MLB news roundup
Good morning A’s Nation, happy Sunday.
As the A’s are now just four days away from kicking off the 2024 campaign on Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians, news about that home opener surfaced this weekend. Instead of the normal four-hour allotted time like last year, the A’s parking lot will open on Thursday just two hours before the first pitch at about 5 p.m. PDT.
Two team fan clubs, Oakland 68’s and the Last Dive Bar, have already planned a pregame boycott for Opening Night that will consist of live music, food, a cornhole tournament, and 5000 SELL flags and 1000 pins. In the fifth inning, fans will again break out in ‘Sell the Team’ chants.
Perhaps the most embarrassing part of this news is the A’s explanation for deciding to cut the pregame time in half. An A’s spokesperson said that they project this time allocation to be representative of the attendance, so basically they’re saying there won’t be many fans there. Last year’s home opener, however, also fell on a Thursday and the parking lot was open four hours prior.
I don’t buy it and neither should any of you.
This is just the A’s latest attempt at handcuffing their fans from expressing their appreciation for the team, albeit in a protestful way. The two fan clubs and everyone attending the boycott still expect attendance and following for the event to be massive, so don’t let stupid rules and regulations from the A’s stop you from showing support.
Both fan groups have also prefaced that they intend for this protest not to deter or hassle other fans from going and supporting their team. They understand and respect most fans’ desire to just watch the game with no other distractions, and they remind everyone that this is just a fan group looking to show their feelings for the team at the end of the day.
Pushing any kind of bad blood between the team and fans aside, when in professional sports have you ever heard of a team’s entire tailgating and pregame venue being limited to just two hours, especially in a game as significant as Opening Day. This is a pathetic look for the organization, and I hope it only motivates more people to show face on Thursday.
The A’s don’t play any baseball today, but they’ll be back in action for the first time at home in 2024 tomorrow against the San Francisco Giants at 6:40 p.m. PDT for the preseason Bay Bridge series. I’ll be there and I hope several of you make it out as well.
Enjoy the rest of your Sundays, A’s Nation! I hope it’s not too rainy today wherever you may be reading this.
A’s Coverage:
- Apparently You Can Never Have Enough…Anything
- A’s offense shines in Cactus League finale with 11-5 victory
- Projecting the A’s 2024 Opening Day roster
- Get to know Hoy Park, A’s Spring Training sensation
- The A’s have it: Storied Tropicana casino will be razed to accommodate ballpark for Athletics.
MLB News and Interest:
- MLB’s very bad week: Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal, union civil war before Opening Day
- Orioles send Jackson Holliday, MLB’s No. 1 prospect, to minor leagues
- 10 bold predictions for 2024 MLB season, including for Mets and Yankees
- After leading MLB in man games lost in 2023, Reds already on back-foot with injury luck in 2024
- Peter Angelos dead at 94: Orioles owner distinguished himself during 1994-95 MLB labor stoppage