Former A's, Yankees Great Reggie Jackson on Relocation: "I'm Embarrassed for Baseball"

Jason Burke | Apr 9, 2024

Aug 7, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics former outfielder Reggie Jackson sits in / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Five-time World Series winner, 14-time All-Star, two-time WS MVP, along with the 1973 AL MVP, Reggie Jackson, made an appearance on the New York Post Sports podcast and shared some thoughts about the Oakland A's current situation.

"I'm embarrassed for baseball. I feel terrible for the city." He went on to say that he doesn't know John Fisher personally, but knows who he is because his family owns GAP. "They have an enormous art collection--doesn't mean a damn thing." This didn't come off as a dig, but rather facts that he was naming about the Fisher family, before realizing that the art collection didn't matter. For A's fans, it's a bit comical because that art collection is supposedly going to be on display at their new spherical armadillo in Las Vegas.

Jackson also went on to say that he originally thought that when Fisher bought the team, he was going to save the team for the city. "I'm so disappointed in the way the family has interacted with the city and just let the team go to shambles. They're a 4-A team. They're not a Major League team. They've abandoned the city."

He also dropped a bit of a bombshell during this interview, saying that he last spoke to Fisher about a year ago about purchasing a part of the team. Right around this time last year he was in Oakland for the 50th anniversary of the 1973 World Series team, so perhaps it was then, or right before the team announced they were leaving for Las Vegas.

"I offered $300 million for 20% of the team. 20-25% was what my number was."

With that offer, he would have had a stake in the team, but he wouldn't have had decision-making power. What's interesting here is that he was offering a pretty fair valuation for the club, which sits at $1.2 billion according to Forbes. Jackson was offering his money at a valuation of $1.2-1.5 billion depending on the ownership stake.

Fisher is currently looking for investors in Las Vegas at around $500 million to buy a share of the team in order to help pay for the proposed ballpark in Las Vegas. He also says that if he can't find any takers, then he and his family can fund that portion of the project themselves.

The question with Fisher selling part of the team is what kind of a valuation he's after. Is he looking to get people to buy in at the current value ($1.2 billion), or his projection for what the club will be worth once (if) the relocation happens and the ballpark is built?

Judging by his rejection of Reggie's offer, it would appear as though he's looking for the higher number.