Foul Play

 The mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, had this to say about the Oakland Athletics relocating to her city: “I personally think they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland.” Ms. Goodman made this suggestion just a few days before pitchers and catchers were supposed to report to spring training. 

She didn't say this back in November, when Major League Baseball unanimously voted to let the A's pull up stakes and move to Sin City. It seems that Mayor Goodman is having difficulty getting the ownership of the team to settle down on the site the city had originally proposed. Instead, the formerly Oakland A's have selected a much smaller parcel that would put them closer to The Strip. And will necessitate the tearing down of The Tropicana Hotel. 

Which means that the mayor of Las Vegas has had a chance to get a little taste of the kind of shenanigans for which the Athletics' ownership is so widely known. Here in Oakland, where the A's have been located since 1968. Before that, they played ball in Kansas City, and before that they were in Philadelphia. So it's not like they were a Bay Area institution. 

Except they were. Four World Series victories over their time in Oakland, the most recent being the "Battle of the Bay" that coincided with the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. During that same span the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles. And moved back. And the San Francisco Forty-Niners moved on down the road a piece to settle in Santa Clara. The the Golden State Warriors, who were clever enough not to tie themselves eponymously to any particular city hopped across the bay to a glitzy new arena. And all the while, since before I moved to California in 1992, the Athletics have been looking for a chance to move to their very own ball park. Thirty or so years later, no deal has been made. The wretched confines of the Oakland Coliseum with its sewage problems and its multi-use configuration is more suited for a tractor pull than a baseball game. 

Which never kept the fans from coming out and supporting their team. Until last season when it became obvious to everyone in organized baseball that the trick wasn't to put a good team on the field as much as it was to make deals that would last in perpetuity for the owners. The A's were the worst team in the major leagues last year. And now with the prospect of another year in limbo, it isn't likely that any big contracts will be signed to bring extra talent in for this team without a home. 

Mayor Goodman seems to think the A's belong in Oakland. If only the owners of the team would listen.