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Oaklanding Part 1

One of the most troubling franchises in not just the world of MLB, but in the sports world in general are the Oakland Athletics. In the past the Athletics had been a consistent playoff contender that always found a way to win every single season. Veteran general manager Billy Beane had a way to work magic with the team on a yearly basis getting the most out of any player that comes through the door. Ownership always seems to find a new way to put different hoops for Billy to jump through on the yearly. This past offseason A's ownership even allowed former manager Bob Melvin to walk a year earlier to San Diego and almost allowed Billy Beane to walk as well. At this point, Billy is still with his long term employer and will once again try and make another rebuild work for the Athletics. 

Outside of consistently shipping top players out of town and the recent clearing of top players like Matt Chapman, Chris Bassit, and others prior to the 2022 season. Relocation or a never ending discussion about the A's needing a new stadium. I have been to the Coliseum and even though that was over a decade ago I don't think the stadium has gotten better as it was an eye sore back then. In recent years, we have seen both the Raiders and Golden Knights put sports in Las Vegas on the map. It is clear Las Vegas has become a spot for teams to relocate to if the Athletics can't find a new stadium. 

This season has been the roughest season thus far for the Oakland Athletics and it has been seen in not just the team's record, but also in the lack of attendance. In past years the A's have been winning teams this being the teams first losing season in five years. Prior to 2022 the team was a solid team with a foundation that they broke apart instead of waiting for free agency. If this season is any indication though things will need to change sooner or later for the suddenly struggling franchise. A rebuild is viable, but a struggling attendance for a struggling franchise isn't a good mix. 

According to various reports the MLB must be tired of the constant and never ending discussion of relocation so they suspended the relocation fee that the Athletics would have to pay if they did move to Las Vegas. The same reports have stated that had the new stadium talks died this time around that would've been the last draw for the Athletics in Oakland and would've likely opened the door for the team to move to Las Vegas. However, the vote for a new stadium went in favor of the Athletics and it is likely that a new waterfront stadium could be coming for the Athletics in the near future. We will get into that in another article.




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