MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke about one of the hottest topics of the moment: the Oakland Athletics and their relocation saga.
The league and owner John Fisher are this close to securing the funds to build a new stadium on the Las Vegas strip, the remaining obstacle for the move there.
Meanwhile, fans in Oakland are heartbroken and don’t want to see the franchise leave.
Manfred said that he feels for people in Oakland, but implied that they didn’t do anything to keep the team and even stated that there was no offer from Oakland to build a new stadium there.
Julie Edwards, the spokesperson for Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, said Manfred is lying.
Per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich:
Statement from Julie Edwards, spokesperson for Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, in response to Rob Manfred saying there was no offer for a stadium in Oakland: pic.twitter.com/guRJfmiQF8
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) June 15, 2023
The Commissioner, sadly, has become a figure that represents the interests of the owners.
Perhaps that’s the job description, but it would be nice to have one who represents and defends the interests of baseball as a whole.
Edwards explained everything the city did to try and secure the franchise staying in Oakland.
The city worked hard to secure funding and seek permissions and approvals.
In other words, everything was in place for the construction of a new stadium, given that the Oakland Coliseum is currently not suitable for hosting an MLB franchise.
But Manfred, Fisher, and the people in Vegas are the ones with a smile on their faces as the saga nears an end.
With the “reverse boycott” on Tuesday, fans in Oakland showed the world that people will go to the stadium if the team was competitive.
The A’s are 19-51, and that’s also on Fisher.
It’s as if they all orchestrated the move with care and attention to detail.
NEXT:
Fans React To Today’s Rob Manfred Comments
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