As A's play their final game in Oakland, fans say goodbye to nearly six decades of baseball history

OAKLAND, Calif. — When you walk out of the BART station outside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, you begin to feel what the city is about. You see people of all different colors and backgrounds, young and old, laced in green and gold, their only desire to cheer on their team and have a great time doing so.

As you get closer to the gates, you can smell the beer and tacos from vendors outside the park, and you can hear the sounds of the East Bay. Whether it’s Too $hort's “Blow The Whistle” or Kendrick Lamar's iconic smash “Not Like Us,” the city's pride is oozing through its pores.

This is Oakland.

After 57 seasons and four World Series titles, the Coliseum is hosting its final A’s game on Thursday, as the team is set to play in Sacramento for the next three or four seasons before permanently relocating to Las Vegas. Since the decision to leave was announced in April 2023, there has been a constant battle between the team’s owner, John Fisher, and the city of Oakland. Unfortunately, the ones who have paid the steepest price are the fans, who are now watching their third and final professional sports franchise leave the East Bay.

But when you walk around the Coliseum, the vibe you feel isn’t one of a downtrodden fan base. It’s one of a fan base that is celebrating the culture they created, regardless of decisions beyond their control.

The same energy can be felt inside the Coliseum. Even the people who work in the ballpark, whom you wouldn’t blame for being upset or bitter, are still positive. Folks are kind and courteous, helping those who simply want to enjoy a night at the park watching baseball, despite the knowledge that the end of their tenure — and their team’s — is quickly approaching.

The people in and around the ballpark — people like Eric Raliegh — are the ones who have helped make this iconic stadium what it is. Raliegh, 64, has been a security guard at the Coliseum for 34 years, and 33 of those he has spent right behind home plate, interacting daily with players, reporters, broadcasters and fans. He has seen what this ballpark means to people in Oakland and what the franchise means to its fans. Over three decades, he has had a front-row seat to a lifetime of baseball memories.

“It's emotional,” Raliegh told Yahoo Sports. “Dave Stewart, Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher — I could go on and on. Eric Chavez … they all show me love and come back to see me because I’ve been in this same spot. Mark Kotsay was playing center field while I was here, and now he’s the manager. How they’ve treated me here, man. It’s special.”

Raliegh’s love for Oakland and his A’s runs deep. While he has been manning his post behind home plate for decades, he also has a full-time job. He takes PTO to work at the ballpark. But his time at the Coliseum is not just a job; it’s a passion, something he feels blessed to do — if only for a few more days.

“It’s hard to talk about. For me, Sacramento won’t be the same. Even if I was going to go up there to work, I can’t take all this up there,” he said, gesturing at the lively ballpark. “So this is pretty much going to be the end for me.”

Baseball creates new fans every day, and one of the young fans soaking up the final days at the Coliseum could end up playing in the big leagues one day. Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner was once one of those kids in the crowd. An Oakland native, Hoerner grew up attending games at the Coliseum, and at the age of 6, he began playing organized baseball at nearby Greeman Field, which sits in the shadows of the Coliseum.

“I was there for Coco Crisp’s walk-off against the Tigers in the [2013] ALCS. It was kind of my first exposure to playoff baseball,” Hoerner told Yahoo Sports. “I remember no one left the ballpark for like 40 minutes after the game, everyone just hanging out.

“That was special for me to see and just cool to see that much excitement surrounding baseball in general. They had the tarp off the upper deck — the place was packed. It was loud. Just an incredibly fun moment being there.”

The fans who were packing the top of Mount Davis during the years the A’s reached the postseason are famous for being some of the most intense and loyal in baseball. From the drums that echo through the ballpark to the unique sound of the vuvuzelas, there’s a distinct feel inside the Coliseum that’s different from any other ballpark.

When Brent Rooker came to Oakland in 2023, he was a player looking for a home after bouncing among three teams in three seasons. Given the opportunity to play every day for a team that was rebuilding, he also rebuilt himself with the A’s, transforming into one of the premier hitters in baseball.

But even before he played his first game in the green and gold, Rooker had some idea of what it meant to be an Oakland A.

“I played here as a visiting player, and I knew the passion that the fan base had for their team,” he told Yahoo Sports. “Obviously, the history and the legacy and the expectation that come with playing for this organization.”

Rooker, who was thrilled to not be traded at July’s deadline, finally found his baseball home in the East Bay. The A’s All-Star has become the cornerstone of a young team that has not only surprised this season but actually been one of baseball’s best teams since July 1.

“I got the opportunity I've been waiting for here,” he said. “I was able to kind of establish myself and really transform my career. That's something that's gonna impact me for the rest of my life. … As far as the city and the fans go, they’ve embraced me and made the last two years an incredible experience.”

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Even amid the bright lights and big moments, MLB players notice the little things. And when you play 81 games in a place, you notice the people and personalities who make the experience of playing in the big leagues even more special. Those who have played in Oakland or had the opportunity to play against the A’s often speak about how supportive the fan base is.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay has experienced that first-hand, first while playing in Oakland for four seasons in the early 2000s and now while calling the Coliseum home as the skipper.

“For me, you don't appreciate the consistency of walking down here and seeing people like Eric [Raliegh],” Kotsay said. “I can go on and on about the people, the quality of the people in this stadium that work here, that care about this place. As a player, you miss that sometimes, and coming back here as the manager now, those relationships and those constants will be missed for sure.”

What has happened in Oakland over the past decade is truly a sports tragedy. The city of Oakland first lost the Golden State Warriors, who moved across the Bay to San Francisco in 2019. (Any resident of Oakland will tell you that San Francisco is not the same as Oakland.) Then they lost the Raiders to Las Vegas in 2020, and now they’re losing yet another franchise to Sin City.

“I think with the Warriors and Raiders leaving already, it does feel a little more real,” Hoerner said. “Just because I think East Bay has kind of experienced that already.

“Even though they were never the fanciest stadiums, to have all three of those franchises in the same parking lot was a really cool thing to grow up with. Just great fan bases for all those teams, and [I’ve] got a lot of fond memories.”

And the A’s departure is not just a loss for the city of Oakland. It’s also a major loss in the history of baseball. The A’s are one of the more iconic franchises in the sport, with countless Hall of Famers, MVPs and World Series championships. Now the legacy and tradition of this city and stadium are set to become a thing of the past.

“Just knowing this is the final home stand and this is going to be the finale, having the Yankees and Rangers in town, we’re gonna have the place packed with 25,000 to 30,000 fans, like it used to be,” Raliegh said.

“But just to see people these last couple of days — the photographers, writers, people that used to come here all the time — coming back one last time, people coming over to see me, and I’m talking from 20 years ago … It’s emotional.”