The Athletics’ decision to leave Oakland was an unpopular one among their Bay Area fans. It also did not go down well with at least one rival broadcaster.
San Francisco Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper made sure to get a shot in at the A’s recent move during Tuesday’s spring training telecast on NBC Sports Bay Area. After the Athletics were retired in the fifth, Kuiper took the opportunity to send a pointed message about the relocation.
“It’s the Giants 3, the A’s should still be in Oakland 1,” Kuiper said.
“It’s the Giants 3, the A’s should still be in Oakland 1.”
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The Giants and A’s have long been traditional interleague rivals, but Oakland fans will appreciate the solidarity here. A’s owner John Fisher was perceived as set on moving the team to Las Vegas for years, all while maintaining a low payroll in Oakland and fielding a largely uncompetitive product. The team’s sudden offseason spending spree immediately after leaving Oakland did little to dispel that notion.
The perception was not aided by the fact that the A’s do not even have a new stadium built in Las Vegas yet. They will be playing in Sacramento for the next three seasons until construction is completed.
Kuiper has been calling Giants games uninterrupted since 1994, so he is very familiar with Bay Area baseball. He also isn’t the only play-by-play announcer who has called out the A’s over their move.
