As A’s Leave Oakland, A Look at What Might Have Been

An IBWAA writer reviews the 2019 Oakland A's team for players the organization could have built around.

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Pregame Pepper

Did you know…

. . . When the Athletics play their first game in Sacramento, they will become the team with the most locations in a franchise history, breaking a tie that they currently hold with two other teams (Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles).

. . . Seven other teams have moved locations at least one time in their franchise history. Three of those organizations involve Washington, D.C. The Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers both moved to their current location after starting as the Washington Senators. The Washington Nationals, the most recent team to relocate, moved to the nation’s capital from Montreal.

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Leading Off

The 2019 Oakland Athletics Offered a Chance to Avoid the Disaster

By Rich Campbell

The Oakland A’s (allegedly) played their last game at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday. I was fortunate enough to attend and soak in the atmosphere, from Barry Zito’s rendition of the National Anthem to the final notes of celebration after the victory.

The place was rocking, not funereal. In fact, it took me back to the final postseason game played there, the 2019 Wild Card Game against the Rays. Though the outcome did not go the A’s way that night, it felt like the start of an era that might result in a string of playoff runs and potentially the teams’ first World Series since 1989. While postseason glory never really materialized for that group, let’s look back at some of the key players from that team and where they are five years later.

Matt Chapman had just completed his third season in Oakland, was 26 years old and made his first (and it turns out only) All-Star appearance. He also had his second straight top-seven MVP finish. He is now across the Bay in San Francisco, with Bob Melvin (manager of that 2019 squad). Seemed like a good player to extend and build around, right?

After an injury-shortened pandemic year, Chappy played 2021 in Oakland (3.5 WAR) before being traded to Toronto for not much (Gunnar Hoglund, Kevin Smith, Kirby Snead, Zach Logue – ugh!). He averaged 4 WAR across two seasons in Toronto before signing with the Giants where his 7.2 WAR was second among position players (trailing only Shohei Ohtani).

For his career, the 31-year-old Chapman has 38.4 WAR. He was an A’s first-rounder. Isn’t that the kind of guy you build around?

Matt Olson had just completed his third season in Oakland, was 25 years old, and had won his second Gold Glove in a season in which he hit 36 homers and received down-ballot MVP votes. He is now in Atlanta. Seemed like a good player to extend and build around, right?

He played two more years in Oakland, including 2021 when he finished eighth in AL MVP voting, before being traded to Atlanta for Shea Langeliers, Joey Estes, Christian Pache, and Ryan Cusick – so at least the return was a little better than for Chappy. His three seasons in Atlanta included 2023’s 7.4 WAR with a league-leading 54 homers, league-leading 139 RBIs, a fourth-place MVP finish, and two other good seasons (3.3 WAR in 2022 and 4 WAR this year).

For his career, the 30-year-old Olson has 32.9 WAR. He was an A’s first-rounder. Isn’t that the kind of guy you build around?

Marcus Semien had just completed his fifth season in Oakland (he was acquired from the White Sox along with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley, and Rangel Ravelo for one season of Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa – from the glory days when the A’s actually fleeced teams in trades), was 28 years old, and had finished third in AL MVP balloting that year. Seems like a good player to extend and build around, right?

After the Pandemic Year (and an insulting contract offer from Team Fisher), he spent a season in Toronto – again finishing third in AL MVP, before signing with the Texas Rangers where he added another third-place MVP finish and a World Series ring. Since leaving Oakland, Semien has made three All-Star teams, won two Silver Sluggers, and amassed 24.1 WAR in four seasons.

For his career, the 34-year-old Semien has 45.8 WAR. Can you imagine Chapman, Olson, and Semien still together in green and gold and what they might have accomplished together in Oakland?

As I looked out on the field after the bitter Wild Card loss in 2019, I was hopeful. In addition to Chapman, Olson, and Semien, the roster included Chris Bassitt (led the league in wins in Toronto in 2023), Sean Murphy (then a 24-year-old rookie catcher, later dealt to Atlanta, and a 2023 All-Star), Mark Canha, Jesus Luzardo, Liam Hendricks (led the AL in saves in 2021 for the White Sox) and others.

Then came the abbreviated 2020 campaign that resulted in a Wild Card win and ALDS loss, though not at the Coliseum, due to the pandemic, and the disappointing 2021 season, after which all spare parts were sold off.

As I squinted through the sun last Thursday, I wistfully thought about what might have been. Instead, John Fisher stripped the team of great talent, doubled ticket prices, alienated one of the best fan bases in baseball, and sheepishly took his team to Vegas via Sacramento, allegedly.

As chants of “Sell The Team” rang out throughout that final sun-splashed day at the Coliseum, I wished John Fisher would listen, and sell to an ownership group that would spend to pursue championships rather than use the A’s brand as a personal piggy bank.

Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.

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Extra Innings

The original Athletics team in Oakland had one player whose son would eventually play for the A’s. Ed Sprague, whose son Ed Sprague played 11 major league seasons including 27 games after a midseason trade in 1998, pitched 47 games in his rookie season that year on his way to an eight-year MLB career.

Also on that 1968 team was another pitcher, Lew Krausse, who had pitched five seasons with Kansas City before the team moved to Oakland. Lew’s father, also named Lew Krausse, pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931 and 1932.