Oakland tank runs on empty
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics always received the benefit of the doubt. Because they never tried to lose on purpose.
From the Moneyball teams of the early 2000s to the decade under Bob Melvin, the A’s found themselves contending more often than not. Even in the demoralizing Bob Geren years, at least the A’s were trying to compete.
They weren’t tanking. They weren’t like the Cubs, Astros and other teams that slashed payroll to a bare minimum, resulting in subpar teams that piled up losses and thus improved their draft position.
Now it’s official. More than a third of the way into the 2022 season, it is crystal clear. The A’s are tanking.
Let’s rephrase that. Unlike other tankers over the years, when entire organizations bought into the process, Oakland’s tanking doesn’t involve the baseball operations folks who creatively have gotten the most for their money, more than any team west of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Oakland’s tanking is a one-man show, orchestrated at the very top for purposes that have little to do with baseball and everything to do with maximizing profit and confirming the Coliseum is not viable.
Owner John Fisher is tanking, but he’s not doing it for draft purposes. We know what he thinks of player development, farm teams and prospects — he was the only owner who refused to pay minor leaguers their $400 weekly stipends early in the pandemic, then changed his mind only after that decision earned public criticism.
Despite owning a bigmarket team (Oakland is the sixth largest in the nation), Fisher somehow convinced Major League Baseball to agree to make the A’s revenue-sharing beneficiaries again, tied to their agreeing on a new stadium by early 2024, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
Where are the revenuesharing checks going? Fisher slashed payroll to $47.8 million, ranking 29th in the majors, the A’s lowest since 2002 in a non-pandemic season, forcing execs David Forst and Billy Beane to trade off the top players on the roster.
Fisher not only dumped payroll and ordered a fire sale, he also spiked ticket prices, all of which depressed fan interest and led to ridiculously tiny crowds at the Coliseum.
It’s tough to knock Beane, Forst and Co., who repeatedly rebuilt rosters to keep the A’s competitive throughout the 2000s, never mentioning any five-year rebuilding plans, but this is different. For the first time, in the wake of the A’s finishing 10 games above .500 in 2021 and making the playoffs the previous three years, Fisher gave this team no chance to succeed in 2022.
Fisher isn’t getting much support these days. That’s what happens when an owner takes his team and tanks.