We didn't plan a baseball trip. We planned a Hawaii trip. But when you're flying to the Big Island and you have to stop somewhere anyway, and one of the options is Oakland, and the A's are playing their FINAL season in Oakland? Well, that's not a layover. That's a sign. So we flew in a day early.
This one was special for Amy. The A's were one of her very first jobs right out of college, so this wasn't just another stop on the ballpark quest. This was a homecoming. Amy reached out to her old buddy David Rinetti, who has been running stadium operations for the A's for something like 40 YEARS, and he hooked us up with tickets. Thanks, David!
A Coliseum Running on Fumes
The entire third level was shut down. Only the first and second levels were open, and there was basically no game entertainment to speak of. It was surprising to see, but honestly? It kind of fit. No distractions, no gimmicks, just baseball in a big old concrete bowl that has seen some THINGS. And somehow, it was still a great time.
Just looking around there was so much out of place, power cords (in the dugout no less!) that looked as if they had been run by the lowest bidder handyman, stadium signs where the glass fronts were missing, pretty much entirely in disarray. I think a lot of the small things told the bigger story, the story of the A’s being in Oakland, the story of Money Ball and Billy Bean, the struggles with the city of Oakland, all of it.
Amy's Homecoming
The best part of the day was walking the concourse with Amy playing tour guide. You can actually SEE her old office from the concourse, so we all got to look up while she reminisced about her first job out of college. And then, out of nowhere, we ran into a guy she used to work with. Of all the games, in all the seasons, in the final year in Oakland. What are the odds? So fun.
The Oakland Discount
Now for one of the crazier things that has ever happened to me at a ballpark. I'm telling you, ONLY in Oakland.
I get in the pizza line, which took forever by the way, and the lady behind the counter YELLS at me for grabbing the slice that was behind the other slice. Same pizza. Same everything. "Well, thank you ma'am." She leaves (turns out she was the manager) and I get up to the counter with three slices of pizza, some waters and a beer. Who knows what that should have cost. Fifty bucks? And the dude behind the register looks at me and says, "Ah man, just give me 20 bucks."
What?
"Yeah, just give me 20 bucks."
So innocent little me hands over a twenty, having NO idea what is happening. I'm pretty sure that twenty went straight into his pocket. Did he steal something? Did I steal something? Did we steal it together? I still don't know how to describe what happened. The Oakland Discount. Only in Oakland (at least so far).
The Drone Show, From the Grass
After the game, they put on a drone show. And thanks to Dave, we didn't watch it from the stands. We got to walk down ON THE FIELD and sit on the grass right by home plate. Sitting there with the family, on the infield grass of the Oakland Coliseum, watching drones light up the night sky in the final season of Oakland baseball? That's a core memory. Not a bad way to say goodbye.
The Sticker
One last fun one. Our friends were coming to the game the very next day, so Gage stuck a sticker on one of the seats for them to find. We took a picture of him standing at the seat as proof. And sure enough, the next day, they found it. A little Holbrook treasure hunt, one generation later.
The next morning we were on a plane to Hawaii. And not long after that, the A's were gone too, off to Sacramento with Vegas up next. I'm so glad we squeezed this one in. One last time in Oakland.