The Giants-A’s rivalry is officially dead, according to a recent report. What was once a humdinger of a feud is now gone. There’s no there there. The Giants are playing the A’s this weekend as part of what Major League Baseball calls “Rivalry Weekend,” but the marketing comes under false pretenses.
The Giants might as well be playing the Reds or Marlins this weekend, the report suggests. There’s not the same appeal to Giants-A’s anymore because the A’s aren’t the A’s that we knew and appreciated as the second-city upstarts who always seemed to enjoy infuriating the big boys from the big city across the bay.
A’s Forced to Play in Minor League Park
The A’s are forced to play at a tiny minor-league park because that’s what John Fisher wanted. This is reportedly to escape the venom, chants, and protests directed his way at the Coliseum for orchestrating a ruthless and unnecessary relocation out of Oakland. The teams played Saturday night before another miniscule crowd at Sutter Health Park, with the Giants winning 6-4.
It was announced as a sellout, but that’s because 12,000 and change constitutes a sellout at Triple-A facilities. Giants fans are reportedly taking over the joint this weekend because Sacramento fans rightfully won’t fully embrace a team they know is Las Vegas-bound. The number of A’s fans has dramatically dwindled because of how they were treated by Fisher’s ownership.
Past Glory and Community Connection
It’s a far cry from when the A’s dominated Bay Area attendance and outdrew the Giants five straight years, by a lot. In 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992, the A’s attracted more than 2 million fans annually, peaking at 2.9 million, third most in the major leagues. The Giants, despite the entertaining Humm Baby era, drew lesser crowds at Candlestick Park during that time.
- In 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992, the A’s attracted more than 2 million fans annually.
- The A’s peaked at 2.9 million, third most in the major leagues.
- The Giants drew lesser crowds at Candlestick Park.
It wasn’t just because the A’s were a juggernaut; it was because the Haas family ownership and its marketing branch were embedded into the community. A’s fans supported owners who supported them, and they never felt that with Fisher, who ultimately pulled the plug, eliminated the Bay Area’s two-team market, and killed a rivalry.
The story was more complex than that and included issues with local politicians and MLB officials. But the bottom line is, Fisher had a choice and ultimately wrongly decided he knew better than folks who indeed knew better than him – Joe Lacob, Steve Schott, and Lew Wolff all agreed constructing a new stadium at the Coliseum property would ha