Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Meets with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
It was recently revealed that Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao flew up to Seattle to meet with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Sunday to show him the work that her city has put in to trying to keep the A's in Oakland. The hope? That the materials she brought, which included 31 copies all of the plans, proposals, and all of the work that has gone into the Howard Terminal project in Oakland can help set the record straight--that there was an offer, and a pretty good one--with Manfred and the other owners ahead of their vote.
Whether the pages of information will be delivered to the owners by the Commissioner is a question many have been asking, but the Mayor told Casey Pratt that they also plan to e-mail all of the owners the documents as well.
There has been a lot of discussion about whether this is too little too late, or that it has potentially put Oakland back in the picture for the A's future home. How you interpret the news of the meeting likely comes with some preconceived notions of the overall relocation process.
But there is one thing that the Mayor said in her interview with Casey Pratt that was very interesting and caught my attention. When asked what is next for the fight to keep the A's in Oakland, she said:
"Well if you know my track record, I hold those cards very close to my heart. But I'm going to continue to fight. And I want to talk to the Oakland A's fans out there for a minute if you don't mind. I am so proud of all the Oakland A's fans. I'm proud of Oaklanders. Keep it going. Keep going. We're fighting this fight together. I've heard all of the chants during the games and what have you. Just know that your Mayor is working for you. We're going to continue to fight until there are shovels actually in the ground."
The part that stuck out was the 'keep going' bit in the middle. The Mayor said that she is playing her cards close to her heart, so she isn't telling giving away all of the details she knows about the process and which way the winds may be blowing, or if there is a window cracked open that could potentially be exploited.
A's fans have been organizing protests and presumably causing a few headaches for MLB. On Tuesday night at the All Star Game, they got other team's fans to join the cause with a planned "sell the team" chant in the top of the fifth inning. It's hard to imagine that sitting well with Rob Manfred and the other 29 owners during one the baseball's jewel events.
It would be easier for everyone if the A's just stayed. The owners would be able to reap the expansion fees sooner since Las Vegas already has legislation passed for [MLB team], not specifically for the A's. The owners also wouldn't have to worry about missing out on a relocation fee from the A's if/when they move to Vegas.
The A's staying in Oakland makes more business sense for Major League Baseball and the owners. The Bay Area is a bigger market than Las Vegas, and with a new ballpark the A's wouldn't need to continue to receive revenue sharing--if John Fisher no longer owned the club. If he were to take the A's to the desert, and baseball's smallest market, they'd remain on revenue sharing seemingly forever.
It makes more business sense from a public relations perspective, from a profit perspective for the League as a whole, and also from the A's finally getting off of revenue sharing. The A's staying in Oakland is in the best interest of Major League Baseball.
Whether or not the binders that were dropped off will change anybody's mind isn't really clear, but this story just keeps adding layers upon layers and appears to be far from over.