A's prepare for 'final goodbye' to the Coliseum

OAKLAND -- While there is still one more game left to be played in Oakland for the A’s on Thursday afternoon against the Rangers, Wednesday presented one last chance for fans of the green and gold to take in a night game at the Coliseum.

Once the A's 5-1 loss to Texas concluded, many of the fans from the announced crowd of 35,270 -- the second-largest attendance at the Coliseum this season -- remained inside the stadium for nearly an hour to soak it all in. Those who remained received an unexpected treat.

After conducting his postgame session with the media, manager Mark Kotsay emerged from the A’s clubhouse with his wife Jamie. The two walked out to center field -- the area he patrolled as a member of the A’s from 2004-07 -- and stood in the middle of a message that read "Thank You, Oakland," inscribed on the grass by the Coliseum grounds crew, to take in the sights from his old post.

Making his way back from the field, Kotsay waved to fans and eventually stopped near the home dugout to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

"This city makes you feel comfortable,” Kotsay said. “The fans, even though over the last few years have had anger because of the fact that we’re leaving, there’s a certain comfortability to playing here and understanding that even playing in front of 3,000 fans, those 3,000 fans are showing up and are going to be passionate about the game, which makes it special.”

Kotsay has tried his best to not let his emotions distract him from the task at hand, which is managing his club to a strong finish over this final week of the season. Before Wednesday’s game, however, he admitted that with less than 24 hours left at the Coliseum, the sentimental feelings were starting to creep in.

"There are times when I catch myself thinking about not coming and driving to this place,” Kotsay said. “But at the end of all this, I’ll still be able to reflect on all this and capture those moments in my thoughts.”

Kotsay is not alone in paying final respects to the Oakland fans. Throughout this final homestand, the A’s have decided to wear their kelly green jerseys for every game as an homage to the city with "Oakland" across their chests. Several players have also switched up their walk-up/walkout songs to Oakland and Bay Area-themed tunes.

On Wednesday, A’s reliever Hogan Harris -- who struck out five batters across two hitless innings with one walk -- jogged in from the bullpen for the start of the seventh with “We So Cold” by Bay Area hip-hop artists Ya Boy, E-40 and Turf Talk blaring over the Coliseum speakers.

Many players are also looking to take home some keepsakes from the old ballpark. Jacob Wilson and Nick Allen were among those who scooped up some infield dirt after Wednesday’s game and collected it in a plastic bag.

"The maturity that these young men have shown kind of even opened my eyes,” Kotsay said. “They chose to wear the only jersey in our locker that we can wear at home with the city name. They got together to talk about walk-up songs and representing Oakland in that facet. That’s deep for a young group that hasn’t really had the connectivity to this city. But to acknowledge the fans in that way and show how much they appreciate the history, they’ve done a nice job."

With the A’s set to fly out to Seattle immediately following Thursday’s final game at the Coliseum for their final series of the regular season, it was unclear whether the team would have any time to have a send-off with fans. But before Wednesday’s game, Kotsay indicated that the team does indeed plan to have some sort of interaction with fans at the conclusion of the final game, which will feature an expected sellout crowd of nearly 46,000.

"We’re going to go out and honor the fan base,” Kotsay said. “That’s a given. In terms of speaking to the crowd, I think our game is going to represent how we go about just saying goodbye. I don’t think words can make it any easier for them. In that fact, I think the acknowledgment [of the crowd] is a final goodbye."