For the past few seasons, many have speculated that the Oakland Athletics may soon be on their way to Las Vegas.
Those rumors were all but confirmed when it was announced that the team had plans to build a ballpark in Las Vegas.
Oakland has not had a winning season since 2021.
They haven’t reached the postseason since 2020.
Owner John Fisher has essentially run the team into the ground thanks to their recent fire sale and lack of offseason and trade deadline activity.
The A’s now have the worst record in baseball at 12-46.
However, the common perception is that the fans are to blame for what has happened.
On Twitter, MLB analyst Joe Sheehan pointed out why that perception is false and expressed sadness over the situation in Oakland.
It kills me that the average person’s takeaway from all this is that A’s fans failed the team. Just an absolute falsehood that will become the accepted history. Baseball in Oakland didn’t die, it was murdered.
— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) May 31, 2023
The truth is, the fans in Oakland are not to blame for what has taken place.
These fans have been loyal to their franchise since they arrived in Oakland all those years ago.
The problem is that Fisher and the ownership group have not invested much, if any money into improving the ballclub.
This has led to the team falling on hard times.
Now, the A’s are closer to 50 losses than they are to 20 wins.
When that happens, it makes it hard for fans to want to show up to the ballpark, and it ultimately leads to what is currently taking place.
The A’s struggle to fill the stands because of their struggles, and those struggles are a result of an owner treating his large-market team like a small-market organization.
NEXT: New A's Timeline In Vegas Has Emerged
