Oakland A’s fans deserve so much more that they’re getting right now and everyone who likes Major League Baseball should be furious over what’s going on with the once-storied franchise that has currently in some really dark times.
As my USA Today Sports colleague, Gabe Lacques, so perfectly explained, the team’s ownership and MLB have basically been pushing away their fanbase while looking toward a future that could have the team leaving town.
Ticket prices, parking prices and just about all the other prices included in attending a game have gone up while the payroll has gone down. They entered this season with a payroll of under $33 million, which was the same they had in 1991 when they had the highest payroll in baseball.
It’s obvious that the franchise doesn’t care about winning and doesn’t want to spend money to build a winner.
And now it’s becoming obvious that the fans are fighting back and not rewarding this disgusting behavior.
The latest example of this came Wednesday when only 2,703 fans attended the Orioles-A’s game at the gigantic/lifeless/archaic Oakland Coliseum.
The scenes from the game should embarrass A’s owner John Fisher and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred but they are probably too soulless to even care.
Can you find the fans in this photo from the 3rd inning?
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Good job, MLB. Good job, John Fisher.
Look at this photo from the 4th inning:
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) ORG XMIT: OAS
I count six fans and two stadium workers in that sea of empty green seats. Not great, MLB. Not great
This is on you, MLB:
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) ORG XMIT: OAS113
That’s the sixth inning of a Major League Baseball game.
Again, A’s fans are doing the right thing by staying away. Their team’s owner is the one in the wrong here.
Fans had reactions...
It's kind of like sanctions. I like this team, and I'm hoping for the best, but how do you send a message to the owner of the team? I don't want my money to go to this owner.
— Dr. Mark Sigmon (@MarkSigmon64) April 20, 2022
The tragedy of the Oakland A’s is really sad. 2,700 in attendance tonight is almost unbelievable. What a gut punch for those lifelong fans to be treated as they have been.
— James G (@james_in_to) April 21, 2022
what's happening in Oakland with the A's is the same thing that happened in Sacramento with the Kings ten years ago. it's an absolute disgrace & those fans deserve better. simply tweeting out their attendance numbers illustrates a poor picture as to what's really going on there.
— J r u e (@thatl0calguy) April 21, 2022
Good for the fans for making a statement. Good for the fans for telling ol' Billy Beancounter "hey, if you sell all our favorite players, we're not gonna show up." Good for the fans for sending the message that they're tired of watching a team that's clearly not trying to compete
— Michael Kasper (@KasperStats) April 21, 2022
I'm impressed it was even that many. Maybe that's what was sold, I don't think that is all who showed up but they did move the game time up so makes sense. As sad as it is, Kaval & Fisher deserve it. https://t.co/8lFSpc2nJa
— Jamie Faue (@BrickWallJamieF) April 21, 2022
If I ran a business where I repeatedly sold all the most desirable products to my competitors and only made the leftovers available to my customers, then I probably wouldn’t have a lot of people showing up in my store.
— Adam Lockett (@AdamLockett34) April 21, 2022
