Colorado Rockies Manager Reflects on the Oakland Coliseum, A's Fans
Ahead of the Oakland A's series finale against the Colorado Rockies, visiting manager Bud Black spoke highly of the Coliseum, and the fans in Oakland. You could tell that he really loves visiting the Coliseum.
"I've come here a lot. Since 1982 I've come to this ballpark. I've poured champagne here when we clinched the playoffs with the Royals."
In 1984, the Kansas City Royals won the American League West with an 84-78 record, and clinched their ticket to the postseason by beating the A's in Oakland in the first game of their season-ending series. Black held a 3.12 ERA in 35 starts that spanned an incredible 257 innings that year. He spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with the Seattle, Kansas City, Cleveland, Toronto, and San Francisco. His final season came in 1995 as a member of the Cleveland squad that lost to the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. He was also teammates with Eric Plunk that season, who was traded for Rickey Henderson--twice.
The San Mateo native also mentioned that he has some great memories of the old A's clubs that he pitched against, and watching games as a kid during the team's 1972-74 World Series runs. Black also reflected on facing Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson numerous times throughout his career (Rickey hit .303 off him). But it was the atmosphere of the Coliseum that he's going to miss the most.
"I always thought this was a good place to play, and I thought that the A's fans were just a little bit different than other fans, in a good way. Very loyal to the A's. This is sort of a sad one for me as I watch the rest of the season unfold for the A's and knowing that they'll no longer be here. It's a tough one."
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.