“Let everyone go to hell”
Hanks, MC Hammer and Oakland mourn the death of “Moneyball” inventor
September 27, 2024, 10:31 a.m
The US sports system can be brutal. It is not interested in traditions. A franchise can come and go. In Oakland they are currently complaining about the exodus of all sports teams. The A’s’ last game marks the end of an era that also shaped pop culture.
The Oakland Athletics said goodbye to their long-time home in Major League Baseball (MLB) with a win. In the last game at the sold-out Oakland Coliseum, the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 in front of almost 47,000 fans. After the departure of the Raiders in the NFL and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, Oakland is now losing its third and final major sports franchise in five years. With the A’s farewell comes a big piece of pop culture.
While some fans expressed dissatisfaction with the team owners, others held banners expressing gratitude or sadness. “Thank you for the memories,” one sign read, while another proclaimed, “The soul of Oakland will survive.” Another banner simply read: “There will be crying in baseball today.”
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay paid tribute to the team’s staff and fans in an on-field speech after the win. “To the employees who dedicate their lives to the Oakland A’s, especially those who do not come with us, I am forever grateful. I will never forget you,” Kotsay said: “And to all of you, on behalf of my employees, myself , this team, all the former players and coaches, everyone who has worn the green and gold – there are no better fans than you.”
Tom Hanks rages
The Athletics moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968, and in the following 56 years the team won the World Series four times. “When the A’s were in the World Series, the world came to Oakland,” actor Tom Hanks wrote in an email to The Athletic. He wasn’t even a teenager when the A’s moved to California in the late 1960s. “Not San Francisco. Oakland.”
Now the franchise is following the Raiders’ path and moving to Las Vegas, where they are expected to host their first home games in 2028. Until then, the team will play for three years in Sacramento, almost 85 miles from the Coliseum in Oakland. The MLB owners approved the move last November.
Hanks already listed those responsible last year. He couldn’t stop her. “First the Raiders left, then the Warriors went to San Francisco and now they want to drive the A’s out of Oakland,” he said: “They should go to hell.”
How Oakland revolutionized the world of sports
In addition to Hanks, MC Hammer (real name: Stanley Burrell) was also one of the A’s big supporters. The rap star of the early 1990s earned his pocket money, like Hanks, at the Coliseum. While the actor moved through the ranks as a popcorn seller, Burrell worked as a racket carrier. Over the past few days, he has been stringing together all his memories of the A’s on X. After all, he had a world career to thank them for. Because: When his first album was released, some Oakland players supported him financially.
Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz also grew up with the A’s. Former US President Barrack Obama was also a supporter before joining the White Sox after moving to Chicago. All of these names are just a few names that now only think of the past, because the A’s no longer have a future in Oakland.
The franchise also left its mark on sports through the “Moneyball Years”. They first applied a data-driven strategy on a large scale in the early 2000s, which offset the A’s’ financial disadvantages. In addition to a film with Brad Pitt, it also revolutionized sport itself. To this day, the method is also used in other sports. “Moneyball” also continues to play a major role in football.
