Rob Manfred's reaction to the "reverse boycott" held by Athletics fans earlier this month didn't sit well with many fans, so the commissioner of MLB cleared up his words.
"My comment about Oakland was that I feel sorry for the fans, that it was my initial and -- preference that we find a solution in Oakland," Manfred said when asked if he regrets what he previously said about the protest (h/t The Associated Press). "The comment that I made about the fans on a particular night was taken out of context of those two larger remarks: I feel sorry for the fans. We hate to move.
"We did everything we could possibly do to keep the club in Oakland. Unfortunately, one night doesn't change a decade worth of inaction."
Some 28,000 fans packed the Oakland Coliseum on June 13 to prove their worth to team owner John Fisher and MLB and show support for the team they've rooted for all their lives.
Two days later, Manfred admitted that he didn't watch the game but he read the coverage about the "reverse boycott" the next day. His impression of the turnout surprised many.
"It was great," he said. "It’s great to see what is, this year, almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That’s a great thing."
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The game drew roughly 27,759 fans, the largest home crowd of the 2023 season, and more than triple the team's home average of 9,076. It was more than this season's average attendance of the Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, respectively, per ESPN's 2023 MLB attendance report.
While speaking at a news conference in London on Friday ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs series, Manfred said that the A's have not yet submitted a relocation application and there isn't a set deadline for when owners will vote on the A's proposed move to Las Vegas.
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Last week, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed legislation granting $380 million in public financing for a brand-new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.
