When the baseball schedule came out, I only cared to look at four series, namely the four times that the Blue Jays would visit the ballparks where I had yet to see them play. The first of these was the Oakland Coliseum where the Jays would play the Athletics over Easter Weekend. I've discussed this venue in past posts for both baseball and football, so won't delve too deeply into it here, other than to say that it would probably be my last time here as the A's are looking for a new ballpark. The sign at the parking lot is now more ironic than meaningful.
As I always do when seeing games here, I stayed across the street at one of the hotels on Edes Avenue, walking to the ballpark and thus saving the $30 parking charge. Not that I would rent a car anyway, with BART having a stop right by the Coliseum, should you be staying in a more appealing area.
I did notice a few new additions since my last visit. For one, the field is now named in honour of Rickey Henderson and there is a sign noting this fact on the back of the scoreboards, in between the logos of the Athletics and soon-to-be Vegas Raiders.
They are also trying to pretty up the rather ugly concrete facade with some colourful signs. This sort of effort was replicated inside the ballpark as well.
For example, the two ramps on the concourse behind home plate lead to Championship Plaza are now decorated with past successes for the A's, including Sean Manaea's no-hitter last season (above) and those four World Series, including when they beat the Mets in 7 in 1973 (below).
Championship Plaza itself is an attraction with food trucks and games. As well, you can access the Shibe Park Tavern from here (take the stairs and walk to the right under the Championship Plaza banner shown below). This large, full-service bar and restaurant is named for the Athletics home ground in Philadelphia is open to all. There are plenty of TVs and I was able to watch the first period of Game 6 between the Bruins and Leafs here, and it also looks like a good spot to watch the game if you can get a table by the window.
At the top of the stairs to Shibe Park Tavern is a large wooden A's cap signed by hundreds of fans, another nice touch.
Outside the exit that leads to third base is the Hall of Fame for both baseball and football.
Similarly, there are paintings along the outfield concourse wall of what appear to be broadcasters, though I couldn't confirm that. Any thing other than bare concrete leaves a positive impression.
Another recent addition is the mascot race that features three Oakland Hall of Famers: Rickey Henderson, Rollie Fingers, and Dennis Eckersley. Unfortunately, Eck lost his shoe in the race shown below, which is why he is not in the picture as Rickey beats Rollie.
The A's have a generous program that allows season-ticket holders to save 50% on all concession items, including alcohol. A fellow stadium traveler is a member and with his help, I enjoyed craft beers for $5 from the Keg House and an excellent tri-tip sandwich and peach cobbler from Ribs'N'Things BBQ that was only $7.50.
The A's generally don't draw very well, but a bobblehead promotion on Saturday drew over 31,000 fans, which made concourses tough to navigate and good seats tough to find.
Of course, with capacity nearly 47,000 there were still plenty of seats in the upper deck for that game, and I had no trouble moving around taking pictures.
The full view of the field with the general admission bleachers in the distance. This is a popular area to sit and is full of hardcore season ticket holders.
The picture below is taken before Friday's game and you can see the difference in attendance. This shot is from Section 149, where many of those hardcore fans sit. I joined them for part of one game as my friend is part of the group and, despite my being clad in Blue Jays colours, they welcomed me with open arms. Several of them play the drums during the game and this is frowned upon by some visiting fans, though it never bothered me. Fortunately, the Blue Jays played surprisingly well, so I didn't have to receive any abuse.
Above these seats is the windowed area that is the club section for football games. On either side are a couple of social spots:The Treehouse on the left field side, and The Stomping Ground on the right field side. These are for fans who want to socialize rather than watching the game, so I did not visit either one, but they were quite full on Saturday.
Overall, Oakland Coliseum is probably the worst ballpark in the major leagues, but I'd still rather watch a game here than indoors in Toronto or Tampa. Fans are passionate and the team is pretty good, and when the weather is great, you won't even notice the less-than-ideal surroundings. If you haven't been here, you better get a move on before the A's do.
