Oakland A's headed to Las Vegas

Manfred would have been cheerleading Rachel Phelps' Indians the entire season. Until the last 6 weeks, anyway.

 

See also Montreal, 2002-3
Milwaukee 1964-66
Athletics (several seasons, 1950s-60s-70s etc etc)
Chicago White Sox 1973-75
St. Louis Browns (unintentional, 1953)
Cleveland Indians (movie, 1989)
Several NHL, NBA franchises
Flint Tropics (movie, ABA, 1976)

 

Baseball sold the Expos down the river. Allan H. Selig's commissioner's office. No other 'help' was needed.

 

Two biggest franchise thefts were the Expos and the Sonics (that was much, much worse). Of course Stern skates on the Sonics. Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets I weren't too far behind.

 

The Expos were not stolen, they were never going to make it there. The Expos love is revisionist history. Expos were my favourite team, they weren’t getting a stadium, weren’t supported by fans or the business community and it wouldn't work now either.

The Sonic should have never been touched, I imagine they’ll be back in a few years. Grizzlies weren’t going to make it either. We used to get in for 5 bucks and sit wherever we wanted. It might work now, the landscape has changed here but it would need a new arena and an owner who can afford 3 billion dollar asking price.

 

The Dodgers and Giants left New York. The Colts and Browns, historic and wildly popular franchises, were moved.

The Expos and Sonics are nowhere close to that level, even as terrible as the Sonics move was.

 

And neither will be Oakland.

 

I still have a stupid theory that the A’s make it in Oakland if Mt. Davis had never been erected.

 

All the owners can afford the asking price. They just believe it is the duty of the taxpayers to give them hundreds of millions of dollars -- in straight giveaways in stadium funding, sweetheart tax breaks and revenue guarantees, as well as Santa Claus stocking stuffer real estate deals for control of stadium adjacent properties to double (or more) the value of the original stadium deals.

 

Another move from Oakland, or, switching Chronicles.


Worth noting: Kawahara also covered the Raiders in their last seasons in Oakland!

 

And fucking Manfred, just like fucking Selig, is going to roll into the HOF the moment he's eligible. Which I'd hope would be very soon, except his replacement will be even worse. It's the American way.

 

BYH-

I believe Manfred is the worst commissioner any sport ever had, and at the most critical juncture of that sport.