Thank You, A's Fans

A quick check in on the year that was and what's to come for A's fans

The holidays for me are always a time of reflection over the past year, a look towards what's to come, and a chance for me to thank some people. 

Let's me start off by thanking you, the fans. While not everyone that has visited Inside the A's this year is a fan of the team, there has been plenty to discuss both on and off the field this year which has kept me pretty busy. Thank you to each and every one of you for visiting the site. Because of you I am able to chase this dream I've had of covering baseball full-time. 

Sometimes when I'm done writing at night I'll just sit at my desk and think "holy crap I'm doing it." It's still hard to believe at times. Don't get me wrong, I didn't just appear on the internet one day and was thrown onto a site. It took ten years of grinding and honing my voice to make it this far. 

This past year was the first full year of the site with me in command, and for the first seven months I was also hosting the Locked on A's podcast, which I left in July to focus more on the site. For those of you that have been asking me about my future podcast ventures, my goal has always been to get a weekly baseball show up and running, but it will come down to how much time I have to work with on a week-to-week basis. Some of you may also know that I have a little kiddo at home, and my work availability is sometimes dictated by his nap schedule. Work-from-home parents know what I'm talking about. 

Being a father of a young kiddo is a big part of the equation, too. I truly enjoy the amount of time we get to spend together and the bond that we're creating and I don't want to change any of that. I would love to have time for a podcast, but I'm also not going to take time away from the kiddo either, so I have to find that balance (and a name for the show). Writing is easier at this point in time because I can do it once they go to sleep for the night, where a podcast has certain time windows have have to record during the daylight hours. 

As far as coverage this past year, it was my first year with a full-season credential. I had covered games here and there in other ventures in the past, and interviewed players for LO A's too, but this year was about learning how things operate and working within those confines.

You may also remember that some rather large news dropped in April. I had planned on being the optimistic voice of the Oakland A's because I've loved the team my entire life and wanted to share that passion with others. That's just how I am with baseball. There's enough negativity and misinformation on sports talk radio and I didn't want to be part of that ecosystem. Once the A's announced their plans to leave for Las Vegas, that fan optimism vanished. 

I'm still going to be covering the A's in 2024, because this coming season could be their last in Oakland and it's my job. I'll be asking a lot of players about their memories at the Coliseum in the coming months, because those are the kinds of stories I want to write. How many games the A's win or lose doesn't really matter to many people. The players still do because this isn't their fault, so I will be continuing the rollout of season projections shortly after the holiday, and have plenty of coverage on the players and roster construction heading into Spring Training. I'm still deciding on game coverage during the season, honestly. 

I think 2024 is going to be more about saying goodbye and getting those stories that really hit home and tell some of the history about the team that many of us grew up rooting for and falling in love with. There are a lot of people that work for the A's that chose that job because they like the team. This sucks for them too. 

In terms of overall coverage, I'm going to continue writing about breaking news and the Vegas situation, as well as covering the club as best I can. There will be more Draft coverage than I'm used to doing because the A's have the fourth pick, and honestly I want to see what they're going to do with it. I may look to bring aboard a writer for a couple of articles a week, so if you're interested, shoot me a DM on Twitter @ByJasonB. I'd probably be looking for some minor league coverage and then an article of your choosing. 

There will also continue to be coverage of the Oakland Ballers in the Pioneer League because I feel that it's important to provide an outlet for some of the rage that A's fans have been feeling the past several months. While it may not be Major League Baseball, it's still Oakland baseball, and that's what we really root for. I'm excited to see them play their home opener in June. 

Of course we'll have coverage of Fans Fest, the boycott, and anything else that Last Dive Bar and the Oakland 68s have in mind for next year. I've paid attention to way more government meetings both in Oakland and Nevada than I thought I would when 2023 started. All I wanted to do was to write about baseball.

I'll also be continuing on with my freelance role at Sportsnaut, covering the other 29 teams around the league. An easy way to know which team I'm going to write about in 2024 is which teams are coming to the Bay Area. You can bet on a piece on Stephen Vogt's Cleveland Guardians by the beginning of April, followed by one on the Red Sox. Then look at who the Giants are playing and do the same thing with their schedule. That's my writing schedule for next year over there! I believe I'll also be doing team previews for all 30 teams starting in the next few weeks, and my plan is a 2023 recap, additions and subtractions, a look ahead to 2024, and a player to keep an eye on for each team. I'm honestly excited to write those. 

As for specifically what I'll be writing here, it all depends on Las Vegas and where the team will be playing from 2025-27. If this is the final year in Oakland, there will be a goodbye feel to the coverage. I'll also write about the renderings whenever they come out, and any other news that the A's actually provide. 

That's all that I have for you today, folks. I truly do appreciate everyone that has made this site a regular stop in their A's coverage. I'm just going to keep doing the best that I can and continue to provide you with information on the team and everything surrounding them. 

Happy birthday, Rickey, and happy holidays A's fans.