Ten years ago, Ross Stripling was sitting at home unable to pitch, wondering if Tommy John elbow surgery had derailed his career. During that recovery time, Stripling, who is scheduled to start tonight for the Oakland A's against the Cleveland Guardians, made strides toward a backup plan if his playing career didn't pan out – working in personal finance. The Texas A&M graduate with a degree in business finance did not originally plan to go down that route. After growing up in Southlake, Texas, Stripling enrolled at A&M for its highly esteemed engineering program.

Just four weeks ago, veteran third baseman J.D. Davis was gearing up for his third season with the San Francisco Giants before one of the team's late free-agent signings rocked his world. After San Francisco signed third baseman Matt Chapman to a one-year, $18 million contract on March 3, Davis, the odd man out in the Giants' infield, wound up signing with the Athletics for one year and $2.5 million on March 16 after he was placed on and subsequently cleared waivers.

The A's announced in May an agreement to build a 33,000-seat stadium on the Las Vegas strip.

Stephen Vogt's managerial career is off to a mighty fine start. After being selected as the manager of the Cleveland Guardians, his first official game was against his former team, the Oakland A's… on the road. Vogt's first game as a manager was against the team that loved him like their own… on their own turf. A few years ago, Vogt treated the A's faithful to quite the finale, nailing one final home run to cap his career off.

Shane Bieber struck out 11 in six shutout innings, David Fry had three hits and Stephen Vogt won his managerial debut as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Oakland Athletics 8-0 on Thursday night.

Cleveland Guardians (1-0) vs. Oakland Athletics (0-1) Oakland, California; Friday, 9:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Logan Allen (0-0); Athletics: Ross Stripling (0-0) : Guardians -140, Athletics +119; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians meet the Oakland Athletics with a 1-0 series lead. Oakland had a 50-112 record overall and a 26-55 record in home games last season. The Athletics slugged .370 as a team in the 2023 season while hitting 1.1 home runs per game. Cleveland had a 76-86 record overall and a 34-47 record on the road last season. The Guardians averaged 8.5 hits per game last season while batting a collective .250 and slugging .381. INJURIES: Athletics:

Many fans at the Oakland Coliseum were still hanging out in the parking lot when Alex Wood delivered the first pitch of the season for the Athletics against the Cleveland Guardians. In protest of the A's planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, fan groups staged a boycott of the home opener Thursday, purchasing tickets to the game to organize a block party outside the stadium.

OAKLAND – Americas High School graduate Darell Hernaiz made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics on Opening Day on Thursday. In the bottom of the 8th inning of A’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, Hernaiz pinch-hit for leadoff hitter Ryan Noda. On the very first pitch Hernaiz saw in the big leagues, he swung […]

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The latest round of protests by Oakland A’s fans took place on Thursday night outside the Coliseum. Fans packed the parking lot, demanding that ownership sell the team, but did not enter the stadium for the game. Barring a change in plans, the 2024 MLB season will be the A’s last […]

Shane Bieber struck out 11 in six shutout innings, David Fry had three hits and Stephen Vogt won his managerial debut as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Oakland Athletics 8-0 on Thursday night. Bieber, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner, made his fifth consecutive opening day start and allowed four hits in six innings. Vogt spent six seasons as a player with the A's in two stints before retiring in 2022.

Many fans at the Oakland Coliseum were still hanging out in the parking lot when Alex Wood delivered the first pitch of the season for the Athletics against the Cleveland Guardians. In protest of the A's planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, fan groups staged a boycott of the home opener Thursday, purchasing tickets to the game to organize a block party outside the stadium. “Everyone's in such a good mood because we're all here for the same thing,” said Edward Silva, a student at San Jose State and a lifelong A's fan.

Despite the Athletics' 8-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday at Oakland Coliseum, the opening night affair was one to remember for A's play-by-play announcer Jenny Cavnar and MLB at large. Cavnar made history as the league's first female primary play-by-play announcer in her debut, and the monumental achievement will be immortalized forever in Cooperstown as her game-used headset and talkback box from Thursday's contest are headed to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Whether or not this will be the A's final Opening Night lineup from the Coliseum, and whether or not this is their final season here, manager Mark Kotsay is not ignoring fans' feelings of abandonment. “My heart is with the fans,” Kotsay said while many were protesting in the parking lot rather than enter to watch the A's host the Cleveland Guardians. “I understand the emotion and the impact, not just from this organization's history of being here 55 years or more,” Kotsay added, ahead of season No. 57.

Whether or not this will be the A's final Opening Night lineup from the Coliseum, and whether or not this is their final season here, manager Mark Kotsay is not ignoring fans' feelings of abandonment. “My heart is with the fans,” Kotsay said while many were protesting in the parking lot rather than enter to watch the A's host the Cleveland Guardians. “I understand the emotion and the impact, not just from this organization's history of being here 55 years or more of being here,” Kotsay added. Echoing those words in the opposing dugout was Kotsay's counterpart, Stephen Vogt, who's making his managerial debut in front of some 30 friends and family from his native Visalia.

Here are five on-field storylines to keep in mind throughout the A's' 2024 campaign.

From the names you know (Corbin Burnes) to some surprises (Jesse Winker), these ex-Brewers made opening-day rosters in Major League Baseball.

The Cleveland Guardians announced the roster for their season opener against the Oakland Athletics.

With the team set to move to Las Vegas, Thursday evening's game between the Oakland A's and Cleveland Guardians will likely mark the last opening day the A's play at the ballpark. Instead of spending money on tickets, which organizers say A's owner John Fisher will use to help pay for the team's relocation, they're hoping to send a clear message by having more fans outside the stadium than in. "It's an opportunity for people who weren't going to give their money to Fisher any way to have an opportunity to come together, celebrate as fans," said Bryan Johansen.

It's the beginning of the end of an era at the Oakland Coliseum.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Baseball is back! Thursday is MLB's Opening Day. The Giants kick off their season on the road in the afternoon against the San Diego Padres. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. They return to Oracle Park for their home opener next Friday, April 5. The A's will be at the Coliseum for their home opener against the Cleveland Guardians in the evening. HAPPENING TODAY: 20,000 Oakland A's fans expected to protest season opener tailgate-style First pitch is at 7:07 p.m. The team is giving out magnet schedules to fans going to the game. If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live