A's Players Give Subtle Nod to Oakland to Begin Final Homestand Against Yankees

Jason Burke | Sep 21, 2024

Sep 20, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler (4) during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The Oakland A's lost to the New York Yankees, 4-2, in the opening game of the team's final homestand at the Coliseum, but the players are doing their own small part to show the fans that they appreciate The Town.

The team took the field in their kelly green jerseys on Friday night, something that A's centerfielder JJ Bleday hopes that the team will do the rest of the homestand. The kelly greens are the only jerseys that they team is able to wear at home that read "Oakland" across the chest.

In the bottom of the first inning, Lawrence Butler made the trip to the plate with a new song, "Oakland," blaring over the speakers. "This last couple of games in Oakland, so I just wanted to let the fans know that I appreciate them. I'm gonna do it the rest of the way."

The song that Butler played is one that he just heard in the weight room, put on by the team's head sport performance coach Josh Cuffe, and he decided to use it on Friday night.

When second baseman Zack Gelof strode to the plate in the bottom of the second, he too had a new walk-up song. After playing Drake's "Toosie Slide" for most of the season, he made a change to Souls of Mischief's "93 'Til Infinity." Souls of Mischief are a rap group from East Oakland, and their debut album, 93 "til Infinity, came out on September 28, 1993. The A's will be playing their final home game in Oakland just before the 31 year anniversary of that release.

"We kind of wanted everybody to have at least one Bay Area [song]" Butler said, "just to let the fans know we appreciate them. So you might see more of it going on next couple of days."

While these are subtle gestures, the fans in Oakland certainly appreciate them, and Butler appreciated the fans right back.

"They showed out. Sucks that we came out with the 'L' but I mean the fans were behind us. It was loud. We could feel the electricity in the stadium."