Farewell letter from Oakland A's owner leaves fans soured on final week
In what was supposed to be a week of emotional celebration for Oakland A's fans as the team played its last games at the Coliseum, many of them instead started the week with a bad taste in their mouth.
"I cannot believe Athletics PR allowed John Fisher, a letter from John Fisher, to go out to this fan base," said Bryan Johansen, co-founder of Baseball's Last Dive Bar.
On Monday, just one day before the A's begin their final series in Oakland before moving to Sacramento, embattled owner John Fisher released a letter saying he did all he could to try and keep the A's in Oakland but failed.
The letter, which posted on the A's official MLB.com site Monday afternoon, was addressed to "our Oakland Athletics Fans" ahead of this week's "final games of the A's storied 57 years in Oakland" that will be played against the Texas Rangers.
Bryan Johansen, a diehard A's fan and co-founder of the group Baseball's Last Dive Bar, said he couldn't believe it when he read it.
"Like it just blows my mind that they would put that out there and just double down on just a year and a half, two years you know just nightmare of treatment to this fanbase, the game of baseball," said Johansen.
In the letter, Fisher said he worked hard to get the Howard Terminal Project completed but came up short. Local officials including Port of Oakland Commissioners President Michael Colbruno disagreed with Fisher's narrative.
Colbruno wrote on social media that the Port and the City did everything to keep the team in Oakland, including grants, infrastructure deals and land use exemptions.
Former A's pitcher Trevor May also posted a scathing response to Fisher's letter on X.
"With all due respect, which is more than you likely deserve, save it. Be an adult. Get in front of a camera and say it with your chest. Releasing a letter, clearly written by someone else, and including a bunch of names you DEFINITELY do not know, is just disrespectful to those that love the team," May's post read in part. As of early Tuesday afternoon, the post was viewed a million times and had 14,000 likes.
Johansen said the timing of the letter also couldn't have been worse.
"It's just a slap in the face when people are going through the worst possible time in their life with the A's leaving," said Johansen.
The team's supporters have made no secret of blaming Fisher for the team's plans to relocate to Las Vegas after interim plans to call Sacramento home until the A's can get their new stadium built, hanging banners, waving signs and wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Sell the Team" or in some cases simply "SELL" at games dating back to last summer.
They have been venting their frustration ever since the team's temporary home of Sacramento was announced last April. Thousands of fans crowded the Coliseum to see the team face the New York Yankees this past Saturday and Sunday for the last round of weekend games prior to the move.
This week, thousands of diehard A's fans like Johansen will be going to their last-ever A's games in Oakland. Johansen said those fans need to focus on their own personal connection to the team.
His advice was to blur all the talk about the owner out and focus on soaking in the last final moments in the Coliseum together.
"Take in every pitch, take in every sight that you can see, take in every smell that you can smell, talk to as many people, ushers, fans and just try to stretch out that experience as much as possible," said Johansen.
That is exactly what Johansen said he will be doing during the final three games.