The Athletics may not be rooted in Oakland for much longer. The franchise entered into a binding agreement on Wednesday to purchase land in Nevada located near the Las Vegas strip. The A’s intend to break ground on a new stadium next year, with an eye on completing the project ahead of the 2027 season. It’s possible they may relocate before then: their lease at the Oakland Coliseum will expire at the conclusion of the 2024 season, and team president Dave Kaval publicly admitted that playing at a minor-league park (perhaps even the one presently occupied by their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas) is an option.
The A’s, located in Oakland since the 1968 season, have undergone several transformations over that period, morphing from high-rollers to beachcombers. It was Charlie Finley who moved the A’s to Oakland in the first place, and who oversaw a boom period that included three consecutive World Series championships in the ’70s. The A’s again enjoyed a prosperous run in the ’80s, winning three pennants in a row from 1988-90, including the 1989 World Series. Less than a decade later, and beginning with executive Billy Beane’s promotion to general manager in 1997, the Athletics helped popularize sabermetrics. Beane’s ability to build talented teams despite financial restrictions (self-imposed and otherwise), which was chronicled in Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball” and the subsequent Brad Pitt movie, allowed the A’s to make the postseason 11 times since the 2000 season.
Alas, it appears Oakland’s always-creative front office exhausted its imagination sometime in 2021. Or, perhaps the decay was by design. Ownership and management have, by all appearances, conceded at the big-league level, trading away star after star for middling returns and fielding Major League Baseball’s lowest payroll. The A’s won just 37 percent of their games last season, their worst mark since 1979, and are off to a putrid 3-16 start this year, putting them on pace for just 29 victories.
Just how did the A’s reach this point — at the bottom of the standings, and, potentially, as the second MLB team to relocate across state lines in the past 50 years? Let us hit on the most notable developments over time. (Do note that this is more of a broad view, as opposed to the comprehensive ones offered elsewhere.)
2000: Then-team owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann consult with Major League Baseball about the possibility of relocating the franchise to San Jose. On the field, the A’s reach the postseason for the first time since 1992, winning 91 games and the American League West crown. They lose in the divisional round to the New York Yankees.
October 2001: The A’s lose again to the Yankees in the ALDS. Their failures become immortalized by Derek Jeter and the “Flip Play,” which occurs when Jeremy Giambi fails to slide at home plate. The A’s would subsequently lose in the 2002 and 2003 ALDS, too.
December 2001: First baseman Jason Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP, leaves for the Yankees as a free agent. Giambi would not be the last star A’s player to depart through free agency or trade. Over time, he would be joined by Johnny Damon, Barry Zito, Miguel Tejada, Tim Hudson, and others.
August 2002: The A’s begin a 20-game winning streak that established a new AL record.
June 2003: Michael Lewis’ acclaimed book, “Moneyball,” is published. The book details how Beane and the A’s use statistical analysis to win despite their financial restraints. The term “moneyball” becomes a phenomenon unto itself.
April 2005: Developer Lew Wolff purchases the A’s from Schott and Hofmann for $180 million. (Schott and Hofmann paid $85 million in 1995.)
October 2006: The A’s are swept in the AL Championship Series by the Detroit Tigers. It remains the only time under Beane’s watch that the A’s have advanced beyond the divisional round.
November 2006: Wolff announces plans to purchase land in Fremont, Calif., as well as to build Cisco Park. Wolff is joined at the press conference by, among others, then-commissioner Bud Selig.
February 2009: The A’s scrap their plans to move to Fremont and build Cisco Park after residents push back on the plan.
October 2010: Attempts to purchase land in San Jose hit several snags. The city’s redevelopment agency acknowledges that it is low on funds. Additionally, there are concerns that MLB would not sign off on the move, since the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights over San Jose.
September 2011: The film adaptation of “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, is released in theaters.
May 2012: Selig is noncommittal on greenlighting a move to San Jose.
June 2013: Selig officially rejects the A’s request to relocate to San Jose. The City of San Jose subsequently files a lawsuit against MLB, accusing the league of unfair business practices. U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte will dismiss part of the suit, aimed at the league’s antitrust exemption, come October.
June 2014: The A’s agree to a new 10-year lease to remain at the Oakland Coliseum.
November 2016: Wolff steps down as the franchise’s managing partner. He’s replaced by John Fisher.
December 2016: The new Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association stipulates that the A’s will be phased out of the revenue-sharing plans as an impetus to get a ballpark deal done.
December 2017: Peralta Community College rejects the A’s proposal to build a new stadium on college property. The decision comes after student and faculty groups both pushed back on the idea.
November 2018: The A’s unveil plans to build a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site.
October 2019: The A’s lose in the Wild Card Game for the second consecutive fall, this time against the Tampa Bay Rays. This marks the ninth time under Beane the A’s have been eliminated from the postseason in a winner-takes-all game. It was the third time overall the A’s lost in the wild-card round.
October 2020: The A’s, in their most recent playoff appearance, lose to the Houston Astros in four games in the divisional round.
May 2021: MLB gives the A’s the go-ahead to examine relocation possibilities to other markets.
July 2021: The A’s acquire veteran outfielder Starling Marte to reinforce a playoff push in what league insiders speculate to CBS Sports could be the final run for the group as constructed. They would later fall shy of the postseason.
November 2021: Manager Bob Melvin, who had captained the Athletics for 11 seasons, is allowed to leave to take over as the skipper of the San Diego Padres.
March 2022: The A’s are reintroduced to the revenue-sharing world as part of the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the MLBPA.
March 2022: Once MLB’s owner-imposed lockout is lifted, the A’s go into firesale mode. Within a week, they trade away starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, first baseman Matt Olson, and third baseman Matt Chapman. They would later trade away starters Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.
June 2022: The Howard Terminal plan clears a hurdle, as the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission votes to reclassify the site at the Port of Oakland as mixed use.
November 2022: Longtime executive Billy Beane moves into an advisory role.
December 2022: Catcher Sean Murphy, one of the few notable players remaining from the A’s 2020 playoff roster, is traded to the Atlanta Braves as part of a three-team deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Oakland’s portion of the trade is widely panned both inside and outside of the industry.
January 2023: The City of Oakland does not get a grant recommended by the United States Department of Transportation that would have helped it advance the Howard Terminal plan.
April 2023: The A’s announce their land agreement with Las Vegas, as well as their intent to begin construction on a new stadium sometime in 2024.