The Oakland Athletics are wrapping up their 56-year run in the city this week. With their temporary move to Sacramento looming, franchise legends are coming back to the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum to say their goodbyes. Tony La Russa, Dennis Eckersley, and Rickey Henderson all spoke with The Athletic about their time in The Bay.

“Coming to Oakland,” former Athletics' manager La Russa said, “they came in with a lot of (hope for the) future. And you’d put their history against anybody’s during that period. I think everyone that’s been a part of this is a combination of sad and angry.”

Eckersley recently moved back to the Bay Area. The Athletics legend told Cody Stavenhagen, Sam Blum, and Stephen J. Nesbitt that coming back has made the move more painful. ” But the closer we get, where we’re (living), it’s gotten uglier inside. I’ve taken it on. Like, you can’t throw it all away. Whatever happened, happened, memories, and that sort of thing. But still, it hurts. I used to think, ‘Oh, no big deal. They’re leaving.’ But, oh my God, it’s the end! It sure does feel ugly inside.”

Henderson remains with the Athletics as a special advisor to the President. The stolen base king said It’s disappointing to see the A’s leaving. But we’ve gone through so much with all the teams. The city, there’s something they’re not seeing. When you have a city that had three big-name professional sports teams, and you can’t keep any of them, something’s wrong.”

Future of the Athletics 

Retired baseball player Rickey Henderson smiles with Oakland Athletics center fielder Esteury Ruiz (1) before the start of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
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Next year, the Athletics will play in Sacramento at the Giants' AAA facility. Ownership and the city of Oakland were not able to reach a deal to keep the A's in town. John Fisher has plans to build a new stadium in Las Vegas, but that is not quite finalized yet. While the future of the franchise likely lies in Nevada, anything can happen.

When next season begins, the team will be known simply as “The Athletics.” No Sacramento, no Oakland, no California. This will be the fourth different city that the A's have called home. The franchise began in Philadelphia in 1901, moved to Kansas City in 1954, and landed in Oakland in 1968.

On the field, the Athletics surprised some people early in the season. Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker create a great power duo in the middle of the lineup. Mason Miller is one of the most electric closers in the game and is locked up for many years. They've won 68 games, which is the most since 2021.

Henderson mentioned that all three teams that once resided in Oakland are gone. The Warriors moved across the Bay to San Francisco and the Raiders are in Vegas now. The city that once housed champions is empty and their fans are left wondering how they lost all three in such a short period.