Last night, the New York Yankees began a three-game series in Oakland to face the Athletics. Judging by the calendar and standings, this series shouldn’t be too eventful: The Yankees have clinched the postseason and are trying to secure a division title and first place in the American League, while the A’s are already out of the postseason race and are starting to look ahead to 2025. Six years after the two teams faced off in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game, the two franchises find themselves in two very different places.

And yet, this series represents the end of an era, because unless something unexpected happens, this weekend will be the last time the Yankees visit the Oakland Coliseum.

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By now, most people who follow baseball even halfway regularly know the story. In a move that comes straight out of the movie First Leaguethe Athletics’ ownership team, led by John Fisher, has put together a subpar on-field product to keep fans away and facilitate a move to Las Vegas. Despite the best efforts of everyone else involved, the Athletics will officially leave the Bay Area at the end of this season and intend to spend three to four seasons at the minor league stadium in Sacramento before eventually moving to the as-yet-nonexistent stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

To say that the Oakland Coliseum is an iconic ballpark would be an understatement. One can, of course, criticize its current state, but it is at least memorable. Opened in 1968, it is the fifth-oldest major league stadium still in operation and the third-oldest in the American League (only Fenway Park, opened in 1912, and Angel Stadium, opened in 1966, come close). By my count, the Yankees played nearly 300 games at the Coliseum during the regular season, plus another five during the four playoff games between them. While I don’t have easy access to the numbers to calculate exactly where that ranks among ballparks the Yankees have visited, I doubt too many stadiums hosting teams outside the AL East come close to that.

For many Yankees fans, the Oakland Coliseum is the scene of great baseball memories. The 1981 Bombers punched their ticket to a World Series clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers after winning three games against former captain Billy Martin’s “Billy Ball” A’s. AL Rookie of the Year Dave Righetti threw six scoreless innings and Willie Randolph hit a solo shot to break the scoreless tie before picking up the final out on a pop by Wayne Gross in the ninth inning.

Incidentally, Game 3 of the 1981 ALCS is also famous for being the first time the “Wave” was seen on screen at a sporting event (although some claim it originated there, written records indicate it appeared at a hockey game in 1979).

In the late 80s and 90s, the Coliseum became a house of horrors for the Yankees. The Bash Brothers and excellent pitching turned the A’s into a dynasty, winning the championship three years in a row. Those years coincided with some terrible years in the Bronx, and the A’s beat the Yankees 12-0 in 1990 alone. From 1985 to 1993, New York went a miserable 17-37 at the Coliseum, although it looked much more picturesque then without Mount Davis.

The new millennium saw the two teams meet again for two ALDS games, both of which lasted a full five games. The 2000 team again punched its ticket to the next round, this time the ALCS, with a win at the Oakland Coliseum sparked by an explosive six-run first. The 2001 team, on the other hand, had its back against the wall, trailing 2-0, but then went on a 3-0 run to win the series against those Moneyball-era A’s – a comeback sparked by The Flip in Game 3 at the Coliseum.

While the Coliseum has regained some of its old house of horror atmosphere for the Yankees in recent years—they have been swept at the stadium three times in the last ten seasons and have only left town with a series win twice in that span—they have still managed to create some historic moments, like Domingo Germán’s perfect game there last season.

Ultimately, moving out of the Oakland Coliseum is probably the right decision for the Athletics: It’s an old stadium that’s frequently plagued by sewage floods and is often home to wild and feral animals. And by all accounts, it’s not exactly conducive to an entertaining fan experience. Still, it will be strange not to see this stadium regularly anymore – for all its flaws, it’s iconic.

In an ideal world, I would end this nostalgic reflection with the hope that the new stadium across the street or down by the water or somewhere else in the Bay Area could preserve the charm of the Coliseum in its heyday while providing players and fans with improved facilities. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world and their fans are being screwed. Therefore, there is only one correct way for any baseball fan to conclude an article about the Oakland Coliseum.

Sell ​​the team, John Fisher.

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