A's relocating?

[thomas35forever]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31427293/oakland-athletics-start-looking-relocating-elsewhere-sources-say

Oakland better come up with a new stadium deal and fast.

[Dumpjerry]

I pointed out in a similar thread a year or so ago that Nashville is a perfect landing spot for a MLB team. It is less than a day's drive from many MLB cities (AL and NL) for visiting teams' fans to road trip. Short plane flight for many others, Like New York. The city is fun to visit. They have had no trouble supporting their NHL and NFL teams. The other cities that come up don't have the same geographic advantages.

[whitesox5187]

Someone (it may have been Keith Olbermann) pointed out that the A's have come very close to leaving Oakland several times but have never left. So we will see how this plays out, but it does seem like the current situation is untenable.

[HomeFish]

Not sure how serious this is - looks more like it might be MLB trying to put some pressure on Oakland to get a deal done, or make the current deal more favorable to the A's.

[Chez]

Seems like we have an "A's are relocating" thread every year or two.

[Lipman 1]

Seems like we have an "A's are relocating" thread every year or two.

Exactly. If they go, let them go to Montreal.

[LITTLE NELL]

Exactly. If they go, let them go to Montreal.

Why Montreal, they had their chance. Charlotte or Nashville are better choices.

If the A's do move to another city that will make it 4, they failed in Philadelphia, Kansas City and now probably Oakland. Their stadium was horrible from the day they moved to the Mausoleum back in 1968.

[whitesox5187]

Exactly. If they go, let them go to Montreal.

Doesn't Tampa have some sort of deal with them? I'm not sure if that extends to territorial rights.

[TDog]

I actually don't think the A's will move, not out of Northern California anyway. The proposed stadium development is a good one, particularly for a place like Oakland, which doesn't have a lot going for it. It would actually establish a ferry route between two MLB parks, which would be kind of cool.

I dislike Oakland intensely. My wife will no longer go to games there (a pre-pandemic policy), although we once caught the ferry to go to a Giants game (not really the best plan if the game runs long and you are hooking up with the BART to get out of Oakland -- the night we did it was the game where Buster Posey was injured in extra innings). In the end, I don't think the A's are going anywhere. They probably should have stayed in Kansas City,if not Philadelphia, but they've run out of continent and are probably better off making it work in California (as much as my baseball friends in Portland might disagree).

[LITTLE NELL]

Doesn't Tampa have some sort of deal with them? I'm not sure if that extends to territorial rights.

I follow the Rays closely and their hasn't been much talk lately about the Rays playing some games in Montreal.

[Hitmen77]

I pointed out in a similar thread a year or so ago that Nashville is a perfect landing spot for a MLB team. It is less than a day's drive from many MLB cities (AL and NL) for visiting teams' fans to road trip. Short plane flight for many others, Like New York. The city is fun to visit. They have had no trouble supporting their NHL and NFL teams. The other cities that come up don't have the same geographic advantages.

IF the A's were to move, I would think MLB would want to keep them in the western U.S. Moving them to Nashville would create geographical problems in the AL West and would require more realignment.

Not sure how serious this is - looks more like it might be MLB trying to put some pressure on Oakland to get a deal done, or make the current deal more favorable to the A's.

That would be my guess. Oakland has already lost the Raiders and Warriors (to San Francisco), it would be a huge blow for them to lose 3 major sports franchises in such a short amount of time.

Seems like we have an "A's are relocating" thread every year or two.

I'm old enough to remember when people were talking about the A's moving to Denver as being nearly a done deal in the late 70s.

[thomas35forever]

IF the A's were to move, I would think MLB would want to keep them in the western U.S. Moving them to Nashville would create geographical problems in the AL West and would require more realignment.

Not necessarily. It's simply a matter of having the A's and Royals switch divisions IMO. The Astros and Rangers aren't that far from Missouri's western border, though I definitely can see the Angels and Mariners objecting to having to travel further to play another divisional opponent three times a year. I guess we'll see.

[Hitmen77]

Not necessarily. It's simply a matter of having the A's and Royals switch divisions IMO. The Astros and Rangers aren't that far from Missouri's western border, though I definitely can see the Angels and Mariners objecting to having to travel further to play another divisional opponent three times a year. I guess we'll see.

True.

Manfred seems to want radical re-alignment anyway, so who knows where teams will end up a few years down the road.

[Dumpjerry]

If the ATLANTA Braves were once considered a "West" team, anything is possible. Or maybe Plate Techtonics moved the city of Atlanta eastward around 1993?

[Lipman 1]

Why Montreal, they had their chance. Charlotte or Nashville are better choices.

If the A's do move to another city that will make it 4, they failed in Philadelphia, Kansas City and now probably Oakland. Their stadium was horrible from the day they moved to the Mausoleum back in 1968.

Montreal also didn't have a good stadium and as a small market franchise the labor unrest in 1994-95 killed them. In my opinion, with a new stadium, which has been discussed they'd be a great addition.