What Oakland A's players will remember most about the Coliseum

Charlotte Varnes | Sep 26, 2024

Sep 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) and designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) and left fielder Seth Brown (15) and teammates charge the field to celebrate after the win against the Texas Rangers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Pitcher Joey Estes, an expecting father, has an idea of what he’ll tell his kids about the Coliseum someday.

The beauty of the playing surface. How walking on the grass is unlike anything else. The uncomfortable nature of the dugouts. Mount Davis. The amount of foul territory. 

“Normally, after baseball, you’re able to still take your kids or family to show them where your career started,” Estes said. “It kind of sucks I won’t be able to really show that. I feel like this place will be gone after a few years. It sucks — for my kids to (be unable to) even comprehend what this place even is.”

Estes, 22, is one of many young A’s players grappling with the loss of the first community that embraced them and the ballpark where they became big leaguers. More than 50 years of MLB at the Coliseum will come to a close Thursday and, with it, the decades of young players who came through Oakland, destined for greatness.

The A’s roster is mostly players in their mid-twenties or younger — barely alive for the Moneyball era, only able to watch clips and hear tell of iconic A’s moments like the Bash Brothers and the World Series victories. 

But the young players are well-versed in franchise lore. The Loma Prieta earthquake pausing the 1989 World Series and Oakland’s Hall of Famers came to mind as big Coliseum moments for catcher Shea Langeliers, who said players are well aware it is a “very special place and a lot of special things happened here.”

Estes said the Coliseum reminds him of Fenway and Wrigley given its storied past.

“It’s not like other stadiums,” he said. “It has its own touch to it, and the fans make it that much more special.”

Those fans have been on players’ minds this week.

Players changed walk-up songs to Bay Area rap music like 93 ‘til Infinity by Souls of Mischief and Jungle by Andre Nickatina. The A’s are wearing Kelly Green jerseys with “Oakland” on them every day of the homestand. Players have taken little moments to honor the fanbase, like when second baseman Zack Gelof pointed to the Oakland on his jersey after a single on Tuesday. 

“It’s obviously tough for everybody that grew up loving the Oakland A’s,” infielder Darell Hernaiz said. “We feel for the fans and for everybody, security. But there’s not much we can do except try to play as well as we can and give them some sort of happiness.” 

Many young players have also grown close with the security team. Hernaiz sees the same security each day, saying he’s discovered many have worked at the Coliseum for more than 20 years. 

Langeliers gifted a bat to one of the security employees in the parking lot whom he talks with every day. 

“It’s one big family,” he said. “I picked up on that like the second I got called up. They’re so nice. They take you in, take care of you, they help you out. It’s sad we’re leaving that behind.”

Most A’s players have spent less than two seasons in Oakland. Yet the Coliseum and its fans have left an impact, giving players plenty to soak in during the ballpark’s final days. The stadium’s unique feel as a former multiuse venue and “immaculate weather” for catchers stick out for Langeliers. Estes said he’s enjoying every moment with fans and the emotions in the stadium. 

All have come to understand the unique nature of Oakland fans — from hanging handwritten signs in the outfield to rocking Stomper beanies — and the solid, stoic Coliseum in the venue’s final days hosting A's baseball. 

“(It’s) not just playing for yourself, it’s playing for this fanbase in the city,” Gelof said. “The team’s been here for so long. I feel like we owe it to fans to give it our all, no matter the result.”