Last week marked the first anniversary of the final home game in Oakland A’s history.
The team, in case you missed it, is playing in limbo in Sacramento for at least three seasons until a planned move to Las Vegas can be executed. But fans of the Oakland-era of the Green and Gold can take a trip down memory lane this month when they tune in to a a playoff game — any playoff game.
All 12 of the teams that reached the postseason have some direct connection to the Oakland A’s. Even the Cincinnati Reds, the first team eliminated from the wild card round, had some old Stomper mojo going for it. Manager Terry Francona was Ken Macha’s bench coach in 2003, and his first base coach is former Oakland outfielder Collin Cowgill. As for players, the Reds had utilityman Miguel Andujar (acquired in mid-season from the Sacramento A’s, so he and now-Padres reliever Mason Miller go down as the first Oakland/Sacramento Athletics to appear in a playoff game) and reliever Emilio Pagan, appeared in 55 games with the A’s in 2018 after being acquired from the Mariners for Ryon Healy.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Oakland A’s connections to this season’s playoffs:
American League
Boston Red Sox
Andrew Bailey — Boston’s pitching coach was an All-Star in each of his first two seasons with the A’s and was the A.L. rookie of the year in 2009 when he saved 26 games (and won six more) on a 75-win team. After the 2011 season he was traded to the Red Sox in the deal that brought Josh Reddick to Oakland.
Nick Sogard — The Red Sox infielder is the cousin of fan favorite Eric Sogard.
Cleveland Guardians
Stephen Vogt – Oakland fans are not the only ones who believe in Stephen Vogt. The two-time All-Star and one of the most beloved Oakland A’s players of all-time led Cleveland to the AL Central title last season as a rookie manager, but that was just the start. This season he guided the Guardians from 14.5 games behind the Tigers to repeat as division champs.
Bonus A’s connection: Guardians sparkplug left fielder Steven Kwan is a Fremont native and graduated from Washington High, the same school as A’s Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.
Detroit Tigers
A.J. Hinch – The Tigers manager was Oakland’s third-round pick in 1996 and played two seasons with the A’s, but his biggest impact to the franchise was being part of a three-way trade that brought Johnny Damon, Cory Lidle and Mark Ellis to the Bay Area.
Gary Jones — Detroit’s first base coach was Art Howe’s first base coach in 1998 after nearly a decade as a minor league manager for the franchise.
Bonus A’s connection: Tigers ace Tarik Skubal didn’t play for the A’s, but he was born in Hayward and grew up in Fremont, and went 2-1 with a 1.19 ERA in four career starts at the Coliseum.
New York Yankees
Paul Blackburn — The A’s lone All-Star in 2022 pitched in Oakland for eight seasons, setting the franchise set the team record for the most scoreless innings to start the season in (22) in 2024. Blackburn pitched in eight games as a reliever for the Yankees after he was released by the Mets.
Mike Harkey — The Yankees bullpen coach made 12 starts for the A’s in 1995. He was released in mid-July to make room for Ariel Prieto in the rotation.
Bonus A’s connection: Yankees superstar Aaron Judge grew up in Liden and attended games at the Coliseum as a kid. He was Oakland’s 31st pick in the 2010 draft but went to Fresno State instead.
Seattle Mariners
Kevin Seitzer — The Mariners’ batting coach was signed in 1993 to replace all-time A’s great Carney Lansford at third base, but Seitzer hit .255 and was released in July. His departure opened the door for Craig Paquette. Seitzer finished second to A’s slugger Mark McGwire in the 1987 A.L. Rookie of the Year vote.
Bonus A’s connection: Mariners ace and Alameda High grad Bryan Woo goes down in history as the last Oakland-born major leaguer to play in the Coliseum.
Toronto Blue Jays
Chris Bassitt — Acquired after the 2014 season from the White Sox along with Marcus Semien and Josh Phegley for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa, and spent six seasons in Oakland. Barely a month after appearing in the 2021 All-Star game, he was struck in the face by a line drive during his start in Chicago. He returned to the Coliseum mound barely a month later and pitched three scoreless innings against the Mariners. His trade to the Mets before spring training in 2022 was considered by many the beginning of the end of the franchise in Oakland, with Matt Olson and Matt Chapman traded just days later.
Ernie Clement — Had a six-game audition with Oakland in 2022 after being claimed off waivers from Cleveland, batted .056 and was dumped before the start of spring training. Clement, 29, has been the Blue Jays’ starting third baseman the past two seasons and has hit .276 with 22 home runs and 111 RBIs with the team.
National League
Chicago Cubs
Daniel Palencia — the Cubs closer never played for Oakland — he was a 21-year-old A’s prospect pitching at Stockton in 2021 when he was traded to the Cubs for Rod Beck lookalike Andrew Chafin.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Max Muncy – The biggest Oakland property that got away: He debuted with the A’s in 2015 at the age of 24, hit .195 with five home runs in 96 games and was released late in spring training in 2017. He’s made two All-Star teams and hit 209 homers the past eight seasons with the Dodgers, which is seventh in franchise history, just two behind Steve Garvey. No relation to the Max Muncy who made his debut this season with Sacramento.
Blake Treinen – The hard-throwing reliever spent parts of three seasons in the A’s bullpen, collecting 67 of his 82 career saves and representing Oakland at the 2018 All-Star Game.
Bob Geren — The A’s manager from 2007-2011 is the Dodgers’ minor league field coordinator.
Milwaukee Brewers
Jared Koenig – The Aptos High grad’s path to the majors wasn’t easy — he went undrafted out of college, had stints in independent ball, including with the San Rafael Pacifics, but caught the A’s attention and appeared in 10 games in 2022. Koenig, 31, signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers before the 2024 season and has become one of the key members of Milwaukee’s bullpen, appearing in 127 games with a 2.67 ERA over the past two seasons.
William Contreras – Never appeared in a game with Oakland, but was part of another of the significant cost-cutting deals that marked the end of the franchise’s era in the Bay Area. The Brewers got their All-Star catcher from the Braves as part of the Sean Murphy three-team swap in December of 2022.
Rickie Weeks — The Brewers associate manager never played for the A’s, but his little brother, Jemile, played three seasons (2011-13) in Oakland.
Bonus A’s connection: The Brewers appear to have a keeper in Chad Patrick, who they acquired from the A’s after the 2023 season for 94 games of Abraham Toro. Patrick, who had appeared in just six games above Double-A at that point, started 23 games as a 26-year-old rookie this season with a 3.53 ERA and averaged more than a strikeout per inning.
Philadelphia Phillies
Jesus Luzardo — A’s fans in the early 2020s envisioned a rotation anchored by Luzardo and A.J. Puk. That never happened, with Luzardo shipped off to the Marlins during the 2021 season, but the lefty, now 27, has found a home with the Phillies. Luzardo went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA.
Lou Trivino –– After spending his first five seasons with Oakland the reliever has bounced around — Yankees, Giants, Dodgers — and appeared in 10 games (with a 2.00 ERA) after joining the Phillies for the final month of the season.
Sam Fuld – The former A’s outfielder is transitioning to the Phillies’ president of business operations after four seasons as the Phllies’ vice president and general manager. His teams reached the playoffs three times, including the 2022 World Series.
San Diego Padres
Mason Miller — The hard-throwing former A’s closer was traded from Sacramento to the Padres at the deadline. His playoff appearance in Game 2 against the Cubs on Wednesday was something Oakland fans might recognize: six batters faced, five strikeouts and a hit batter.
Ramón Laureano – The former A’s outfielder wasn’t on the wild card roster after suffering a broken right index finger. But he might be activated if the Padres get past the Cubs.