Oakland A’s Fans Are Literally Sending ‘Stay In Oakland’ Boxes To MLB Owners

The Oakland A's have one foot out the door on their way to Las Vegas, with new stadium designs and $380 million in public funding all but secured.

READ: THE A’S HAVE A NEW DESIGN FOR THEIR VEGAS STADIUM ALREADY

But for a committed group of Bay Area fans, they're not giving up on keeping the A's in Oakland. And they're putting their hope in a number of other Major League Baseball owners to come to the rescue. Oh boy.

The Associated Press reported that owners including the Boston Red Sox's John Henry, Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels, Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees and Ray Davis of the new World Champion Texas Rangers are among those who will be receiving a "Stay in Oakland" box from the group.

The 30 MLB owners are set to vote next week on whether to approve the A's move to Las Vegas, a vote that's expected to pass easily. But these fans are hoping that a collection of memorabilia, photos and "Stay in Oakland'' branded hats, post cards and personalized photos will convince owners to keep the A's where they are.

So does this have any chance of working?

Apr 28, 2023; Oakland, Calif. - Oakland Athletics fans hang signs reading “sell” and “stay” during the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Oakland Coliseum. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

MLB Owners To Be Swayed By A's Fans?

Yeah, no. It has no chance of working.

Billionaire MLB owners did not become billionaires because they're sentimental when it comes to business opportunities.

If the value of the A's franchise increases with a move to Vegas, which it almost assuredly will, there's a strong financial incentive for each of them to approve it. Not to mention that the other owners are all likely to be overwhelmingly in favor of yet another city giving one of them hundreds of millions of dollars in free money to build a stadium that they retain the profits from.

The more this becomes an enshrined habit, the more they can demand it from their cities when the time comes to rebuild or renovate. Showing local fans that they're serious about relocation has benefits as well. Essentially it indicates that they're willing to pick up and leave if there's a better offer elsewhere.

To be fair to the owners, the A's still don't have a credible option to build a new stadium in Oakland. And boy do they need a new stadium. Most would also argue that A's fans have shown little interest in supporting the team, with atrocious attendance year after year.

On the other hand, Oakland ownership has shown equally little interest in improving the roster, choosing instead to save as much money as possible. To the point that a manager on an opposing team would be the highest paid player on the A's roster.

READ: NEW CUBS MANAGER CRAIG COUNSELL WOULD HAVE BEEN THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER ON THE OAKLAND A’S

The Vegas move, assuming there are no hiccups with the public funding, is essentially a done deal. But it's a nice effort for fans to try to appeal to ownership's human instinct for compassion. It's just that that instinct is a lot, lot smaller than it used to be.