Tone-deaf John Fisher wants A's fans' forgiveness for moving team from Oakland

Before the final series of the last-ever homestand of the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum, the franchise's home since 1968, team owner John Fisher wrote a letter to A's fans in the Bay Area to say goodbye ... and to apologize.

Fisher began the letter, which was released to the local media on Monday, outlining the rich MLB history of the A's in Oakland. He then explained why the club's departure for a temporary home in Sacramento before an alleged permanent move to Las Vegas is "so very hard."

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"... I can tell you from the heart: We tried," Fisher wrote of the team's multiple stadium projects in the East Bay. "Staying in Oakland was our goal, it was our mission, and we failed to achieve it. And for that I am genuinely sorry."

An apology is the last thing A's fans wanted to hear from the Gap Inc. billionaire who abruptly ended negotiations on Howard Terminal, a waterfront stadium project that was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic but was moved forward by Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao.

The Howard Terminal plan grew into a $12 billion ballpark village at the behest of Fisher to give him additional revenue opportunities. Reportedly, the remaining $101 million in public funds was close to being secured when Fisher suddenly pulled out of the deal to pursue stadium land in Las Vegas.

In his letter, Fisher revealed that he began considering Vegas in 2021 because the team faced "a binding MLB agreement to find a new home by 2024." However, The Athletic's Evan Dreilich called the agreement a "misdirection" that "didn't materialize out of thin air" because if the owners and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred "didn't want that clause in the CBA, it wouldn't exist."

Fisher also recognized the "great disappointment, even bitterness" of the "millions of dedicated and passionate A's fans," which was a weird acknowledgement to make since it confirms the vast and loyal Oakland fan base and conflicts with ownership's narrative of poor local support having forced the team's need to relocate.

The last purge of young All-Stars Marcus Semien, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman was the final straw for A's fans, who grew tired of Fisher's penny-pinching and stopped going to games out of protest. The "Sell the Team" movement only arose after Fisher announced he was moving the team to Vegas.

Fisher's last-minute attempt to save face with A's fans is, frankly, pathetic. While the local governments bear their share of the blame, the bulk of it falls on Fisher and team president Dave Kaval, who touted the franchise's "Rooted in Oakland" campaign for years.

Also, one of the "five different locations in the Bay Area" Fisher mentioned was Laney College, where the team failed to lay the groundwork for its ballpark plans with community college district leaders.

And Fisher is the reason why the Raiders left Oakland for Las Vegas, according to Raiders owner Mark Davis. “They squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadium (location)," Davis said.

"All they did was f--- the Bay Area," he added.

Thursday will be the final A's game at the Coliseum. It'll serve as a very sad farewell for a team that's brought so much joy to baseball fans in the East Bay.

It'll be goodbye A's. But it'll also be good riddance John Fisher.

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