The Games
I had a great seat 4 rows behind the plate in the stands (not the seats you see on TV) and loved seeing Marcus Stroman shut down the A's for 8 innings. Home plate ump Laz Diaz is considered one of the worst in the majors, and he was all over the place, ending the game by punching out Ramon Laureano on a pitch that was high, leading to an argument from which Laureano had to be restrained. The Jays won 5-1 and the game took only 2:36, helped by Diaz's liberal strike zone. This was one of six Toronto victories on Good Friday, with the Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Marlies all winning road playoff games, while TFC won at home and the Toronto Wolfpack won in England.
Saturday was an afternoon game and I spent it moving from seat to seat. Jays starter Matt Shoemaker injured his knee in a rundown that ended the third inning and was removed from the game (he tore is ACL and is done for the year). The Jays offense did their job by batting around in the fourth, scoring 5 times to take a 6-0 lead, and also allowing Sam Gaviglio plenty of time to get ready. Gaviglio pitched 4 perfect innings as the Jays added 3 more runs. Elvis Luciano, the first player to be born in the 2000s came on to pitch the 8th and was helped by an amazing barehanded catch by Freddy Galvis. Interestingly, Fernando Rodney pitched the 8th for Oakland, and he is the only remaining major leaguer to be born in the 1970s, so we had four decades of players in this one. I wonder when was the last time that happened. Luciano did give up a run in the 9th to blow the shutout as Toronto won 10-1 to clinch the series.
Sunday was another afternoon tilt, and again I moved around, going in and out of the sun in a vain effort to avoid a burn. It was a perfect day for baseball, but I did not expect a Jays win as I had never seen them sweep a 3-game series on the road. In the second inning, Laureano made a stupendous catch to rob Teoscar Hernandez of a home run and then overthrew first base trying to get Justin Smoak returning. Smoak decided to head back for second but catcher Nick Hundley was backing up and tossed to Jurickson Profar at second for the very common 8-2-4 double play. Despite that blow, the Jays took a 5-1 lead into the 8th, helped by Smoak 2-run shot, but then in came Mark Tepera. As expected, he was Teperable, walking 2 and adding a wild pitch, giving up two runs before closer Ken Giles was summoned. Giles gave up a single that scored another run, but got Kendrys Morales on a hard hit ball to right field that left the game 5-4. The Jays did not add any insurance, and when Stephen Piscotty and Laureano singled around a Profar out, I was sure the A's would win, or at least force extra innings. But Giles struck out Josh Phegley and got Robbie Grossman to pop out to shortstop Richard Urena, who had been brought in for that last out as Galvis had been hurt.
The 5-4 win cemented the sweep and left me feeling quite happy for a couple of days, until the Leafs threw away their series against Boston
Flying Back
I had a window seat for my flight out of Oakland to Seattle and had a good view of Chase Center, which will be the next venue in Club 123 when it opens as the Warriors new home this fall.
Landing in Seattle, I could see the Space Needle, with Key Arena just behind. This will also be the first venue in Club 124 in 2021.
We also passed right by Crater Lake just as the sun dipped below the horizon, allowing for the picture below, with Mount Scott to the lower left.
I always try to get a window seat for shorter flights, and am amazed at how many people with those ignore the world outside. As we approached JFK on Monday morning, we flew high above Manhattan with a clear view of the entire island, but those with window seats seemed more engrossed in their phones. Virtual reality is no replacement for reality.
Notes
The Blue Jays are now 36-37 in first visits to road ballparks. I hope to see 9 more games this season (3 each in Detroit, LA, and Seattle) and with Guerrero now called up, they might win a few of those too.
Next Up
I have no trips planned, but hope to see the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, who play at one of minor league baseball's three new stadiums, in the next month or two. Then it is on to Detroit for the Jays in mid-July. So it will be a quiet summer, but check back on occasion to see what is happening.
Best,
Sean
