Touch 'Em All: A Goodbye To Oakland, A Phillies Fan Shares His Life Story & Caitlin Clark Tries Broadcasting
"Touch ‘Em All" Can’t Continue Until We've Recognized The Oakland A's, Who Will Soon No Longer Be With Us
When I was a kid, I had two plastic, replica baseball helmets on my bureau. Neither of them fit my gigantic 6-year-old head, but I still loved them. One of them was for the Boston Red Sox (duh). But the other was for the Oakland A’s.
I loved that A’s helmet. There was something about that Oakland helmet that I loved: maybe it was the unique font of that capital "A," or the aesthetically pleasing green and yellow color scheme. Whatever it was, I genuinely treasured it.
As the years have gone by, it eventually did not make the cut in room cleaning or yard sale season, and I no longer have it. But I really wish I did, because now those things could pass as historical artifacts.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 26: A's fans set a record for highest attendance at a team's final game as a franchise, according to MLB.com. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Sometime on Sunday evening, the Oakland A’s will no longer be a franchise. They will take a several-year hiatus in Sacramento before making a home in Las Vegas in the near future. The franchise that boasted greats like Ricky Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, and Jose Canseco will no longer exist. The famed Coliseum, which saw its team make history by setting the then-AL record for most consecutive wins (20), will soon be a ghost town, never to be graced by the sound of home run swings or cheering fans.
(Side note: did you know this franchise is the only team not named the New York Yankees to win three titles in a row? Who’da thought?).
But that doesn’t mean the A’s went gently into that night during their final home game on Thursday. They gave the fans one last shining moment on that famed field.
To kick things off, A’s legend and Cy-Young-Award winner Barry Zito came back to the ballpark to sing the national anthem - and he crushed it.
Then Oakland got the game to the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead, and handed the ball to their All-Star closer, Mason Miller. Of course, he got the job done by getting Travis Jankowski to ground out and seal the win in that fateful game.
By itself, that moment would be pretty epic. But when you play it to "Moneyball" music…it will make every genuine baseball fan tear up.
Dang, why you gotta do me like that MLB?
After the game, manager Mark Kotsay compared the emotions of the moment to what he imagined a World Series would be like.
"I’ve never been to a World Series before, but I feel like today is one of those days that you can kind of experience the emotion of that," Kotsay said. "The magnitude of it, driving in today and seeing the fullness of a parking lot and feeling the energy and emotion, that’s something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life."
The night before this fateful game, a grounds crew member took the time to give fans some of the dirt from the field as a souvenir.
Oakland has a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners set to be its last games as a franchise this weekend. But even if they lose all three, they will have already given fans (myself included) plenty to treasure in memory.
And for me, that helps make up for the loss of that helmet.
Do you have any fun memories of the A's you would want to share? Let me know: john.simmons@outkick.com.
This Phillies Fan Gave An All-Time Interview After His Team Locked Up The NL East
While the A’s days in the MLB are numbered, the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they are going to October for the third year in a row after clinching the NL East on Monday with a 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
It marked just the first time in 13 years that the Phils have earned the title of lords of the division - and the fans were PUMPED about it.
So like any good local news outlet would do, 6abc Philadelphia went out on the streets to interview the raucous crowd that was celebrating their first tile win in over half a decade.
Now let's just think about that for a second. That’s a really long time. What’s happened to you in 13 years? For me, I moved three times, got a college degree, set foot in 19 new states and three different countries, and broke my elbow (long story, don’t have time for it here. Email me if you want to know: john.simmons@outkick.com). But this one fan was super eager to share most of what had transpired in his life since the last division title the Phillies earned.
"13 years we’ve waited for this! I’ve gotten married, and divorced, and had two kids!," the man said.
That’s downright hysterical. Just after one of the most noteworthy evenings in recent Philadelphia sports history, this man took time during a man-on-the-street interview to share all that had happened in his life since his baseball team ended the season on top in the division.
This interaction has shades of this fantastic interview and roast of Nelson Agholor from 2019.
Frankly, I think it should be a rule that every time something big happens in the sports world in Philadelphia, we need to put a mic in front of any fan that will talk. Because it seems like every time we do, we get some content gold.
Cailtin Clark Can Do Anything, Including Call Baseball Games
Indiana Fever guard Cailtin Clark spent her rookie season tearing up the competition in the WNBA on her way to winning a unanimous Rookie of the Year Award. While her team’s season ended with a playoff sweep at the hand of the Connecticut Sun, it was nonetheless a year that announced that she’s going to be a real force in the league for years to come.
At this point, you might be asking why I switched from talking about baseball to the WNBA with absolutely no logical segway whatsoever, and that’s fair. But I bring Clark up because she might be able to get an offseason gig in baseball with all the time she has on her hands now.
During a stay at a hotel for a road game, Clark decided to turn into a play-by-play announcer for a Phillies-Brewers game (see, its related to my last topic!). Being the talented human being that she is, she actually did a solid job - especially considering her lack of experience.
"And that ball's hit to the shortstop, Rojas throws over to first base anddd that's not going to be enough. That's an infield single by Contreras," Clark said.
What can’t this woman do? Literally with no prior experience, she just pops on a baseball game in the middle of the week and absolutely crushes it on the mic.
Some people can really just do anything.
This Stat Solidified My Appreciation For The Pitch Clock
I must admit, when the MLB first introduced the new pitch clock rules, I was one of those people that said it was going to be one of the worst things to happen to baseball since the New York Yankees. Channeling my inner traditionalist, I thought that speeding up the game while sacrificing the pitcher-catcher pitch-calling would have a horrible effect on my favorite sport. Plus, why would you want baseball games to be over so quickly?
But as the years have gone by, I must say I stand corrected.
I’m not saying the pitch-calling never added suspense or magic to the game. But speeding it up via the pitch clock and streamlining it with pitch com hasn’t really taken a whole lot of magic away from the game, and, perhaps more notably, has sped up baseball games a lot.
The MLB Communications department released an eye-opening statistic to show how the game has not only not lost any of its charm, but how it has become more digestible viewing experience as a whole.
I can’t argue with results, and quite honestly, I must say that I enjoy them. Baseball games no longer take up a gigantic amount of time, and its still the same sport I’ve enjoyed since I was four.
Well done, MLB.
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What kind of impact do you think the Oakland A’s have left on the MLB? Should Caitlin Clark pick up broadcasting? Do you like the pitch-clock? Let me know at john.simmons@outkick.com, and make sure you have a great weekend!