Oakland A's Mark Kotsay 'still reeling' as emotions bubble over in final game

Charlotte Varnes | 2 Hours Ago

Sep 26, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay (7) speaks to the crowd after the game against the Texas Rangers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Manager Mark Kotsay felt months’ worth of emotions driving through the Coliseum gates on Thursday.

Watching fans tailgate in the parking lot. Seeing the number of cars. Honking at a group of production crew members tailgating. Feeling the energy already crackling in the air.

Kotsay deflected questions about the emotions surrounding the Oakland A’s relocation for months. Then came the A’s final game at the Coliseum on Thursday.

Tears welled in Kotsay’s eyes as he spoke to the media pre-game. They came again during a post-game speech to fans. Months of delayed emotions, bubbling over before more than 45,000.

“I’m still reeling right now,” Kotsay said. “The focus during the game helped eliminate those emotions, and here they are again. The speech comes from the heart. I’m as much an Oakland A as a major league player and manager because this is where home began and this is hopefully where home finishes.”

Home. It’s a loose concept for the A’s now, set adrift with plenty of work left to make Sutter Health Park — their new home in Sacramento — a major league ballpark and questions about funding their new stadium in Las Vegas.

Thursday was the last day Oakland was home to the A’s. To Mark Kotsay, who played in Oakland four years and coached for nine. To a young roster with limited ties to the city, but endless gratitude for the fans.

Kotsay’s overwhelming emotions emerged Wednesday night after a post-game stroll to center-field, his former stomping grounds, with his wife Jamie. There Kotsay wrapped his mind around the magnitude of Thursday’s game, prompting a discussion with Jamie about his feelings and how he would express them to fans.

That was the first draft of Kotsay’s speech to fans. The A’s PR staff took it the rest of the way Thursday morning. During the speech, Kotsay thanked fans, the staff and led supporters in a final round of “Let’s Go Oakland” cheers.

Players had no clue what Kotsay planned to say. Some didn’t even know he would speak.

“It fired me up,” second baseman Zack Gelof said. “He’s played for the A’s. He managed us through times. We’re trying to get out of that tough time, too, with some of the talent we have now. I mean, absolutely, just a great moment. He didn’t make it about himself — all about the fans.”

It’s an attitude that Kotsay impressed upon his players at the beginning of the week, telling the team just how much they meant to Oakland and the fans.

“He let us know, ‘Make sure, throughout the week, do something for the fans, staff, the people that are on-the-field, off-the field,’” right-fielder Lawrence Butler said. “‘Acknowledge them and thank them for everything they do.’”

Players took it in stride. They filled the walkway to the field during the Texas series, autographing dozens of balls and jerseys. Pitcher J.T. Ginn applauded the crowd when he exited Thursday’s game. They tipped their caps and listened as Kotsay addressed the crowd, then gathered for a photo.

Mature is how Kotsay has described his squad this homestand. Mature in honoring the fans, mature in handling huge crowds, mature in staying even-keeled despite everything.

The maturity may remain. Oakland fans won’t be there to see it. They won’t be there for the wins, the losses, the epic walk-offs, the pitching gems. Sacramento and, someday, Las Vegas, will own those moments.

There’s no consolation prize for Oakland fans in this mess. But Kotsay will always love Oakland. That appreciation will live on in countless memories: his inside-the-park homer as a player, delivering an unexpected second-half turnaround as a manager in 2024, expressing gratitude to fans on Thursday, leading the team to one final win in Oakland.

The crowd roared when closer Mason Miller sealed the win in the ninth on Thursday. But Kotsay, in his final moments managing the A’s in Oakland, could only see what was before him: a sell-out crowd, players in Kelly Green ‘Oakland’ jerseys, an all-time celebration on the field.

“It was almost silent,” he said. “That’s weird, right? I didn’t hear the roar. I was just watching the joy of Mason and the group. The game itself and the energy was every bit as great as a playoff game.”

But there will be no more playoff games in Oakland. The memory of Thursday’s thrilling victory, of Kotsay managing it as though it were a playoff game, will have to suffice. Countless playoff games, Kotsay’s appreciation for Oakland, players’ displays of gratitude. All just memories.