Former A’s owner Lew Wolff is blaming the “despicable” MLB team across the bay for the franchise’s departure from Oakland.
In a new book titled “Moments,” Wolff wrote that the A’s leaving the city they had called home for 57 seasons was “100 percent due to the nasty, shameful, and continuing opposition of the Giants,” who blocked attempts by the franchise to move to nearby cities as they fought for a new stadium site, according to The Athletic.
Wolff, who owned the franchise for roughly a decade from 2005-16, pointed the finger at the Giants’ territorial rights that extend into Santa Clara County, including San Jose, as a key reason the A’s South Bay relocation plan repeatedly fell through.
Owner Lew Wolff and Owner John Fisher of the Oakland Athletics talk in the stands during the game against the Houston Astros at the Oakland Coliseum on July 19, 2016 in Oakland, California. Getty Images After a long-running stadium saga in Oakland, the Athletics left Oakland Coliseum after the 2024 season for their temporary home at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento — home of the Triple-A River Cats (a Giants affiliate) — before their eventual move to Las Vegas in 2028.
The A’s current owner, John Fisher, who bought the team from Wolff in 2016, has long drawn the ire of Oakland faithful as the main person to blame for their city losing the A’s.
Wolff, who has been called “a dear and long-term friend” by Fisher, sees it differently.
“John Fisher gets blamed for things he doesn’t deserve to be blamed for,” Wolff said. “The Giants’ position really, really messed us up in trying to even negotiate with Oakland.”
Owner of the Oakland Athletics, Lew Wolff attends the spring training game against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Stadium on March 11, 2014 in Peoria, Arizona. Getty Images After the team announced its intention to leave Oakland, A’s fans staged several massive protests, including a reverse boycott during the club’s second-to-last season at the Coliseum, as they voiced their anger over ownership’s decision to abandon the city after years of stadium drama.
Their departure leaves the Giants as the lone baseball franchise in a 7.6-million-person Bay Area market.
Last summer, the A’s broke ground on the $1.75 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip, which is expected to be ready for Opening Day 2028.
The team kicked off the second season of its short-lived tenure in Sacramento last month, having gone 13-11 and leading the American League West heading into Wednesday.
