Many at the Coliseum for the Athletics' final game in Oakland took a piece of history with them in the form of merchandise, photos and even dirt and bases off the diamond. Star right-fielder Lawrence Butler, however, took home other commemoratives. “So, I got a pretty big 2024 schedule,” Butler told host Chris Rose.

Nearly 30 years to the date that seven-year Major League Baseball veteran and Niceville resident Scott Hemond made his final plate appearance for the Oakland Athletics, the A's said farewell to "The Town" with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Sept. 26, ending a 56-year stay and closing the chapter of professional sports within the city for the foreseeable future. Before being drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 1986 MLB Draft, Hemond, now 58, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, before moving to the Tampa area and playing for Dunedin High School. The Kansas City Royals drafted Hemond as the 21st pick in the fifth round of the 1983 MLB amateur draft while he was still playing at Dunedin High.

Nearly 30 years to the date that seven-year Major League Baseball veteran and Niceville resident Scott Hemond made his final plate appearance for the Oakland Athletics, the A's said farewell to "The Town" with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Sept. 26, ending a 56-year stay and closing the chapter of professional sports within the city for the foreseeable future. Before being drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 1986 MLB Draft, Hemond, now 58, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, before moving to the Tampa area and playing for Dunedin High School. The Kansas City Royals drafted Hemond as the 21st pick in the fifth round of the 1983 MLB amateur draft while he was still playing at Dunedin High.

It appears the Athletics are poised to make a splash in the international free-agent market. Shotaro Morii, a 17-year-old Japanese high school star, is likely to sign with the A's as an international free agent, Yahoo Japan reported Monday.

It appears the Athletics are poised to make a splash in the international free-agent market. Shotaro Morii, a 17-year-old Japanese high school star is likely to sign with the A's as an international free agent, Yahoo Japan reported Monday.

Logan Salow's return to his alma mater has been a fruitful one as he was promoted to Director of Scouting and Analytics by Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione this offseason. Director of Operations Brock Doud also has been promoted to Chief of Staff. Salow, an Ashland, Kentucky native who returned to the program last season after a professional career will help keep Kentucky on the forefront of the analytical data and information space. Salow turned in a career year for Kentucky in 2017, Mingione's first in Lexington, and was rewarded when the Oakland Athletics selected him in the sixth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft.

During the A's end-of-season meeting with the press, manager Mark Kotsay expressed a desire to add some pitchers with a little more swing-and-miss heading into the 2025 season. Over at Baseball America, they released a list of the 90 prospects that threw 100 miles per hour in the minors this past season, and the A's had four players on that list. Here are the four prospects in the A's system that topped triple digits. Otañez actually made his big-league debut with the Oakland A's in June, geting into one game before getting sent down to the minors.

The Athletics plan to recruit free agents harder than normal before their first year at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. General manager David Forst, architect of the A's league-low $63.4 million payroll in 2024, told reporters Friday about the team's intention to spend during the looming offseason. “We do expect our payroll to increase,” Forst told reporters Friday (h/t Sports Illustrated's Jason Burke).

Pete Alonso was one of the stars of Major League Baseball's Wild Card Series round, hitting a three-run homer in the ninth inning on Thursday night to lift his New York Mets over the Milwaukee Brewers for the series win. Now it's time to see who stars in the Division Series. The four winners advance to the League Championship Series that begin Oct. 13.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker underwent surgery on his right forearm after being bothered by an elbow issue that limited him to playing primarily designated hitter this season. Rooker's arthoscopic procedure was performed Tuesday by Dr. Michael Freehill to repair an extensor tendon that was partially torn, according to general manager David Forst. The 29-year-old Rooker had a career-high 39 home runs and 112 RBIs while batting .293 over 145 games — 131 of those as DH. Manager Mark Kotsay hopes once healthy Rooker might be a regular outfield option again.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker underwent surgery on his right forearm after being bothered by an elbow issue that limited him to playing primarily designated hitter this season. Rooker's arthoscopic procedure was performed Tuesday by Dr. Michael Freehill to repair an extensor tendon that was partially torn, according to general manager David Forst. The 29-year-old Rooker had a career-high 39 home runs and 112 RBIs while batting .293 over 145 games — 131 of those as DH. Manager Mark Kotsay hopes once healthy Rooker might be a regular outfield option again.

The A's still remain the same franchise despite their impending move to Sacramento, but to general manager David Forst, team's departure from Oakland serves as the beginning of a new chapter. The collective pain of the A's departure from Oakland still lingers for Forst and company, but their attention now turns towards the green and gold graduating from upstarts to contenders. Fresh off winning 69 games and going exactly .500 in the season's second half, a playoff appearance in Sacramento isn't completely far-fetched.

With the end of the Oakland Athletics 2024 MLB season, we are likely looking at the end of the team's tenure at the Oakland Coliseum. At one time the Oakland Coliseum and Oakland Arena (under various naming-rights deals, of course) was one of the business sports and entertainment complexed in the United States. The$25.5-million Coliseum, as well as the adjacent Oakland Arena, was built by Alameda County to attract professional sports to the East Bay, opening in 1966 as the home of the AFL's Oakland Raiders.

Jorge Montanez recaps the Oakland Athletics season that was highlighted by breakouts from Mason Miller and Brent Rooker.

There were also questions, at least early on in draft season, as to how much of the catching workload he would receive with Tyler Soderstrom around. Meanwhile, Langeliers finished seventh among catchers with 534 plate appearances and trailed only Cal Raleigh with his 29 long balls.

According to the transaction log on MiLB.com, right-hander Aaron Brooks has elected free agency. Brooks also made five appearances (four starts) with the A's in May and June, and really just had one stinker in the bunch that ended up hurting his ERA.

Back in 2021, Cristian Pache was the No. 12 prospect in baseball for the Atlanta Braves according to MLB Pipeline. A year later he was headed to the Oakland A's as part of the return for Matt Olson, along with catcher Shea Langeliers and right-handers Joey Estes and Ryan Cusick. The A's put Pache in center to begin the 2022 season, but at the end of June he was hitting just .159 with a .203 OBP, so the club optioned him to the minors.

It is not a joyful one, though there was plenty of joy at the Oakland Athletics' last game at the Coliseum, fueled by a raucous pregame tailgate party that started not long after dawn. With a mix of anger, longing and resignation I walked across the catwalk from the BART train station, over the industrial yards and the trash-strewn stream, through the vendors hawking final game memorabilia, hot dogs, beer, marijuana and, yep that guy was selling hallucinogenic mushroom chocolate treats. Past the lengthy game-day ticket lines I walked toward the entrance at the Dennis Eckersley gate, popping into the tailgating crowd for a few minutes to listen to a band play joyous music, the singer belting out lyrics in Spanish.

The Oakland Athletics' last star slugger, Brent Rooker, should receive 2024 AL MVP votes.

Star Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker should receive some down-ballot AL MVP votes. After being Oakland's lone 2023 MLB All-Star, Rooker was even better this season despite not being invited to the latest Midsummer Classic. Rooker collected a career-high 307 total bases and was a glaring bright spot for the A's, who missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and were riddled with distractions about the franchise's relocation to West Sacramento and eventually Las Vegas. A's manager Mark Kotsay, proud to have had Rooker in his repertoire for the past two seasons, recently spoke on the DH's success with the Green and Gold.