20-21 SEP Oakland Athletics

It was apparent that the summer was drawing to an end based on the weather that we encountered during the first game in Oakland. It is clear that I want to go where summer goes for the winter. Like summer, the Oakland stadium is nearing its end. There is a move afoot to build a new stadium about 15 miles south of this one. With that said, this stadium is actually in pretty good shape after 40 years. They go out of their way to celebrate their history while keeping to the guidelines set out by Billy Beane which means a small payroll of good young players. As shown in this picture, the franchise goes back a long way. Founded by Connie Mack in 1906, the team won five World Series' while still in Philly.



From Philly, they moved to Kansas City where they had little success. They then moved to Oakland in 1968. In the last 40 years they have won the four World Series Championships shown here. The team has only had 3 owners--Connie Mack from 1906 to 1956, Charlie Finley from 1957 to 1977, and the Haas family (Levy Jeans) since then.
While in Oakland, they have had their fair share of Hall of Fame caliber players as well as many league MVPs

The A's won the first game as a result of aggressive base running in the 8th.
The San Francisco Bay area has been home to many players who have left their mark on the game, and the stadium honors them on a hometown hall of fame. Both Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson were from the Oakland area. Billy Martin started his major league career with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League which was the only professional baseball on the West Coast before 1958.

Jim Hunter and Rollie Fingers were transplants to the Bay Area, but Joe Morgan was born and raised in Oakland. He still makes his home in the area.

The A's won their second game against the hapless Mariners as well. For the first six innings, they were no hit then they finally woke up, scoring the minimum necessary to win on an inordinately small number of hits.

As for the stadium, The Oakland Coliseum is showing its age. The stadium is rather bland, but with the Bay Area Rapid Transit stopping at the Coliseum, and the fact that there are no bad seats, this stadium was ahead of its time. It is clearly a second division stadium and the rankings for that second division are:

• Arizona
• Baltimore
• Milwaukee
• Texas
• Houston
• Cincinnati
• Toronto
• Tampa Bay
• Philadelphia
• New York Yankees
• Oakland
• New York Mets
• Cleveland Colorado
• Washington
• Kansas City
• Chicago White Sox
• Los Angeles Angels
• Boston
• San Diego
• Florida
• Minnesota