Can a professional sports team be homeless? The Oakland A’s are trying to find out. The A’s are a much-maligned baseball team, and their lease at Oakland Coliseum expires following the upcoming 2024 season. As of yet, there exist no certain plans for a new home beyond that.
The uncertainty of the A’s home ballpark may seem trivial, seeing as how the franchise has lost 214 games in the last two seasons. But, the shaky future of this team does have an impact on the MLB futures odds market. For every team like the A’s that is dysfunctional and suffering, there are other teams that benefit in some way.
Baseball betting is feeling a slight hangover from the debacle that is the Oakland to Las Vegas fiasco.
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Brief Explainer on the Oakland A’s Ballpark Controversy
The A’s are an original member of the American League. The white elephant that adorns their jerseys stems from an insult the Philadelphia A’s received from a rival way back in 1902. Since, the A’s have made two moves, from Philly to Kansas City in 1955, and from KC to Oakland in 1968. The franchise has had great success despite all the moving, winning nine World Series titles, the most recent in 1989.
Since their arrival in Oakland, the team has played at the Coliseum, a multi-purpose stadium that also hosted the Raiders for several years. The venue is actually the fifth-oldest stadium in MLB. But, unlike the others that debuted prior to 1970, the Oakland Coliseum is showing its age.
Starting as long ago as the 1980s, the franchise was trying to find the money to get into a better ballpark. Oakland Coliseum earned a reputation as a dump. Poor attendance as long ago as the 1970s, earned it the nickname “Oakland Mausoleum.” In the 1990s, the team frequently threatened to leave the city because the ballpark was falling apart. It’s infamous for flooding due to bad plumbing (resulting in sewage in the dugouts!), decaying concrete structures, malfunctioning light towers, and at least once, an incident where feral cats took up residence.
Despite the cruddy stadium, the A’s have been a good team in Oakland. Since 1968, the franchise has the sixth-best winning percentage in baseball and has played in six World Series, winning four. But, a noted cheap owner has led many to push for a transfer of the team. Last offseason, John Fisher announced his intention to move his team to Las Vegas.
But Oakland won’t go down fighting: the city has sued, and fan groups have protested. Not everyone in Las Vegas is delighted either: the teachers’ union is suing to stop the state from spending public money to build a new ballpark.
As the 2024 season looms, the A’s have one year left on a lease to play in Oakland. They say they will start the 2028 season in Las Vegas, when a stadium in that city is ready. But, in the meantime, they will need to secure a rental lease to play in San Francisco and/or in a college baseball stadium in Nevada.
2024 MLB World Series Odds
The terrible state of the A’s means teams in the AL West have a pushover on their schedule. In 2023, the A’s were a dismal 8-31 against the top three teams in their division (Houston, Texas, and Seattle).
The odds for an AL West team not named the A’s or Angels to have success in 2024 are better because the A’s are rotten. Each team in the division plays the other 13 times.
AL West Team Odds to Win Pennant, World Series
- Houston Astros: ,
- Texas Rangers: ,
- Seattle Mariners: ,
- Los Angeles Angels: ,
- Oakland A’s: ,
Where Will the A’s Play in 2025?
Most likely, the A’s will play at Oracle Park in 2025, the home of the Giants. Staying in Oakland seems unlikely, considering the bad will created between the team and city leaders.
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