OAKLAND — Around 10 o’clock, as fireworks boomed in the parking lot and Slightly Stoopid’s “2am” by blared throughout the Oakland Coliseum, Mark Kotsay and his wife, Jamie, walked hand-in-hand to the outfield. When they arrived in center field, Kotsay’s old domain during his playing days, they stopped and took a photo. It was one last night to bask under the lights.
As they walked back to the dugout, Kotsay raised a cup to the fans who were still in attendance. Before disappearing down the tunnel, he not only signed autographs, but conversed with the people who make this venue so special. Moments later, Reba, the dog of head groundskeeper Clay Wood, galloped from center field to the home dugout.
There was unmistakable beauty in these moments. There was unmistakable pain lying beneath them, too.
With a 5-1 loss to the Rangers, the A’s are down to one, final game at the Oakland Coliseum. Thursday, Sept. 26 has perpetually loomed over the team, their fans, the city of Oakland. By week’s end, the A’s, like the Raiders, like the Warriors, will have abandoned the city of Oakland. Nine innings are all that’s left of baseball at this venue. The A’s, set to once again wear their kelly green jerseys with “Oakland” inscribed on the front, can only hope to deliver a proper sendoff.
A night removed from Jacob Wilson delivering the potential last walk-off hit at the Coliseum, the A’s didn’t afford the crowd of 35,270 any real opportunities to yell, to scream, to vent. The offense went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base, repeatedly failing to get the hit that would have their fans going hyphy.
“The ‘Let’s go Oakland’ chants had some power, some energy,” Kotsay said. “The fans were behind us tonight just searching for that one big hit. If we got that one big hit, the momentum of the game would’ve really shifted. We weren’t able to do that.”
Oakland’s best opportunity to do true damage came with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, loading the bases as Lawrence Butler singled and Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers drew back-to-back walks. With every base occupied, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy went to right-hander Matt Festa to face the A’s Tyler Nevin. Kotsay countered with left-hander Seth Brown.
Thousands collectively pondered visions of a grand slam, a swing of the bat that would evoke memories of the Coliseum at its peak. Instead, Brown flew out, the inning was over and cheers were withheld.
Many of Oakland’s opportunities were against Rangers starter Cody Bradford, who wasn’t sharp in the slightest. Bradford needed 90 pitches to complete just 3 2/3 innings, walking three batters and surrendering six hits. Despite the early exit and high pitch count, the A’s scored one, lone run against Bradford.
“A coach of mine that I played for — Rene Lachemann, who was here in Oakland — used to say, ‘Two outs hits get you to play in late October,’ in that twang he always (had),” Kotsay said. “And it’s true. Those are big hits that change games.”
The A’s didn’t get the big hit for their fans on Wednesday. They’ll have one more opportunity for a proper sendoff on Thursday. Their fanbase is desperate to cheer, and the green and gold are desperate to deliver.
“It weighs on you when you want to chase a game,” Kotsay said. “Tomorrow will be that same situation where, with a pretty full bullpen, we’re going to go pretty strong at it.”
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