By now, we know how Oakland A’s fans feel about their beloved team being on the verge of relocating to Las Vegas. The fans of a once proud franchise turned out for an emotional and boisterous and emotional “reverse boycott” earlier this week to not only show support for their team but their subsequent disdain for the team owner, John Fisher.
But it’s not just fans of the Athletics that are a bit skeptical about the team relocating to Las Vegas. It’s also natives of Sin City who have cast doubts about a Major League Baseball team in their respective hometowns. And if you’re a fan of baseball, you may be a bit familiar with the names of these professional ballplayers, who hail from Las Vegas and oppose the move.
Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott are teammates with the Philadelphia Phillies, but they also have roots in Nevada, specifically Las Vegas.
“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland,’’ Harper recently said to USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You’re taking a team out of a city. I’m pretty sad because of all of the history and all of the greatness they’ve seen there.
“I see the A’s as Oakland.
“I don’t see them as Vegas.’’
Philadelphia Phillies MVP Bryce Harper and teammate Bryson Stott, feel sorry for #A’s fans, wishing the A’s stayed put in Oakland while an expansion team instead came to their hometown of Las Vegas. https://t.co/05LMm4Lpwm
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 15, 2023
As Bob Nightengale writes, the move to Las Vegas will become official once the owners vote on the relocation plan. According to Nightengale, the A’s relocation to Las Vegas is expected to be unanimously approved by the owners. And while players like Harper and Stott have voiced their concerns, they don’t exactly get a say in the matter. None of the players do.
“We would rather see an expansion team than a relocated team,’’ Scott said. “That’s why fans are so crazy about the Knights. It’s Vegas’ first team. It’s ours. It was kind of easy for people to gravitate towards that. Vegas wasn’t a big hockey town. It is now.”
Stott makes a good point. Those who reside in Las Vegas already have allegiances to teams out West, whether it’s the Dodgers, Angeles, Padres or Diamondbacks. A lot of the fans that do come to the games in Vegas will likely be fans of the opposing team.
“It will take a few generations before they have a real fandom in baseball,” he said.
So, both he and Harper agree that the franchise in Las Vegas should be an expansion one. And while that’s not going to happen, A’s fans sure made their case for why the tradition that is baseball in the Bay Area shouldn’t be thrown away just because the owners want to make a quick buck.
[USA Today Sports; photo from Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports]
