Seattle Mariners Manager Talks Rivalry With Athletics As Team Prepares to Relocate
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are set to play Game 2 of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics at 6:40 p.m. PT on Saturday. And that game will be the second-to-last time the two rivals will play with the Athletics representing Oakland.
The A's have been in Oakland since relocating from Kansas City in 1968 and are founding members of the American League West. The team is one of the most historic in all of baseball — boasting nine World Series titles (four with Oakland).
But the Athletics will begin relocation to Las Vegas in 2025 and will play in Sacramento, Calif., for several years before their new stadium is built. They said goodbye to the Oakland Coliseum in their final home game of the year on Thursday.
For most of the A's tenure in the AL West, they've shared a rivalry with the Mariners — who have been members of the division since the first pitch in franchise history in 1977.
The time where the the rivalry was probably the most highly-contested was the early 2000's. From 2000-03, the A's won three-of-four AL West titles, including the famous 2002 "Moneyball" team. The one year the Athletics didn't win the division was Seattle's 2001 American League Championship Series team.
Current Mariners manager Dan Wilson was a part of that era as a player for the team, and he commented on the Athletics departing Oakland before Saturday's gane.
"I had the chance to talk to (Athletics manager) Mark Kotsay before the game (Friday) in the lineup exchange," Wilson said. "He was mentioning of all his days of being in Oakland as a player and a manager, seeing that last day in the Coliseum with all the people there — he said it was one of the more emotional times he's been through in the game. It's a big deal. When you leave a city, it's tough. There's a lot of feelings, a lot of mixed emotions that they're going to leave behind in that ballpark. Baseball moves on, it changes. It's definitely a sad day when that team does leave Oakland. But that's where we're at. The rivalry will continue. But we can take a minute to understand that was a pretty emotional time for them, leaving the ballpark."
Oakland has been through it the past few years. They've lost the Raiders and now Athletics to Las Vegas and even the Golden State Warriors moved across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco.
The rivalry with the Athletics is ingrained in the history of Seattle. And even though the A's will remain AL West members, it won't feel quite the same without the Oakland Coliseum in the mix.
And if there's any city that can relate to having a beloved franchise stolen from them — it's Seattle.
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