Angels All Star Gets A's Fans

Jason Burke | Jul 17, 2024

Jul 12, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson (31) throws in the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

When the Oakland A's return to the field on Friday evening, it'll be the beginning of the end for Major League Baseball in Oakland. The A's are moving to Sacramento for at least three years to play in a minor-league ballpark while their proposed Las Vegas ballpark is built, potentially for the 2028 season.

A's All Star Mason Miller spoke a bit about what it means to be the team's last Oakland-based ASG representative earlier this week, and the Los Angeles Times interviewed a number of Las Vegas based players for a piece that ran yesterday about the potential move from Oakland to Sin City.

Bryce Harper was the most notable player quoted, but he'd also made his feelings known last season right before the Philadelphia Phillies visited Oakland. He reiterated his point in the Times, saying, "I see it in Oakland. I don’t see it in Vegas."

One player that hasn't had much say on the A's relocation (until yesterday) has been Los Angeles Angels 34-year-old starter, Tyler Anderson. He talked about how the team trades away players right when the team gets good, and right before the guys on the field start making a little bit of money.

Then he added a quote that will certainly resonate with the Oakland A's fan base.

"It’s hard as a fan to have a good connection with players and teams there. You hope they come [to Las Vegas] and it changes a little bit."

With every sell-off, the A's have become less and less popular among the residents in the East Bay, and it sure didn't help that the San Francisco Giants were off winning three World Series titles in five seasons, either. The Giants have a new ballpark, and the A's have been piled upon by fans and media that have never been to the Coliseum, which has made it a pretty tough sell to bring fans into the ballpark on any sort of consistent basis.

A's owner John Fisher can say the fan base isn't there, but the fans have shown, time and again, that they're there, and they're hungry for an ownership that just tries. Billy Butler's three year, $30 million deal is still the largest contract Fisher has handed out and paid in full in nearly 20 years.

They don't have to churn out a World Series title every season, they just have to try. The fans want to know that they can form an attachment to a single player (or heck, two players!) for a long period of time. To Anderson's point, that has not been something they've been able to do in two decades.

It's pretty easy to not draw fans to the ballpark when you're actively driving them away by doubling ticket prices while simultaneously trading away fan favorites and entering a prolonged rebuild that is looking like it will result in a third straight 100+ loss season.

A's fans were turned away long ago through the actions of ownership, and have never been given a reason to think anything has changed. Potential fans in a potential Vegas ballpark can hope for the best, but until there is tangible proof that anything has changed, it's probably best to proceed with caution.