Oakland Athletics Eliminated From Playoffs on Chicago White Sox Walk-Off Home Run

Thanks to Chicago White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi's walk-off home run on Saturday, the Oakland Athletics have been mathematically eliminated from making the MLB postseason.

Sep 14, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore (24) congratulates third baseman Lenyn Sosa (50) and catcher Chuckie Robinson (47) after they scored against the Oakland Athletics during the second inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

In case there was any doubt, the Oakland Athletics won't get to ride off into the sunset after all.

The A's have been mathematically eliminated from reaching the 2024 MLB postseason, falling 13.5 games out of the third and final AL Wild Card spot with 13 games remaining. As a result, the Athletics' final season in Oakland will officially end on Sept. 29, with their final home game at the Oakland Coliseum scheduled for Sept. 26.

Oakland's minuscule chances of making it to October were dashed completely when they dropped their showdown with the Chicago White Sox on Saturday in excruciating fashion.

Beyond the fact that the White Sox boast baseball's worst winning percentage in well over a century, the Athletics had just stormed back from down three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Andrew Benintendi led off the bottom of the frame with a walk-off home run, though, so Oakland's last-ditch comeback was all for naught.

A WALK-OFF HOMER for Andrew Benintendi! 😤 pic.twitter.com/cKWzhtuV3v

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 15, 2024

FanGraphs gave the Athletics a 2.5% chance to make the playoffs entering 2024, and while that rose to 2.9% when they were 17-17 on May 4, the figure dropped to 0.0% on June 11.

There are now six teams that have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention: the White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals and Athletics.

The Oakland A’s have been eliminated pic.twitter.com/cu1Eu6tDfl

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 15, 2024

While their temporary home in Sacramento is still shy of reaching major league standards, the A's are still expected to spend the next three seasons in California's capital. From there, they are set to officially relocate to Las Vegas in 2028.

Across 57 seasons in Oakland, the Athletics made the playoffs 21 times and won four World Series titles. Their 4,610 wins since 1968 rank third in the AL, trailing only the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

That pedigree fell off in recent years, however, as ownership prepared to ship the franchise out of town. A 60-win 2022 season and a 50-win 2023 campaign put the nail in the Athletics' coffin, even if their 65-84 record so far in 2024 is technically an improvement.

The A's did manage to close out their time in Oakland on a relative high, considering their 35-28 record since July 1 is the third-best in the American league in that time. Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler have established themselves as one of the most explosive duos in baseball, while Shea Langeliers, JJ Bleday, Mason Miller and others have showed plenty of promise as well.

Oakland and Chicago, both out of the AL Wild Card race, will close out their series at 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.