Oakland Coliseum
Like the pious traveling to Mecca, most baseball fans have– or probably should have– ambition to journey to all the houses of worship in Major League Baseball. That pilgramige for me started in the 2023 season, and because at the time the Athletics of Oakland had only months left in their longtime home at the Oakland Coliseum (they would leave for Las Vegas West Sacramento at the end of the season,) I decided it would be the first of 30 (or more) stadiums I'd visit.
First, for purposes of visiting all ballparks, I'm going to throw out any previous visits for numerous reasons. I'd seen games at other ballparks when I was much younger, and thus did not yet have the requisite appreciation for the game and for the history and for the ballparks themselves. I'd visited and toured Fenway Park (hallowed by thy name) when I visited the east coast more than a decade ago, and while getting a tour is in some ways a better way to see the park (I had, for example, gotten to sit on the Green Monster,) it was after the season ended and so no game was being played. Likewise, on the same visit, I went to Yankee Stadium but only the outside team shop. Hardly counts as a visit.
To count, it starts now, a game must be played. I would hand score the game, and buy a 59Fifty on-field hat.
Getting There and Parking
The last thing I wanted to do, for both cheapness purposes and for ethical reasons to not support ownership, was to pay for official parking. One great thing about the Oakland Coliseum is its proximity to BART and Amtrak, both of which share a station right outside the Coliseum which connects via bridge. One could, and I did, park at a rail station (in my case, Concord via the yellow line) and take public transportation in. Time has erased the memory of the actual cost, but in any case it was much much cheaper this way. Highly recommended.
The Stadium Itself
There's no great way to say this,; the stadium is a shell of its former self. Most of the concessions were closed and boarded up, and the famous concrete construction was most certainly showing it age and cracks. I'd seen a Raiders game many years ago, and a U2 concert as well. I don't recall any details of the stadium at those times, but it's clear now that it's well well well well past its prime. Ultimately, time and the city of Oakland will reclaim this spot, but for now it's just sad.
Pizza and beer are my go-to meal, and they were fine and appropriately expensive. Particularly positive experience in the team store because after buying my 59Fifty hat in a fitted size too small, they allowed me to exchange for the correct size even though I had been back at my seat for half an hour.
The Game
True, a midweek evening game against a middling team isn't going to break any attendance records, but at 5,116, the empty stadium felt downright cavernous. But for a few ushers at the prime sections, you could basically sit anywhere you like. I posted up in the front row of otherwise completely empty section 232, pretty much front row along the left field line. Kevin Pillar (Atlanta) turned in the games only home-run, but the Braves ultimately fell to the A's 2-1. Shintaro Fujinami recorded the W for the A's.
I particularly enjoyed the fans in the next section over heckling Pillar in left field most of the game.
[insert photo of scorecard]
The Hat
Standard home white logo on green, with yellow bill. Classic for a reason.
