OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Kotsay treated this moment, this daunting day, like the World Series he has never had as a player or manager.
Kotsay fought tears, just like so many others Thursday, as the Oakland Athletics bid an emotional farewell to their beloved Coliseum they’ve called home since 1968, complete with all its quirks like plumbing problems and rally possums — and those stray cats who helped inspire Hall of Famer Tony La Russa’s former Animal Rescue Foundation.
The A’s beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 and Kotsay took the microphone afterward for a heartfelt thank you to a sellout crowd of 46,889 before leading one last chant of “Let’s go Oakland!” Third baseman Max Schuemann grabbed a huge A’s flag and ran it around the field, stopping to wave it in front of different sections.
“I’ve never been to a World Series before,” Kotsay said. “But I feel like today is one of those days that you can kind of experience the emotion of that, the magnitude of it. Driving in the gates today and seeing the fullness of a parking lot, feeling the energy and the emotion is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”
Longtime supporters and kids alike stole away from work or school to be here for the matinee finale under a cloudless September blue sky. Oakland’s last team standing, the A’s follow the NFL Raiders and Golden State Warriors basketball team out of town.
Spontaneously, Schuemann grabbed the flag held by mascot Stomper moments earlier, and took off running.
“I wanted to enjoy it with them, for sure,” he said of the fans.
Quickly, home plate was dug up and the mound rubber removed. Head groundskeeper Clay Wood’s sweet dog Reba made one final run through the outfield to her master’s office beyond the fence.
Kotsay made one request for a memento: He’s taking home three bases, which were changed out every inning so 27 were available as keepsakes — with longtime, outgoing groundskeeper Clay Wood gifted the first-inning bags.
From Kotsay’s days of playing outfield and way back to the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series when the A’s swept the Giants, to Bash Brothers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire and that special 20-game winning streak of 2002 and the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito before “I Believe in Stephen Vogt” later became a battle cry, this building has been home to so many glory moments transcending eras and spanning stars of different generations.
Zito sang the national anthem to huge applause, while Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart tossed out ceremonial first pitches.
Not far from the A’s dugout, Kelly Mattson of the grounds crew let fans scoop dirt right out of his shovel.
Hours before first pitch, A’s bullpen catcher Dustin Hughes and his Oakland scout father John played catch in left field before hiking up to Mount Davis and then exploring the inside of the scoreboard and other hidden spots below the center-field stands.
Hundreds of fans spent recent days walking through the concourse snapping photos or taking videos of all the pictures and memories spanning the decades. The parking lots were filled before breakfast with tailgaters taking it all in just once more.
Former A’s fan favorite and current Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien expected 10 to 15 family and friends — including his parents and grandparents — in the stands for the special occasion.
“Thank you to all the security guards, concession workers everyone who made this place a major league stadium,” Semien said on the field. “I really appreciate you welcoming me as an East Bay kid to your place of work. I feel very sorry for anybody who can’t continue on with Oakland but keep on grinding like you always have been.”
Longtime manager and former catcher Bruce Bochy became emotional in the visiting dugout. The Coliseum matters so much to him, too.
The A’s plan to play the next three years in Sacramento with hopes of opening a new ballpark in Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season.
“Big day,” said Bochy, a former catcher who guided the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, ‘12 and ’14. “Memorable day for I think so many people but for me, it’s starting to hit me now that baseball’s done here. It’s kind of sad. Because I love this place, love the field and everything.”
He added of his team: “I think they’re really appreciating what this place is.”
Kotsay planned to soak in everything.
“It’s a day that will come and go pretty quickly,” he said, “and you just don’t want to miss any opportunity to express your gratitude toward the fans, toward the people that mean everything, the workers in the stadium. Sharing moments with them today was tough. There’s a lot of people here that have invested their lives and their souls into this organization and into this stadium and into the game of baseball. The love for the game of baseball but more for the love for the people and the relationships that have been built over 57 years in this stadium.”
Even his players understood the magnitude of saying goodbye.
“It’s unique in that there’s no frills. A lot of stadiums have, whether it’s good or bad, kind of become less about the actual baseball game and more just about an entertainment product,” slugger Brent Rooker said. “What the Coliseum offers is, ‘Here’s just a bunch of seats, and here’s a field and there’s going to be a baseball game happening.’ And that’s really cool.”
