As the Bay Bridge Series was set to open Tuesday night, Oakland A's fans delivered a curveball of sorts to unsuspecting San Francisco Giants fans.
Rather than turn up the heat on the cross-bay rivalry, the A's faithful are asking their Giants counterparts to join forces in a protest against A's owner John Fisher and his plan to move the team to Las Vegas.
In a campaign dubbed Unite the Bay, the A's contingency is hoping Giants fans will help spread their ongoing message to Fisher to sell the team in order to keep it in the Bay Area.
"It's something that's really important to baseball, important to the Bay Area," said Jeremy Goodrich of the Oakland 68s, an Oakland A's support group. "So we're planning a Unite the Bay night where A's fans, Giants fans come out to Oracle Park, have a good time and voice our frustration about his ownership and their decision to attempt to relocate the team."
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Tuesday night's game at Oracle Park will be somewhat similar to a reverse boycott fans participated in at the Oakland Coliseum in June. They’ll hand out "Sell" T-shirts, only this time in black.
Unite the Bay posters will include instructions to stand in silence during the top of the fifth inning and when to chant "sell the team."
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In June, the Nevada Legislature approved hundred of millions of dollars to help fund a new A's ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. And while the move is poised to happen, A's fans are not losing hope – they say they are going to "keep pushing, keep fighting until shovels are in the ground."
The Bay Bridge Series games Tuesday and Wednesday are scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m. The series picks up again next month with two games in Oakland on Aug. 5-6.
