OAKLAND – There have been reverse-boycotts, chants to sell the team and parking lot protests.
You can add puppets to the list of ways Oakland A’s fans have expressed displeasure with team ownership.
While Joey Estes was in the process of throwing a complete game shutout for the home team on Wednesday evening, longtime fan Todd Saran caught the internet’s attention with his unique actions behind the plate.
The Contra Costa native pulled puppet effigies of Oakland A’s owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval out of his backpack and put one on each hand.
diamond level has been MUST SEE TV the past couple nights #SellTheTeam pic.twitter.com/TngxDpt3RT
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) July 4, 2024
Television cameras captured Saran, wearing a bright green “SELL” shirt, gesturing with the two puppets Sesame Street-style during the A’s 5-0 victory. It was the latest in a long line of memorable actions by fans who are unhappy the team is moving from Oakland to Sacramento in 2025 while eventually on its way to Las Vegas.
“I was going to the game with (my friend) Gabe and we had tickets to the diamond section, and relatively last minute I decided to bring them and have some fun,” Saran told the Bay Area News Group on Thursday afternoon in a text.
The East Bay resident was eventually told to move to his assigned seats elsewhere in the section, and ended up meeting with friends in the bleachers, where he watched the end of the game.
“I really want to reiterate that there was ZERO animosity or tension in either direction from the stadium employees,” Saran said. “In the decade that I had season tickets and was going to 50+ games a season I have had nothing but positive experiences and this one was no different.
“It clearly wasn’t his decision to remove us and he was doing his job – he was very courteous and respectful about the whole thing, and we reciprocated and complied without issue or pushback.”
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Saran’s harmless stunt became a small part of the A’s last season in Oakland, where the team has played for 56 years. The puppet-master has been a fan for over three decades, and said that going to Father’s Day games at the Coliseum with his dad are treasured memories.
“And when I was 14, I went to game 20 of the epic 20-game win steak,” Saran said. “That when I went from being a fan of the A’s to “A’s fan” being part of my identity.”
However, fans will have to wait until September 26 to see the puppets again. The man who used to go to as many games as he could won’t go back to the Coliseum until the team’s final game in Oakland.
“That is the only other game I plan to go to,” Saran said. “I brought them to the game on June 7th also, so the A’s are 2-0 in the only 2 games that John Fisher and Dave Kaval have shown up to (even if it was just the puppet version, but then again the real ones are puppets too).”