Animal Rescue Foundation.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay says goodbye to Oakland fans after 57 years following final game at Oakland Coliseum
“I’ve never been to a World Series before,” Kotsay said. “But I feel like today is one of those days that you can kind of experience the emotion of that, the magnitude of it. Driving in the gates today and seeing the fullness of a parking lot, feeling the energy and the emotion is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”
With all the emotions of the day, the A’s were able to send the Coliseum out in style on Thursday with a 3-2 victory over the Rangers featuring JJ Bleday hitting an RBI single and making a magnificent catch in center field. Shea Langeliers had a sacrifice fly and Zack Gelof also delivered a defensive gem to delight of the soldout crowd.
Longtime supporters and kids alike stole away from work or school to be there for the matinee finale against the Texas Rangers, a sellout crowd of 46,889 turning out under a cloudless September blue sky for one last game in the Oakland Coliseum.
Kotsay made one request for a memento: He’s taking home three bases, which were changed out every inning so 27 were available as keepsakes — with longtime, outgoing groundskeeper Clay Wood gifted the first-inning bags.
From Kotsay’s days of playing outfield and way back to the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series when the A’s swept the local rival San Francisco Giants, to Bash Brothers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire and that special 20-game winning streak of 2002 and the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito before “I Believe in Stephen Vogt” later became a battle cry, this building has been home to so many glory moments transcending eras and spanning stars of different generations.
Zito sang the national anthem to huge applause, while A’s legends Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart tossed out ceremonial first pitches.
Not far from the A’s dugout, Kelly Mattson of the grounds crew let fans scoop dirt right out of his shovel.
Hours before first pitch, A’s bullpen catcher Dustin Hughes and his Oakland scout father John played catch in left field before hiking up to Mount Davis and then exploring the inside of the scoreboard and other hidden spots below the center-field stands.
Hundreds of fans spent recent days walking through the concourse snapping photos or taking videos of all the pictures and memories spanning the decades. The parking lots were filled before breakfast with tailgaters taking it all in just once more.
Former A’s fan favorite and current Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien expected 10 to 15 family and friends — including his parents and grandparents — in the stands for the special occasion.
“Thank you to all the security guards, concession workers everyone who made this place a major league stadium,” Semien said on the field. “I really appreciate you welcoming me as an East Bay kid to your place of work. I feel very sorry for anybody who can’t continue on with Oakland but keep on grinding like you always have been.”
Longtime manager and former catcher Bruce Bochy became emotional in the visiting dugout. The Coliseum matters so much to him, too.
“Big day,” said Bochy, a former catcher who guided the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, ‘12 and ’14. “Memorable day for I think so many people but for me, it’s starting to hit me now that baseball’s done here. It’s kind of sad. Because I love this place, love the field and everything.”
He added of his team: “I think they’re really appreciating what this place is.”
Kotsay planned to soak in everything.
“It’s a day that will come and go pretty quickly,” he said, “and you just don’t want to miss any opportunity to express your gratitude toward the fans, toward the people that mean everything, the workers in the stadium. Sharing moments with them today was tough. There’s a lot of people here that have invested their lives and their souls into this organization and into this stadium and into the game of baseball. The love for the game of baseball but more for the love for the people and the relationships that have been built over 57 years in this stadium.”
As the game wore on, fans alternated chants of “Sell the team!” and “Let’s go Oakland!” amid the mixed emotions and nostalgia.
The ninth inning featured two fans jumping the fences to run onto the grass, bottles being thrown into center field and smoke bombs set off and tossed into right. Toilet paper and other debris also came down before manager Mark Kotsay took the microphone after the game with a heartfelt thank you to the fans and one last round of “Let’s go Oakland!’
The A’s plan to play the next three years in Sacramento with hopes of opening a new ballpark in Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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