A's Reliever Tyler Ferguson Gives Nod to Balfour, Fans as Coliseum Days Wane

Jason Burke | Sep 24, 2024

Sep 20, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Tyler Ferguson (65) throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Oakland A's fan Will MacNeil, a.k.a. "Right Field Will" is the one responsible for "Balfour Rage." As he remembers it, back in 2011, the A's closer, Grant Balfour, came into a game against the Minnesota Twins, and to make his friends laugh, he started "swinging my arms like an idiot" as Metallica blared over the ballpark speakers. Over time, the "rage" picked up steam, especially after it was featured on TV.

"It just kept catching on, catching on," MacNeil said in the third inning of Tuesday's game, "and then in game 162, it turned into what it did. It was one of the coolest things."

Oakland Athletics reliever Tyler Ferguson made his big-league debut earlier this season on May 7 against the Texas Rangers. His final appearance in Oakland will also come against those same Rangers, but this time around he had a special surprise for the fans in attendance, using former A's closer Grant Balfour's warm-up song, "One" by Metallica.

For fans of the team back in 2012 and 2013, Balfour's entrance to the game usually meant an A's win, and a lot of head banging as he warmed up. Those moments are also some of the fondest memories that the fans have of going to the Coliseum, and have been shared numerous times on social media since the news of the A's proposed relocation broke last season.

Ferguson grew up in Fresno, and was drafted by the Rangers back in 2015. It took him nearly a decade to make it to the big leagues, and he's been working side hustles in recent years in order to sustain his baseball dreams.

He has been such a fixture in the bullpen that he has become the set-up man following the departure of Lucas Erceg at the trade deadline, and even earned a couple of saves himself along the way. He has demonstrated grit and determination, not only to finally make it to the big leagues after years of grinding, but also to have carved out the role that he currently possesses setting up Mason Miller.

That's the kind of player that Oakland embraces, because he is a reflection of them.

Ferguson said that Balfour's entrance song is just an iconic part of A's history. "I think it's just a good tribute to the people and the experience that this place has had. Special moments in people's hearts. Just kind of thought it would be a cool tribute to the people, the fans."

Growing up in Fresno, Ferguson would come up to the Coliseum when the A's would play the Yankees, the team that his dad played in the minors for for one season. He doesn't believe that he was ever able to experience "Balfour Rage" in person. On Tuesday night, in front of 30,402 he not only got to get his first taste of the rage, but he also was able to give the fans another lasting memory for years to come.