A's finish final season in Oakland in front of 'passionate' fans in Seattle

SEATTLE – Sensing the waning minutes of the Oakland era of A’s baseball, a large group of A’s fans smattered throughout T-Mobile Park – including a large group assembled behind the visitors’ dugout – broke out into a loud and audible “Let’s go Oakland” chant that lasted throughout the ninth inning.

Feeding off that support, the A’s went out on their shield. Entering the ninth trailing by four runs, they furiously mounted a late rally that saw Darell Hernaiz cut that deficit in half with a two-run double. Immediately after reaching second base, the rookie looked towards the green and gold group beyond the third-base dugout and swiped his right hand across the “Oakland” emblazoned on his chest.

The comeback attempt fell short, as the A’s dropped their season finale to the Mariners, 6-4, on Sunday afternoon. The result, however, was secondary for those fans who made the Seattle trek to soak in the 9,002nd and final game of Oakland Athletics baseball. The “Let’s go Oakland” chants went on until every last player and coach – many of whom stuck around after the final out for pictures – made their way back inside the clubhouse, and then went on a bit longer.

• These are the greatest moments in Oakland A's history

“Love it,” manager Mark Kotsay said of the chants. “Knowing it was the last game with the Oakland jersey, the ‘Let’s go Oakland’ chants in the ninth inning as loud as they were in a visiting stadium was pretty impressive.”

Set to play in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park next season through at least 2027 before a planned relocation to Las Vegas, the A’s will be known simply as the Athletics, or A’s, for the next three years, with only the team’s nickname on both their home and away jerseys.

That left Sunday as the last time the A’s will don the “Oakland” jersey that has become synonymous with the city’s rich 57-year baseball history dating back to 1968.

Hernaiz’s double produced the last hit and RBI in the Oakland era.

“That’s pretty crazy,” Hernaiz said. “I can’t even really fathom that. One day, I’ll be able to look back on it. For the fans, we just feel for them and want to give them the best show we possibly can for years to come. Hopefully, they can still root for us.”

Despite getting swept in Seattle for their final series, the A’s showed marked improvement from a year ago. Finishing 2024 at 69-93, they improved on their ‘23 record by 19 wins while identifying what they believe is the foundation that could lead them back to contention next season with players such as Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, Zack Gelof, Jacob Wilson and Mason Miller.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements from a win-loss perspective, and we’ve done all of that while still being below average in a lot of areas,” Kotsay said. “There’s a lot we know we can improve on. … There is going to be a higher level of expectation and I think that their goals should be high. They should expect to compete in this division from day one.”

• What we learned about the A's in 2024

Rooker’s bid for 40 home runs was denied as he went 0-for-4. Still, he is positioned to receive down-ballot AL MVP votes for a remarkable season in which finished batting .293 with a .927 OPS, 39 home runs and 112 RBIs. He is the first A’s player to finish a season with a batting average of at least .290, at least 30 home runs and at least 100 RBIs since Miguel Tejada’s 2002 AL MVP campaign.

“Pretty unbelievable,” Kotsay said of the 29-year-old Rooker. “We don’t talk enough about the perseverance of this kid’s career. As long as it took him to find a home and establish himself as a centerpiece to an offense, it’s remarkable for him to put together two seasons the way he has. I’m looking forward to the future for him here.”

Sunday’s game, which began with Rickey Henderson – the greatest A’s player of the Oakland era – throwing out the first pitch, will be commemorated in Cooperstown. The National Baseball Hall of Fame has requested Kotsay’s jersey and A’s broadcaster Ken Korach’s scorecard from the last game in Oakland A’s history.

Here’s a rundown of other “lasts” for the Oakland A’s on Sunday:

• Start: Mitch Spence
• Batter: Max Schuemann
• Run: Zack Gelof on Hernaiz’s double
• Walk: Kyle McCann in the seventh off Gabe Speier
• Strikeout: Kyle Muller vs. Mitch Haniger in the eighth

“It means a lot,” Spence said. “They’re very passionate fans. They’ve got a lot of emotions going on right now, so for them to come out here and support us was awesome. We heard them chanting the entire game. For us to go out there and represent Oakland has been an honor.”