OAKLAND — When you walk out of the BART station outside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, you start to feel what this city is all about. You see people of all colors and backgrounds, young and old, dressed in green and gold, their only desire being 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 hear the sounds of the East Bay. Whether it’s Too $hort’s “Blow The Whistle” or Kendrick Lamar’s iconic hit “Not Like Us,” city pride seeps through your pores.
This is Oakland.
After 57 seasons and four World Series titles, the Coliseum will host its final A’s game on Thursday, as the team will play the next three or four seasons in Sacramento before permanently moving to Las Vegas. Since the decision to leave was announced in April 2023, there has been an ongoing battle between team owner John Fisher and the city of Oakland. Unfortunately, the ones who have paid the ultimate price are the fans, who will now see their third and final professional sports franchise leave the East Bay.
But when you walk around the Coliseum, the atmosphere you feel isn’t that of a suppressed fan base. It’s that of a fan base celebrating the culture they’ve created, regardless of decisions outside of their control.
The same energy is palpable in the Coliseum. Even the people who work at the ballpark, who you wouldn’t blame if they were angry or bitter, are still positive. People are kind and polite, and they help those who just want to enjoy a night in the park watching baseball, despite knowing that the end of their term — and that of their team — is fast approaching.
The people in and around the ballpark — people like Eric Raliegh — are the ones who helped make this iconic ballpark what it is. Raliegh, 64, has been a security guard at the Coliseum for 34 years, 33 of those years spent right behind home plate, interacting daily with players, reporters, broadcasters and fans. He’s seen what this ballpark means to the people of Oakland and what the franchise means to its fans. Over the past three decades, he’s 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 the same position. Mark Kotsay played center field when I was here, and now he’s the manager. The way they’ve treated me here, man. It’s special.”
Raliegh’s love for Oakland and its A’s runs deep. Although he’s manned 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 isn’t just a job; it’s a passion, something he feels blessed to have — if only for a few days.
“It’s hard to talk about. Sacramento is not going to be the same for me. Even if I went there to work, I can’t take all this up there,” he said, gesturing toward the bustling stadium. “So this is kind of the end for me.”
Baseball is creating new fans every day, and one of the young fans experiencing the Coliseum’s final days could one day play in the big leagues. Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner was once one of those kids in the crowd. Hoerner, an Oakland native, grew up attending games at the Coliseum and at age 6 began playing organized baseball at nearby Greeman Field, which sits in the Coliseum’s shadow.
“I was there when Coco Crisp played against the Tigers in the [2013] “ALCS. It was kind of my first taste of playoff baseball,” Hoerner told Yahoo Sports. “I remember nobody leaving the stadium until about 40 minutes after the game, everybody was just hanging out.
“That was special to see and just cool to see so much excitement around baseball in general. They had the tarp off the top deck — the place was packed. It was loud. Just an unbelievably fun time to be there.”
The fans who sat atop Mount Davis as the A’s advanced to the postseason are known as some of the most intense and loyal fans in baseball. From the drums that echo through the stadium to the unique sound of vuvuzelas, there’s a distinct atmosphere at the Coliseum unlike any other stadium.
When Brent Rooker came to Oakland in 2023, he was a player looking for a home after bouncing between three teams in three seasons. Given the chance to play every day for a rebuilding team, he rebuilt himself with the A’s, too, transforming into one of the best hitters in baseball.
But even before he played his first game in the green and gold, Rooker already had a sense of what it meant to be an Oakland A.
“I played here as a visiting player and I knew the passion that the fans had for their team,” he told Yahoo Sports. “Obviously, the history and the legacy and the expectation that comes with playing for this organization.”
Rooker, who was thrilled not to be traded at the July deadline, has 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 has been one of the best teams in baseball since July 1.
“I’ve been given the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “I’ve been able to establish myself and really transform my career. That’s something that’s going to impact me for the rest of my life. … As for the city and the fans, 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 one place, you notice the people and personalities that make the experience of playing in the big leagues even more special. Those who have played in Oakland or had the chance to play against the A’s often talk about how supportive the fan base is.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay has learned that firsthand, first when he played four seasons in Oakland in the early 2000s and now, as captain of the Coliseum, his home.
“For me, it’s like you don’t appreciate the consistency of walking down here and seeing people like Eric. [Raliegh],” Kotsay said. “I could go on and on about the people, the quality of people in this stadium who work here, who care about this place. As a player you miss that sometimes, and now when you come back here as a manager, you definitely miss those relationships and those constants.”
What has happened in Oakland over the past decade is truly a sports tragedy. First, the city of Oakland lost the Golden State Warriors, who relocated to San Francisco in 2019. (Any Oakland native will tell you that San Francisco is not Oakland.) Then, in 2020, they lost the Raiders to Las Vegas, and now they’re losing another franchise to Sin City.
“I think now that the Warriors and Raiders are gone, it feels a little bit more real,” Hoerner said. “Just because I think the East Bay has experienced that a little bit.
“Even though they were never the fanciest stadiums, it was really cool to have all three franchises in the same parking lot. Just great fan bases for all those teams, and [I’ve] I have many fond memories of it.”
And the A’s departure isn’t just a loss for the city of Oakland. It’s also a major loss in baseball history. The A’s are one of the most iconic franchises in the game, with countless Hall of Famers, MVPs and World Series championships. Now, the legacy and tradition of this city and this stadium are on their way to becoming a thing of the past.
“When you know this is the last home game and this is going to be the final game, and the Yankees and the Rangers are in town, the place is packed with 25,000 to 30,000 fans, just like it used to be,” Raliegh said.
“But just to see people over the last few days — the photographers, the writers, the people who used to come here — coming back for the last time, people coming up to me, and I’m talking about 20 years ago… It’s emotional.”
