A’s Respond to Raiders Coach Jon Gruden’s Oakland Comments

by Matt George – Sports 1140 KHTK

The Superbowl has passed, basketball playoffs are approaching, and the weather is warming up. Which can only mean one thing; baseball season is here.

Since 1968, the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders have shared the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (with the exception of the Raiders’ time in Los Angeles from 1982-1994). Both franchises share a very unique bond with the Oakland community, and often boast that their fans are some of the most loyal in all of sports.

Last summer, the Raiders attempt to move the franchise from Oakland (again) to Las Vegas, was approved and made official. During the construction of their new stadium in Sin City, the Raiders are expected to remain in Oakland for at least the next two seasons.

After a disappointing 2017 season, where the Raiders fell from a 12-4 record in 2016 to 6-10 this past year, the franchise made a very popular coaching change, hiring Raiders legend and beloved NFL coach Jon Gruden.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Gruden said that it is “kind of sad” that Oakland is losing the Raiders, “what will they have once we go?”

Immediately following the Raiders’ announced move to Vegas, the Oakland A’s launched their “Rooted In Oakland” campaign, committing to the city and its massive sports fan-base despite the Raiders leaving and the Golden State Warriors opening a new arena in San Francisco come 2019.

The A’s have been very vocal and active in their community, giving back to fans in ways unheard of in professional sports today. For example, the A’s have made their 50th anniversary in Oakland celebration game against the Chicago White Sox on April 17th free for all fans. The game has already sold out via ticket reservations on the team’s website. The organization is also actively working to build and open a new state-of-the-art ballpark in the east bay, and has further planted their roots in the city itself by moving their executive offices to Jack London Square downtown.

Gruden’s recent comments didn’t sit well with the Athletics organization, who took little time to respond on Twitter.

Oakland will have the Athletics, the club with the third most championships in Major League Baseball. #RootedInOakland https://t.co/BcpDGHTG5P

— Oakland Athletics 🌳🐘⚾️ (@Athletics) February 20, 2018

The A’s are set to open spring training play in Mesa, Arizona on Friday. Their first regular season game will be on March 29th, at the Coliseum, against the Los Angeles Angels.

Newsletter