After nostalgia-filled day, A's hope to end time in Oakland strong

OAKLAND -- With this 57-year chapter of A’s baseball at the Coliseum winding down, Sunday brought a feeling of nostalgia as some of the club’s present stars intertwined with its greats from the past.

Before falling to the Yankees, 7-4, the A’s welcomed back team Hall of Famers Carney Lansford, Terry Steinbach and Miguel Tejada for the final Alumni Sunday at the Coliseum to meet with fans and throw out ceremonial first pitches. On the receiving end of those tosses from each legend were A’s No. 1 prospect Jacob Wilson, first baseman Tyler Soderstrom and second baseman Zack Gelof.

Catching Tejada was particularly significant for Gelof. Growing up just a couple of hours from Camden Yards in Rehoboth Beach, Del., he caught plenty of Orioles games as a kid during Tejada’s stint with Baltimore and developed an affinity for the star shortstop.

Officially meeting Tejada for the first time on Sunday, Gelof made sure to circle back after their embrace in front of home plate to ask him to autograph a baseball.

“I grew up watching him on the Orioles and a little bit on the A’s,” Gelof said. “He was my favorite player, so to catch the ball from him was super special.”

Going through their final homestand at the Coliseum before relocating to Sacramento next season, A’s players want nothing more than to reward their loyal fans with some good memories and a strong finish. That’s what made this weekend's series against the Yankees a bit extra disappointing.

New York carries the best record in the American League at 92-64, and it showed why over a three-game sweep by firing on all cylinders. The A’s -- who have enjoyed a much better second half as they entered Sunday tied for the third-best record in the AL since July 1 (37-32) -- were outscored 21-6 and swept for just the second time at the Coliseum this season and first time at home or on the road since June 24-26 against the Angels at Angel Stadium.

“It’s pretty bittersweet,” Gelof said. “It’s tough to think of all the memories here in the Coliseum and this city. I feel like you just have to feel for the fans. It sucks to get swept by the Yankees. All we can do as players is give our best effort. The fans deserve our best effort. We were trying super hard out there.”

Throughout this final homestand, several players have changed their walkup/walkout songs to Oakland/Bay Area artists as an homage to the city. On Sunday, A’s starter Joey Estes replaced his usual walkout tune of “Moon” by The Elovaters and was instead accompanied to the mound with “I’m So Oakland” by The Mekanix blaring over the Coliseum speakers.

Estes would have liked a better outcome in his last start. The rookie right-hander allowed five runs on seven hits -- tying a career-high three home runs allowed -- and a walk through four innings. Performance aside, Sunday’s outing will forever hold a special place in Estes’ heart.

“Oakland, this is everything to me,” Estes said. “This is the first place I came to and debuted in front of these amazing fans. I just appreciate everything this town has done. It’s very strong. For them to come out and support, it’s been great. It sucks because this is the last year, so it’s almost like a part of my story I won’t be able to share ever again. It hits a little hard, but it was just nice to be out there with the Oakland fans and experience it for my last time.”

The A’s will get a break from the emotions of this final homestand with a day off on Monday before kicking off the Coliseum’s final series on Tuesday against the Rangers. The three-game set -- which will see an already announced sellout on Thursday for the final game -- will represent one last opportunity for Oakland fans to say their goodbyes, while A’s players hope to send them home with a few more victories.

“We got our butts kicked pretty good this weekend,” Gelof said. “All we can do is flush it, come back and win a series against the Rangers for the last series at the Coliseum.”