Inside The As

MLB Organizations Reportedly "Disgusted" by A's Handling of Ballpark Situation

Jason Burke

Jul 30, 2023; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher at the
Jul 30, 2023; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher at the / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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If there is one thing that A's fans have been trying to tell the world for over a decade now, it's that ownership is awful. Not just run-of-the-mill nasty, but a true villain.

Nobody listened.

When the team announced that they were going to relocate to Las Vegas, A's fans formed protests, "reverse boycotts" and Unite the Bay nights. They got fans in Oakland and across the country to chant "Sell the team" when the A's would come to town.

The Commissioner of Major League Baseball said it was cute while spending most of his time last year demeaning the city of Oakland.

Now, after the owners have already unanimously approved the A's relocation to Las Vegas, some within organizations are waking up.

If you don't feel like clicking on the tweet above to see what the rest of it says, it ends with, "because their revenue stream will be down to a trickle. “This makes us all look bad,” said one person."

Apparently the A's being on revenue sharing forever, never spending money on free agents, never making upgrades to the facility that repelled fans, and running out 100+ loss teams was a good look for the league. This is who John Fisher is, and who he has been this entire time. Keep in mind that the largest contract he has handed out--and paid in full--was three years and $30 million to Billy Butler after the 2014 season. There was also the two year, $33.5 million contract for Khris Davis in 2019, but he was traded after one year.

And now, with the A's set to play in a minor-league facility for at least three seasons, he's going to screw up the Las Vegas market for MLB as well.

Typically when a team opens a new ballpark or relocates, they spend some money on the roster and make sure that their window for contention is opening right as that park starts welcoming guests. There will be zero big-name free agents that will be signing to play in Sacramento. Not because of the city, but because of the facilities. This is of course assuming that Fisher even tries to lure free agents to "the A's" in the first place.

If the A's don't hit the ground running in Las Vegas, they'll immediately be an afterthought. Take it from the Speaker of the Nevada Legislature, Steve Yaeger.

About that attendance and loyalty. In 2004, the season before Fisher and Lew Wolff took over the franchise, the A's drew 2.2 million fans to the Coliseum, drawing over two million for the fourth straight year. Since Fisher took over, they've hit that mark just twice. Once in 2005, and then again in 2014 when they were the best team in baseball for the first half of the season. None of the rosters in the past 20 years have had a payroll over $100 million.

The A's are already bringing a lot of turmoil with them, bumbling throughout this entire relocation process (maybe because they're being led by a walking, talking bobblehead), and if they open their doors and add losing into the mix, it's going to be tough to win over the fans out there. You only get one chance at a first impression.

Landing in a new market should be a slam dunk. But the way Fisher has run this franchise, he's shown a knack for driving people away. Without a Grinch-like change of heart and maybe even a little effort, the Vegas move is going to fail.

Maybe the owners should have kept the relocation fee intact, or just blocked relocation altogether, like A's fans told them.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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