Dusty Baker explains why Oakland remains dear to his heart

OAKLAND >> Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker sat in one of the photographer wells at the Coliseum late Friday afternoon. As his players began their stretching routines, Baker caught up and exchanged hugs with some longtime friends, reminiscing about the good times he experienced at the now 55-year-old facility.

“Thinking about the great A's teams and thinking about when I played for the A's and also the city of Oakland having many championships,” Baker said. “Now it looks like they're not going to have any more — unless somebody else comes to town.”

Like many others with ties to Oakland, Baker, who turns 74 on June 15, saw the Warriors leave what was then Oracle Arena in 2019 for the gleaming new Chase Center in San Francisco, and the Raiders leave the aging Coliseum for indoor 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas the following year.

And just a few hours after the A's organization released the first artist renderings of its proposed new Las Vegas ballpark, Baker didn't hold out much hope that Major League Baseball would remain in the city that is still dear to his heart.

“It's happening,” Baker said of an A's relocation. “It hadn't hit home yet because we're still in this home, in this house. It kind of hit home when I went to Vegas a couple of years ago to watch the Raiders. That's a heck of a stadium.

“I can understand it business-wise but sentimentally. you hoped it didn't come to this.”

Prior to starting a bigleague managerial career that's now lasted over a quarter-century, Baker played two seasons with the A's to finish a standout 19year tenure as a player. His last season came in 1986, just as the A's were about to begin a resurgence under manager Tony La Russa.

But Baker's memories of the Coliseum facility and the city of Oakland go beyond just wearing the A's uniform. He went to see basketball games and various musical acts at the Coliseum Arena and thinks back to certain unique aspects of the city he used to call home.

“I went there quite a few times for concerts like Earth, Wind and Fire, and all kinds of different entertainment groups that came to the Coliseum,” Baker said. “It was a party. I remember that this stadium had the best sound system in America, and they still do. I mean, they were always jamming here.

“Listen to the jams they're jamming now. They'll probably have Too Short up there before it's over.”

Baker, a former foursport star at Del Campo High in Fair Oaks, still has family in the area, namely his daughter Natosha, who lives in the Oakland hills.

Baker had relatives, namely aunts, and uncles, that lived either in east Oakland, near the Berkeleyoakland border, or Richmond. One of his cousins moved from Oakland to Antioch. An aunt remains in Kensington.

“I spent a lot of time here because I had a couple of uncles and three aunts — my mother's sisters that lived here,” Baker said. “It's sad to see Oakland go down like that.”