Elephant Rumblings: Goodbye to the Oakland Athletics

MLB news roundup

It’s Monday, Athletics Nation.

Today is the first day of the post-Oakland era of Athletics baseball. The A’s played their final game in Oakland uniforms against the Mariners yesterday to close out a challenging season that was marked by struggles through the first half but saw the team greatly improve through the summer.

The final stretch of the season was especially tough, as the reality of the team’s departure from the Bay Area became more palpable and the A’s again found themselves struggling to win games, going just 2-7 through their last nine games and getting swept by the Yankees and Mariners.

The A’s were looking to hit the 70 win mark this year to demonstrate significant improvement and positive momentum, and a week or so ago the goal seemed very attainable. But the team fell just short, finishing with a 69-93 record.

Some individual players fell just short of reaching big milestones, as well. Brent Rooker had a fantastic year, but just missed hitting 40 home runs and ending the season with a .300-plus average. Shea Langeliers fell one homer short of his first 30-plus season. Mason Miller didn’t lose his stuff, but he blew his final save opportunity of the season on Saturday, and I don’t think I was the only one who noticed that the A’s closer went from “fuhgeddaboutit” level to—-well, just a damn good reliever as the season wound down. Lawrence Butler also cooled down as the season waned.

Still, the A’s on-field improvement was massive this season. And every one of the above mentioned A’s stars deserves congratulations for lifting the A’s out of the MLB cellar and towards respectability. There’s reason to hope for continued improvement, if you can stomach that the A’s will be out of Oakland and playing home games at a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento next year.

Don’t call ‘em the Sactown Athletics—they’ll just be the A’s. But I won’t blame you if you insist on calling them the Oakland Athletics, which they would remain if everything was right in the world.

One last toast to the Oakland Athletics, by far my all-time favorite team in professional sports. Thanks for the memories.

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics drop season finale, fall to Mariners 6-4
• Eyeball Scout: Young Pitchers Plan For 2025
• For A’s super fan ‘Road Trip Mike,’ devotion to team was a life-saver ($)
• How die-hard A’s fan Tom Hanks reacted to team’s Oakland departure
• Oakland A’s share favorite moments from Oakland Coliseum finale

MLB News & Interest:

• Who should win MLB’s MVP, Cy Young, top rookie and manager awards for 2024 ($)
• Skip Schumaker Will Not Return As Marlins’ Manager
• Paul Skenes Ks Juan Soto, Aaron Judge to cap most dominant rookie pitching season in 50 years ($)
• How MLB players cope with — and grow from — playing on a terrible team: ‘You find ways’ ($)
• Cardinals To Part Ways With Paul Goldschmidt, Could Reduce Payroll This Winter
• Report: Cardinals Open To Offers On Sonny Gray
• Justin Turner Plans To Continue Playing In 2025
• Ozzie Virgil Sr. Passes Away
• Twins To Retain Derek Falvey, Rocco Baldelli For 2025
• Latest On Anthony Rizzo
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

The GOAT throws the last first pitch.

Last call.

The last knock.

Thank you, Max!

A final goodbye.

Rooker and Miller should be a lock.

A few postmortem stats.

A message to A’s fans from Dallas.

Fierce Fisher critic is a new daddy.

Vince gets love from the fam as well as the fans.

It’s like rain on your wedding day.