Oakland-Alameda Coliseum

I was able to see games at Oakland Coliseum before and after the Al Davis monstrosity in center field. This was a dual-purpose stadium built in the 1960’s. Originally it had relatively low seating compared to most other stadiums of its’ era. It is right next to the arena where the Warriors play and they share the parking lot. Another bonus is the stadium is right at a BART station for easy mass-transit access. The loge level seats were pretty close to the field and made for a nice baseball experience. 

The first game I saw there was in 1992 against the Mariners. This was a good A’s team who would win their division this year. They had Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Terry Steinbach, Dave Stewart, and Dennis Eckersley. They also had Goose Gossage in the bullpen but he would pitch less than 40 innings that year. They played a bad Mariners team who would finish last in the division and the second worst record in baseball that year. They had good players in Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Randy Johnson. This game was a win or the A’s on a strong outing by Dave Stewart (and non-save outing by Gossage). There were home runs by Canseco and Jay Buhner.

Outfield Before Al Davis

Outfield After Al Davis

My next trip to the stadium was in 1996 during my Bay Area trip with John. [See the Candlestick Park entry.] It’s the trip I cured Jon of his bridge phobia! This was also during the time when they were constructing the Al Davis monstrosity in center. John had his picture taken with the weird A’s guy who wore the propeller beanie, played a banjo, and wore an A’s flag as a cape. We saw three games against the Brewers – both teams were mediocre and would finish under .500 this year. The A’s still had McGwire and Steinbach. They also had Jason Giambi. The Brewers had Greg Vaughn, Jeff Cirillo, and Jose Valentin. The A’s would lose two of the three games. Ricky Bones threw a great game on the first day. In the third game McGwire and Steinbach had home runs as the only scoring in a blow out by the Brewers. Three funny things happened during this series I’d like to mention. At the first game we saw, John and I got to the stadium early and went down to the field during batting practice (so we could go talk to Steinbach). After the A’s went into the locker room, we walked around the park and stopped to buy a program. The guy selling programs had on a huge ring that looked like a championship ring. Naturally we asked about it. He suddenly became very self-conscious (covering his ring with his other hand) and explained that the last year the A’s went to the World Series that ownership bought all employees championship rings, including the concession workers. I think it’s great that the owners would think about all employees in such a manner, I just question this guys judgment in wearing it to games. During the third game we saw something else funny. We were in the loge section along the first base side. There were a lot of open seats. At the end of our section (closer to home plate) there was a couple with an infant child. Beyond them in the next section was a group of people in their early 50’s. Mark Loretta, in his first full season in the majors, hits a foul ball to our section. The father of the infant child, who was drinking heavily and sporting a collection of tattoo’s, scooped up the ball and appropriately raised it to show the crowd. Immediately following the catch, one of the 50-year-olds came over. He explained that he was with Mark’s parents, this was their first time seeing him play live in the majors, and could they please have the ball. [By this time it was apparent that he was also pretty drunk.] The guy with the ball thought about it and said, “No. If my kid wasn’t with me, I’d let you have it.” Just in case you missed the irony, let me paraphrase, “If my INFANT CHILD WHO NO DOUBT WILL NEVER RECALL BEING AT THIS GAME wasn’t with me…” The drunk argument/negotiation that followed was pretty entertaining. One more funny thing about the stadium during this time, the construction was going on during the season meaning the construction crew was working during day games. At some point during the game they would play YMCA and the construction workers would stop working and dance. I don’t know how skilled they were as construction workers, but I can tell you they sucked at dancing.

John with Banjo Guy 1996

John with Banjo Guy 2013

The last time I was there was in 2003 right before a BRBL draft. We saw a good A’s team (division winners that year) against a mediocre Anaheim Angels team. The A’s had decent offense with Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez but their strength was in their starting rotation of Tim Hudson, Ted Lilly, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. The Angels had Tim Salmon, Garrett Anderson, and Troy Percival. They also had Ron Gant in his last major league season. The A’s would win that game on a good Lilly outing. Tejada and Chavez had stolen bases.

 
UPDATE 04/01/2011: I was in SF for another BRBL draft and the Giants were out of town. So the Buttheads jumped on the BART and went to opening day in Oakland. The stands were sort of packed. The A’s ownership [who are considering moving the team to San Jose] tarped most of the seats in the upper deck forcing the lower levels to appear more full. [As though no one would notice the tarps…] There was a lot of talk amongst the locals about ownership moving the club. I appreciated the t-shirts that said “STAY” with the A’s logo as the A. Oakland was coming off a .500 season and expectations for the post-season this year were low. While the stands were ‘full’, the real action during the game was happening in the massive bar behind home plate. It was 20,000 sqft of massive alcohol consumption. Except for a few seats no one could see the game, and I don’t think anyone cared. The game itself featured 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez and the Mariners. King Felix gave up two runs in the first on a Josh Willingham HR before he settled down and pitched a complete game [2 ER, 5 H&W]. The Mariners won 6-2. Chone Figgins for the A’s had a HR in the 6th inning. This would end up being his only HR in 2011.