Ending their time in their home city on a high note, the A’s defeated the Texas Rangers with a final score of 3-2 for their final Oakland home game.

The A’s departure from the city is one of many, as both the Golden State Warriors and the Raiders had been based in Oakland as well before the former moved to San Francisco and the latter left for Las Vegas. This has drastically changed the city, as fans are now also without a baseball team in addition to those of basketball and football.

“[I like having the A’s in Oakland because it] is easy to go to the games, and then, like, it’s like a sense of community. … So when, like, they said, like, oh, Warriors are leaving, Raiders are leaving, and now the A’s are leaving too, it’s like, there’s nothing left in Oakland for the community people there,” said senior Jane Hipps, a long-time fan of the A’s.

As one of two Bay Area teams, the A’s along with the San Francisco Giants have created a strong baseball community in the region. Having two teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) has cultivated an intense rivalry, resulting in the Battle of the Bay and spanning many years, with the final one happening this past August.

Since baseball is one of the most popular sports in the country, having two teams in the Bay Area offered twice as many opportunities for fans to become invested in the sport. The large number of local baseball and softball players found games easily accessible, which can always be beneficial to fostering their love of the game.

“Growing up, my dad used to have season tickets,” Hipps said, “so we used to go, like, every other Saturday to a lot of the games.”

Although they will no longer be based out of Oakland, the history of the A’s as one of the main major athletic programs in Northern California will be sustained throughout the rest of their time in Major League Baseball.