Athletics bid emotional farewell to Oakland Coliseum that they called home since 1968

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Kotsay treated this moment, this daunting day, like the World Series he has never had as a player or manager. Kotsay fought tears, just like so many others Thursday, as the Oakland Athletics bid an emotional farewell to their beloved Coliseum they’ve called home since 1968, complete with all its quirks like plumbing problems and rally possums — and those stray cats who helped inspire Hall of Famer Tony La Russa’s former Animal Rescue Foundation. The A’s beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 and Kotsay took the microphone afterward for a heartfelt thank you to a sellout crowd of 46,889 before leading one last chant of “Let’s go Oakland!” Third baseman Max Schuemann grabbed a huge A’s flag and ran it around the field, stopping to wave it in front of different sections. “I’ve never been to a World Series before,” Kotsay said. Driving in the gates today and seeing the fullness of a parking lot, feeling the energy and the emotion is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.” Longtime supporters and kids alike stole away from work or school to be here for the matinee finale under a cloudless September blue sky. Oakland’s last team standing, the A’s follow the NFL Raiders and Golden State Warriors basketball team out of town. Kotsay made one request for a memento: He’s taking home three bases, which were changed out every inning so 27 were available as keepsakes — with longtime, outgoing groundskeeper Clay Wood gifted the first-inning bags. From Kotsay’s days of playing outfield and way back to the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series when the A’s swept the Giants, to Bash Brothers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire and that special 20-game winning streak of 2002 and the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito before “I Believe in Stephen Vogt” later became a battle cry, this building has been home to so many glory moments transcending eras and spanning stars of different generations. Not far from the A’s dugout, Kelly Mattson of the grounds crew let fans scoop dirt right out of his shovel. Hours before first pitch, A’s bullpen catcher Dustin Hughes and his Oakland scout father John played catch in left field before hiking up to Mount Davis and then exploring the inside of the scoreboard and other hidden spots below the center-field stands. “Thank you to all the security guards, concession workers everyone who made this place a major league stadium,” Semien said on the field. I feel very sorry for anybody who can’t continue on with Oakland but keep on grinding like you always have been.” Longtime manager and former catcher Bruce Bochy became emotional in the visiting dugout. “Big day,” said Bochy, a former catcher who guided the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, ‘12 and ’14. “Memorable day for I think so many people but for me, it’s starting to hit me now that baseball’s done here. Because I love this place, love the field and everything.” He added of his team: “I think they’re really appreciating what this place is.” Kotsay planned to soak in everything. “It’s a day that will come and go pretty quickly,” he said, “and you just don’t want to miss any opportunity to express your gratitude toward the fans, toward the people that mean everything, the workers in the stadium. A lot of stadiums have, whether it’s good or bad, kind of become less about the actual baseball game and more just about an entertainment product,” slugger Brent Rooker said. “What the Coliseum offers is, ‘Here’s just a bunch of seats, and here’s a field and there’s going to be a baseball game happening.’ And that’s really cool.” ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://apnews.com/c835255943091f9f544768a6939f8ac8