Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" blared over the Oakland Coliseum speakers one last time on Thursday afternoon, as the Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers 3–2 in their final home game in Oakland.
Shortly after closer Mason Miller slammed the door on the Rangers in the ninth inning, A's manager Mark Kotsay walked on the field and grabbed a microphone to deliver a speech to the sellout crowd of 46,889 fans.
"There are no better fans than you guys," Kotsay said. "Thank you all for loving the game of baseball. Thank you for your lifelong support of the Oakland A's."
Kotsay then led the crowd on one final "Let's go Oakland" chant at the Coliseum. Many A's fans were seen getting emotional in the stands on the NBC Sports California broadcast.
"There are no better fans than you guys."
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) September 26, 2024
Mark Kotsay delivers parting words to A's fans at the Coliseum 🥲 pic.twitter.com/BcoVvGvIMh
The A's spent 57 years playing in the Oakland Coliseum after arriving in the Bay Area in 1968. They won four World Series championships—including three straight from 1972 to '74—and won 17 AL West division titles, most recently in 2020.
The franchise will now play the next three seasons in Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Owner John Fisher aims to move the franchise to Las Vegas by the 2028 season, although it's worth noting no shovels have hit the dirt yet in Southern Nevada on the proposed $1.5 billion ballpark.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mark Kotsay Delivers Emotional Speech to Cap Off Final A's Game at Oakland Coliseum.
