Fans Chant "Sell the Team" at MLB All-Star Game in Support of Oakland A's Fans

The chants may not have been as loud as the ones at the "reverse boycott," but they were arguably more meaningful.

There weren't a ton of A's fans in Seattle for the All Star Game. There were a handful outside holding signs and banners that read "The A's Belong in Oakland," "Sell the Team" and "Manfraud" in reference to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. In talking with those fans, Jorge of the Oakland 68's, an A's fan group, said that the hope was that in spreading awareness about the A's situation, fans from other teams would support their cause to try to keep the A's in Oakland. 

While talking to Jorge, a fan in a Mariners jersey walked past and said "Sell the team!" If there is another fanbase that can relate to having a team ripped away, it's those in Seattle, who had the NBA's Supersonics taken from them when the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season. 

It was that blend of awareness of the A's situation and the heartache felt for a generation that led to the events in the top of the fifth inning at one of MLB's "jewel events," the All-Star Game. 

A's fans had been handing out cheer cards with the same instructions as the "reverse boycott" game on June 13 in Oakland: For the first batter in the top of the fifth, stand up and stay silent to honor 55 years of baseball in Oakland. After that at-bat, chant "sell the team." 

The silent protest didn't go over terribly well, as there was a regular amount of crowd noise--the typical rumbling of chatter amongst fans--but once the at-bat concluded, the crowd came together and chanted as they'd been instructed. 

Sell the team chants in the fifth, as planned. pic.twitter.com/NALKw6nl0L

— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) July 12, 2023

While it wasn't as loud as the chant in Oakland, it was arguably just as impactful. This idea didn't have the same push behind it. It also wasn't the reason that the fans showed up at the ballpark, and yet, baseball fans stood largely united to voice their opinions. 

When A's All Star Brent Rooker came up to bat for the first time in the bottom of the sixth, fans burst into an impromptu "Sell the team" chant as well. 

Even now, hours after the game has ended, Rob Manfred is still trending on social media with the hashtags "Sell the team" and "FisherOut." The television broadcast cued up an interview with the most popular baseball player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani for the beginning of the fifth. Whether that was a coincidence or something more sinister was at play is unknown. 

What we do know is that there are fans across the country that have kept up with what has been going on in Oakland and don't agree with it one bit. They've heard Manfred slam a city that houses one of the teams in his league. They heard him slander the fans of that team. 

On Tuesday at the All Star Game, the 47,159 in attendance made sure Rob Manfred heard them.