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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 9/27/2024

Sellout crowd in Oakland bids farewell to the team it loves.

Steve Drumwright
MLB Morning News 9/27/2024

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I still regret missing the moment. It happened Sept. 28, 2000. The last game at County Stadium, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, the team I grew up rooting for. I had been to dozens of games there, including my first one during a elementary school class trip. I missed it because I had just moved to California after a horrible eight months living in Iowa, where I had taken a job at the Des Moines Register. But on that day in 2000, I was living in Pleasanton, Calif., just a short BART train ride to the Oakland Coliseum. I was relegated to watching the highlights on TV and it stirred a lot of nostalgia. The Brewers weren’t going anywhere, just a new stadium built just a stone’s throw from where County Stadium sat. So as I observed the final game at the Coliseum, I couldn’t imagine what A’s fans were going through. Due to a greedy owner who has no sense of community, the very loyal fans of the A’s took in one final game Thursday before the team heads to a temporary home of Sacramento before eventually landing in Las Vegas. Maybe. Anyways, I feel for the A’s fans, with whom I sat in the bleachers and upper deck for many games, especially in my first few years in California. You don’t deserve this type of treatment from owner John Fisher. Oakland’s final game came almost 30 years to the day that the Montreal Expos played their last game in Montreal.

 

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Goodbye, Oakland

 

Four World Series. Sixty-one playoff games. The 1987 All-Star Game. Site of the movie “Moneyball.” Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, a young Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley, Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. And that doesn’t include the managers, coaches, stadium personnel, broadcast crew, or those who patrol the aisles selling concessions or aiding fans. Countless memories for the Oakland Athletics. The final ones were etched Thursday as the A’s played their final game at the Oakland Coliseum, a place it has called home for 57 years since moving from Kansas City. The A’s — wearing their kelly-green jerseys with an Oakland script across the front — beat the Texas Rangers 3-2, the 4,493rd game in Coliseum history.

A sellout crowd of 46,889 — the largest gathering to see the A’s play, home or road — witnessed the final moments of a venue the team once shared with the Oakland Raiders. But the game was mostly an afterthought, meaningless in the standings for both eliminated teams, but it was akin to a celebration of a best friend leaving town. That was the spirit throughout the entire game, with the crowd erupting in cheers when A’s closer Mason Miller induced Travis Jankowski to hit a grounder to third baseman Max Schuemann, who threw to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom for the final out. The stadium speakers blared Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” and manager Mark Kotsay gave an emotional speech.

The franchise will still continue as some generic-named form of the A’s in Sacramento for at least next year. Then it will be off to Las Vegas. But when will that happen? No one knows. At the site of the proposed A’s $1.5 billion stadium, the Tropicana casino and hotel towers still stand, awaiting implosion on Oct. 9. The A’s are scheduled to begin playing in Vegas in 2028. The A’s are the last of the three professional sports teams to leave Oakland since 2019. The Raiders bolted for Las Vegas following the 2019 season and the Golden State Warriors hopped across the Bay to San Francisco before the 2019-20 season. Once home to MLB, NFL, and NBA franchises, Oakland and its faithful fans will no longer have any teams after this weekend.

From April 17, 1968, and a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles to Sept. 26, 2024, the A’s called the Coliseum home. That has come to an end. During a ninth-inning delay caused by unruly fans, the crowd chanted, “Sell the team!!!” Then, for the last time, fans bellowed “Let’s go, Oakland!!!” during an A’s game at the Coliseum. Fade to black. It is OK to shed a tear.

 

 

A few things to read about the Coliseum:

Inside the emotions of the A’s last day in Oakland — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle

There’s only one way to describe A’s leaving: Generational theft — Dipti S. Barot, San Francisco Chronicle

For brokenhearted fans, you can’t spell Oakland without the A’s — Tim Keown, ESPN

The man who guards Mount Davis has plenty of tales to tell — Stephanie Apstein, Sports Illustrated

From Tom Hanks to Damian Lillard, stars mourn A’s: ‘It’s pretty heartbreaking’ — Cody Stavenhagen, Sam Blum and Stephen J. Nesbitt, The Athletic

A’s operatoins boss recalls 10 Coliseum moments — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle

In final days, A’s fans provide an unmistakable vibe — Russell Dorsey, Yahoo Sports

Memories of the Coliseum — FanGraphs staff

 

Doing The Gritty

 

What adjectives are left to describe this late-season run by the Detroit Tigers? We will stick with inexplicable (yes, that is a conundrum). The word that has stuck has been gritty, which is exactly what the Tigers’ 4-3 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays was. Trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers tied it on Colt Keith’s RBI single and took the lead on Justyn-Henry Malloy’s sacrifice fly that scored Matt Vierling. and finished a three-game sweep and extended their winning streak to five. Combined with the Kansas City Royals‘ 7-4 triumph over the Washington Nationals to complete a three-game sweep, the Tigers and Royals remain tied for the second and third wild-card spots. A few hours later, the Minnesota Twins‘ spiral continued with an excruciating 8-6 loss to the Miami Marlins in 13 innings, reducing the magic number for the Tigers and Royals to just one. The Tigers have not been to the playoffs since 2014, tying the Los Angeles Angels for the longest current playoff drought. With the wins by the Tigers and Royals, the Seattle Mariners were eliminated. The Mariners lose tiebreakers to both teams.

