A’s owner John Fisher writes letter to fans ahead of final game in Oakland, claims departure is ‘so very hard’

The Athletics went to Oakland for the 1968 season and have been there ever since. They are soon departing, however, for Sacramento for a few years until their new home in Las Vegas is ready. The 2024 A’s are currently on their final homestand in Oakland and have just three home games left. The final Oakland Coliseum game ever will be on Thursday.

Ahead of this conclusion to the franchise’s time in Oakland, A’s owner John Fisher has written and circulated a letter to A’s fans. 

Here’s the letter in its entirety [note: He spelled “Loma Prieta” incorrectly, but this letter appears here exactly as sent]: 

To our Oakland Athletics Fans:

This upcoming series with the Texas Rangers will be the final games of the A’s storied 57 years in Oakland. And while the A’s previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Oakland has been home for the greatest era in the franchise’s more than 123-year history.

Four World Series Championships. Six pennants and 17 division titles. Seven Baseball Hall of Famers. Charlie Finley and his mule. Billy Ball. Reggie and his incomparable swagger. Rollie and his handlebar mustache. Dave Stewart and the stare. Bill King’s “Holy Toledo.” Rickey, the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history. The list goes on and on.

Triumphs, near misses, the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake in Game 3 of the Bay Bridge Series, the 20-game win streak, a Hollywood movie, and an unmatched cast of players, coaches, and fans. We’ve had it all.

And that, I know, is what makes our departure so very hard.

The A’s are part of the fabric of Oakland, the East Bay, and the entire Bay Area. When Lew Wolff and I bought the team in 2005. our dream was to win world championships and build a new ballpark in Oakland. Over the next 18 years, we did our very best to make that happen. We proposed and pursued five different locations in the Bay Area. And despite mutual and ongoing efforts to get a deal done for the Howard Terminal project. we came up short.

Only in 2021, after 16 years of working exclusively on developing a home in the Bay Area and faced with a binding MLB agreement to find a new home by 2024. did we begin to explore taking the team to Las Vegas.

There are millions of dedicated and passionate A’s fans, in Oakland and around the world. Countless dedicated staff members and Oakland Coliseum employees have poured their hearts into this team. and their efforts have meant so much to our community. I know there is great disappointment, even bitterness. Though I wish I could speak to each one of you individually, I can tell you this from the heart: we tried. Staying in Oakland was our goal, it was our mission, and we failed to achieve it. And for that I am genuinely sorry.

Looking ahead, I hope you will join our beloved A’s as we move forward on this amazing journey. I hope I will see you again sporting the Green and Gold. And I hope we will make you proud.

John Fisher

The A’s were in Philadelphia from 1901-54, winning 3,886 games against 4,248 losses with nine pennants and five World Series titles. They stopped in Kansas City from 1955-67 and played .404 ball, not making the postseason once. They’ve been in Oakland since 1968, sporting a .513 winning percentage heading into this final week. They’ve made the playoffs 21 times, winning six pennants and four World Series titles, most recently in 1989.

The record is one thing, but the history is more important. The A’s are being taken away from their local fans. More accurately, Fisher is taking the A’s away from their local fans. It’s doubtful they’ll take any solace from a billionaire owner telling them it’s “so very hard” to move away from the Bay Area. 

The A’s are expecting to move into a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip for the 2028 season and they are departing Oakland after this season. That leaves the 2025-27 seasons for Sacramento serve as the A’s temporary home, despite the foreseen problems.