Oakland A's "Moneyball" era stands out among fans' favorite memories
As the Oakland Athletics wind down the season with the final home games at the Coliseum before the team departs to Sacramento and then Las Vegas, devastated A's fans are being left with just the memories. One period particularly stands out for its immortalization in popular culture.
Combing through several piles of jerseys, Christopher Dobbins packed up his lifelong Oakland A's fandom this week.
"Mark McGwire, wow," he said, looking at the retro yellow jersey. "He really put the A's on the map."
The jerseys and various memorabilia - from souvenir cups to bobbleheads - are headed to storage.
"The A's left," he said. "I'm giving it up."
But as he went through a lifetime of A's memorabilia, he took a trip down memory lane to one of the most exciting times to be an Oakland A's fan: the Moneyball era.
"Obviously we never won the big one, but it was really exciting," he said. "A lot of great games, a lot of great memories."
In 2002, the A's had a historic season. They assembled an incredibly competitive team with a small budget using the advanced metrics approach dubbed "sabermetrics," the term derived from the SABR acronym for the Society for American Baseball Research. Using player statistics to identify undervalued players became known as "moneyball."
As one KPIX reporter put it in 2002:
"The A's may not be a wealthy team with a large payroll, but they are rich when it comes to fan support."
In September 2002, the low-budget A's were on the verge of setting an American League record of 20 wins in a row. Dobbins, who estimates he's attended around 2,000 games throughout his life, was there at the Coliseum for a defining moment in A's history.
It was the bottom of the ninth inning versus the Kansas City Royals, tie ballgame, and pinch hitter Scott Hatteberg steps up to the plate. First pitch, he drills a walk off home run to right center field, securing the A's 20th consecutive win and American League record.
"It was just amazing," Dobbins said. "I've never heard the Coliseum as electric as that."
In 2003, author Michael Lewis would publish what would become a national best-seller about the team, titled, "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game."
In 2011, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill would star in the movie, "Moneyball," which received six Academy Award nominations.
"Other sports teams have had movies," Dobbins said. "But for Oakland, it was a tremendous thing."
The Moneyball days also coincided with a big time in Dobbins' life. In 2000, he was working as a teacher at a middle school near the Coliseum, and he helped create a non-profit designed to help keep kids on track with school called The Green Stampede.
"We did homework at the A's games from 5:30-7:00, the games started at 7:00, and we'd stay with them through the rest of the game," he said. "We got a lot of kids in East Oakland to get their homework done and then enjoy the A's game right there."
Dobbins will hold on to the memories.
"I mean, I'm smiling now, but it's going to be so sad on Thursday," he said.
But in a couple of days, he'll be letting go of his A's fandom.
"Oakland was at the top of the sports world in the 70's," he said. "Now, we have no teams left. So, it's really devastating."
He'll be in attendance for all three games of the final homestand at the Coliseum. However, he'll be turning the page on the A's when they no longer call Oakland home.