The smokestacks of the Industry were belching happily Thursday morning. Business was booming!
The Industry is MLB’s 30 team owners, with Commissioner Rob Manfred running around lighting their cigars. Manfred loves to refer to MLB as the Industry, stripping away all the charm and romance from a kid’s game. In a recent radio interview, Manfred explained why negotiations between Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher and the city of Oakland fell through.
Manfred said, “The Industry said to them, ‘We need a deal.’ ”
And so it was Thursday morning that the Industry voted 30-0, in a unanimous, smoke-billowing bloc, to allow the A’s to move to Las Vegas, the city that holds the answers to everyone’s dreams.
What a day for Fisher! He has been approved to move his A’s to Las Vegas! In a related news story, I have been approved to buy a luxury yacht. All I have to do is get the money and find a place for it.
Fisher waved bye-bye to Oakland, the city that crushed his cherished baseball dreams, in a prepared statement that seemingly was prepared by people who write commencement speeches, greeting cards and mattress tags.
“Today marks a significant moment for our franchise,” Fisher droned, writing for himself and the pet mouse in his pocket. He continued, “and it’s met with mixed emotions — sadness for this change and excitement for our future. I know this is a hard day for our fans in Oakland. Do not remove this tag, under penalty of law.”
I added that last sentence.
Fisher’s statement was soulless and worthless, of course, especially the part about “hard day.” Hard day? On the contrary. The news of the Industry’s vote in Texas should be cause for rejoicing in Oakland.
Oakland is no longer held captive by the worst owner in baseball, if not in all sports. Beyond next season, Oakland no longer must endure the indignity of having the worst team in baseball, a reflection of Fisher’s commitment to have the lowest payroll in the Industry. Oakland is no longer exposed to the massive risk of entering into a partnership with a guy who has the business acumen of a pair of Gap blue jeans.
Here’s Fisher the Businessman: Since he bought the A’s in 2005, the team’s worth has increased by $1 billion, thanks to MLB’s overall growth. Over that same time span, the San Francisco Giants’ worth has increased by $3.3 billion.
There are indications that Fisher may have backed out of his massive Howard Terminal development project not because Oakland was stingy and stubborn, but because he couldn’t come up with his $1 billion share of the deal.
Would a real businessperson need Manfred running point for him? Fisher, like a child letting dad handle his battles, has left it up to the commissioner to disparage and insult Oakland, and specifically Mayor Sheng Thao, because she wouldn’t hand over the money Fisher felt he deserved.
Let’s give Fisher his due. He has made this teamjacking caper much easier for Oakland to swallow. By doubling ticket prices, cutting services and reducing his team to a non-competitive joke, Fisher has driven away most A’s fans and weaned the Town from baseball.
That’s not to say that Oakland can’t rise again as a great baseball town. But it would have to be under a different team owner, one who is not a party pooper of the highest order.
Because Fisher and his sidekick Dave Kaval are leaving, Oakland’s baseball hopes are brighter. If baseball’s Batman & Robin fail to build their mini-Lego stadium in Las Vegas, they will have to crawl back to Oakland, and guess who will hold the negotiating leverage? Best-case scenario, Fisher will have to sell the team.
Even if the A’s forge ahead in Vegas, where they have created a fan buzz so weak it can’t be heard over the din of dice clattering over felt-covered tables, they need a place to play for three (or more) seasons. If the A’s are desperate to extend their lease at the Coliseum beyond 2024, Oakland can dictate the terms: Either a massive rent increase, or MLB’s guarantee of an expansion team, or both. The expansion-team guarantee may be a long shot, but Oakland should play hardball.
Here’s what Oakland should definitely demand in return for a lease extension: That Fisher must sell his half of the Oakland Coliseum site. Give the Town a chance to develop that valuable property without Fisher gumming up the works.
Meanwhile, party on, Oakland. Much of the nearly $1 billion in grant money your leaders obtained to use for off-site infrastructure for a ballpark will still be used, on non-baseball upgrades and improvements.
And the significant legal challenges the A’s face in Las Vegas at the hands of Schools Over Stadiums is a reminder that, hey, maybe schools are a better use of taxpayer money than a baseball team, let alone baseball’s worst team.
Thursday was a “hard day” for Oakland? No, Oakland kicked ass.
And the Industry just went on doing what it does best: blow smoke.
Reach Scott Ostler: sostler@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @scottostler
November 17, 2023 at 05:45AM
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'Hard day' for Oakland A's fans? Mr. Fisher, keep blowing smoke and go - San Francisco Chronicle
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