 

 

Yankees Clinch AL East As Judge Blasts 58th HR

 

It wasn’t scripted this way. Even with the addition of superstar outfielder Juan Soto, questions still surrounded the New York Yankees in their quest to erase last year’s fourth-place finish in the AL East. Was their pitching deep enough and good enough, especially with ace Gerrit Cole out for the first few months with an elbow injury? How much juice would Soto inject into the offense? The answers were resoundingly positive for the Yankees. Cole came back and flashed his 2023 AL Cy Young form, Soto was Soto and Aaron Judge is putting an exclamation point on another monster power year. It all added up to another AL East championship for the Yankees, thanks to a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. In the clincher, Judge homered in his fifth straight game, giving him an MLB-best 58 for the season, and Cole pitched 6⅔ shutout innings. Giancarlo Stanton is proving to still be a force to deal with as he drove in four runs.

 

 

Dodgers Reign In NL West

 

Following the signing of Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers were penciled in as the shoo-in NL West champion. So why was the NL West the last division title to be clinched (even if it was by a few hours)? Credit the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks for keeping the heat on the Dodgers. Ohtani had three hits, including a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, to reach 400 total bases for the season as the Dodgers beat the Padres 7-2, giving L.A. the West crown for the 11th time in 12 years. Ohtani added yet another amazing stat to his stack of accomplishments. MLB’s first 50-50 player became the first to accumulate 400 total bases since four did so in the 2001 season. The victory came at a cost, though. First baseman Freddie Freeman left the game in the seventh inning with what is believed to be an ankle injury. He joined his teammates in the clubhouse for the celebration but was in a walking boot and on crutches. Now the real pressure is on for the Dodgers, who have stumbled in the last three postseasons after winning the World Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

 

 

Drama For Final Weekend

 

All of the six divisions have been secured: NL East (Phillies), NL Central (Brewers), NL West (Dodgers), AL East (Yankees), AL Central (Guardians), AL West (Astros). The Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, and Guardians have secured byes in the first round, with the best record in both leagues still slightly up for grabs. Two wild cards are also locked in: The Orioles in the AL and Padres in the NL, each as the No. 4 seed in their league. All of that means that of the 15 series this weekend, nine will have some impact on the playoff picture.

Series with playoff implications this weekend:

Mets at Brewers: The Mets are likely going to have to go to Atlanta following Sunday’s series finale to play at least one game of a makeup doubleheader. Will they return to Milwaukee following the twin-bill, cross the country to face the Padres, or go back home?

White Sox at Tigers: Incredibly, the Tigers could clinch an AL wild card Friday. Also, the White Sox are one loss away from breaking the record of 120 in a single season.

Phillies at Nationals: With a bye in hand, the Phillies trail the Dodgers by a game for the No. 1 seed in the NL, but do hold the tiebreaker over L.A.

Pirates at Yankees: The Yankees need just one more win to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AL as they hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians.

Astros at Guardians: A potential Division Series preview, the Guardians could still finish with the best record in the AL, but will need a sweep plus help.

Royals at Atlanta: How much will Hurricane Helene impact play this weekend? Will another doubleheader be needed before Monday? The Royals are a virtual lock for the playoffs, needing just a win or a Twins loss.

Dodgers at Rockies: The Dodgers are looking to lock down the No. 1 seed in the NL.

Orioles at Twins: While the Orioles have nothing to play for before the Wild Card Series, the Twins are in need of a miracle in order to join Baltimore in the AL postseason field.

Padres at Diamondbacks: The two NL West foes could end the regular season and open the postseason against each other, this time in San Diego.

 

Lawsuit Over Ohtani Ball

 

A young fan is suing the man who walked away with Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball as well as an auction house in a dispute over possession of the ball. The 18-year-old claims the ball was taken from him by one of the defendants in the case. An auction house was set to open bidding on the ball Friday, starting at $500,000. The home run completed Ohtani’s entry into the 50-50 club, the first player in MLB history to achieve that mark.

 

Franco Ordered To Stand Trial

 

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was ordered to stand trial in the Dominican Republic on charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation of a minor, and sexual abuse. The 23-year-old is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time. Franco has not played in more than a year since the accusations became public and was placed on the restricted list by the Commissioner’s Office in July. No date has been set for the trial. MLB is also investigating and could issue a suspension against Franco. An agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association allowed Franco to still be paid until he was charged.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Yeah, There Are More A’s Memories

In case you thought we were done chronicling the A’s final game in Oakland, we present the following:

 

A Moment With The ‘Rents

 

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon announced he was retiring after this season. He was the catcher as his dad, accompanied by his mom, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Infielder Marwin Gonzalez, who has played the last two seasons in Japan, has retired.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

At first base, Harper pays it forward with young hitters — Matt Gelb, The Athletic

Prospects who gained the most 90th-percentile exit velocity — Geoff Pontes, Baseball America

50 years later, Tommy John surgery is MLB’s necessary evil — Bob Nightengale, USA Today

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Steve Drumwright

Steve Drumwright is a lifelong baseball fan who retired as a player before he had the chance to be cut from the freshman team in high school. He recovered to become a sportswriter and have a successful journalism career at newspapers in Wisconsin and California. Follow him on Bluesky and Threads @DrummerWrites.

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