Butler sits atop the team’s batting leaders with a .455 average after getting a pair of hits, including a double, in Oakland’s 5-3 loss to San Diego in Mesa, Ariz. on Thursday.

The loss snapped the A’s modest three-game winning streak. Oakland fans may recall the A’s only had one winning streak longer than three games last season.

A year ago, Butler turned heads as a 22-year-old from Single-A in his first big-league camp by leading the team with a robust slash line of .478/.556/.870 in 12 games. The A’s decided to fast-track Butler last season, moving him from Double-A, Triple-A and, finally, on Aug. 11, to the big leagues.

Butler’s numbers in Oakland were pretty pedestrian – he hit .211 with four homers in 42 games – but he made enough of an impression to believe he’s got a shot to break camp with the A’s later this month. Butler is in competition with six others, including All-Star Brent Rooker, Esteury Ruiz, J.J. Bleday, Seth Brown and minor league free-agents Miguel Andujar and Hoy Park, for probably five roster spots.

Should Butler continue hitting, though, it’s a safe bet he’ll spend a lot of time with a club looking to break away from last year’s 112-loss season.

The A’s got another strong outing from hard-throwing starter Joe Boyle, who routinely threw 98 mph Thursday during his 3 1/3 innings. Boyle faced the minimum through three innings without permitting a run before allowing two runs (one earned) in the fourth inning.

A’s second baseman Zack Gelof, who is quickly establishing himself as the team’s best player, homered for a second straight game.

Notable

— Former Giants left-hander Alex Wood will make his spring debut with Oakland Friday when he starts against Kansas City in Surprise. Wood, who signed a one-year, $8.5 million free-agent deal with the A’s, will be opposed by lefty Cole Ragans, the Royals’ breakout star last year.

The A’s have removed their infamous “Rooted in Oakland” sign that was plastered across the Coliseum and visible from Interstate 880.

A helicopter for ABC 7 caught video of a person on a crane scraping off the vinyl sign into small pieces on Monday. The A’s then replaced the giant sign with several smaller photos of historic moments in A’s history.

Thursday, team president Dave Kaval shared photos of the new signage via social media while saying the 2024 season “will be a celebration of our 50-plus years in Oakland.”

Another “Rooted in Oakland since ‘68” banner on the south entrance to the ballpark remained in place as of Thursday afternoon, but an A’s spokesperson confirmed plans to remove that sign, too.

The A’s have been using their “Rooted in Oakland” slogan since 2017, when they announced the advertising campaign in a press release. The campaign “emphasizes the club’s commitment to building a ballpark in its longtime home city,” the team wrote, while Kaval was quoted as saying, “Our fans and community will know that the A’s are truly Rooted in Oakland.”

But after years of failed ballpark proposals and disagreements with the city, the A’s announced their intentions to move the team to Las Vegas last April.

The “Rooted In Oakland” sign is coming down at the Coliseum ahead of Opening Day. pic.twitter.com/WYktJxC9jb

— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) February 26, 2024

Last weekend, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao explained that she has only spoken with A’s owner John Fisher twice: once when she first entered office in 2021 to discuss building a new ballpark in Oakland, and again last year, when he called to tell her the A’s were leaving.

“I took him on his word (in 2021),” she said Saturday while talking to the hosts of “Foul Territory” at Fans Fest, a celebration of Oakland sports at Jack London Square. “The next time I spoke to him he said, ‘We’re going 100% focus on Las Vegas,’ when we were this close to getting a deal. That goes beyond any sort of respect I have.”

Great looking new sign at the Coliseum honoring our many historic moments in Oakland! @Athletics The 2024 season will be a celebration of our fifty plus years in Oakland! See you at the ballpark! pic.twitter.com/f2AJduOOSU

— Dave Kaval (@DaveKaval) February 28, 2024

The 2024 season will be the A’s 57th and possibly final year at the Coliseum.

The team’s lease expires at the end of the season and Thao has made it clear she isn’t willing to extend it unless MLB meets her lofty demands, which include a guarantee of an expansion team, and the team name and logo remaining with the city.

Given the near-impossibility that MLB meets those demands, the A’s are expected to leave Oakland to play in a Triple-A ballpark in either Sacramento or Salt Lake City, though they’d need to have that plan approved by the MLB Players Association. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has publicly expressed his doubts.

Former A’s players Trevor May, Grant Balfour and Coco Crisp also shared their concerns while speaking at Fans Fest.

Asked if he thought players would approve of that decision, May said, “No. That sucks.”

Playing in a minor league park “doesn’t seem right,” Balfour said.

“Personally, I wouldn’t like it,” Crisp said.

All three players also said they’d play baseball in any stadium, but noted that big leaguers should be playing in big league parks.

And despite the Coliseum being outdated, the players said they enjoyed the fan experience there.

“I loved walking out on that field,” Balfour said. “It’s a great pitchers’ ballpark. There’s so much history. I’ll be sad to see them go. I’d rather see Vegas get a new team and start fresh.”

Opening Day for the A’s will be March 28 at the Coliseum. Fans are planning to boycott the game by showing up to party in the Coliseum parking lot and refusing to buy tickets to go inside for the game.

Yastrzemski, 33, pointed to the outcome of the two times he put the ball in play as evidence of why he isn’t concerned by his delayed start.

In a 7-4 exhibition loss to the A’s, he came to the plate three times as the designated hitter, drawing a walk and twice flying out to left field.

“I got beat a little bit, but the fact that I’m executing what I’m trying to do on day one is really promising for me,” Yastrzemski said. “It’s one of those things that as you get older and you go through spring training multiple times … you start to understand what your process is versus everyone else’s. When you come out here and you’re working on things, kind of like what I was just talking to (hitting coach Pat Burrell) about, really working on staying behind the ball.”

Like Austin Slater, Yastrzemski was delayed to start camp and has not yet been cleared to play the field.

While Slater has been slow in his recovery from offseason elbow surgery, the origin of Yastrzemski’s shoulder ailment remains a mystery.

One morning in December, he said, he woke up with a sore shoulder. When it didn’t improve after a couple weeks off over the holidays, “I said, ‘All right, we’ve gotta get into some (physical therapy) and get this thing strengthened up and ready to go,'” Yastrzemski said.

On Wednesday, Yastrzemski accelerated his throwing program, playing catch out to 200 feet. He began camp by throwing from short distances two out of every three days, and when his shoulder responded well, progressed to playing catch every day leading up to his debut this week.

“I felt like I was physically ready to try to get air under the ball, versus throwing intently from a shorter position,” Yastrzemski said. “Wanted to see how I respond from that, so we’ll see how it feels tomorrow, but it feels good right now.”

While the Giants would love to have their expected Opening Day right fielder ready when they break camp, there is one early season series that Yastrzemski surely will not want to miss. The Giants travel to Boston for three games at Fenway Park, his Hall-of-Fame grandfather’s home ballpark, at the end of April.

“I think I started getting (ticket requests) like two years ago,” Yastrzemski chuckled. “I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be fun.”

Homer happy

The ball was jumping off the bats under the Wednesday afternoon sun, with the teams combining for five home runs.

Two came from the first two A’s batters to step to the plate against Giants starter Spencer Howard, who’s no stranger to the long ball. In camp as a non-roster invitee, Howard has appeared in 38 games for the Phillies and Rangers but is 3-11 with a 7.20 ERA and has allowed 26 homers in 115 career innings.

The 27-year-old right-hander is trying to make his case as a depth option for the rotation — which is looking increasingly important — but given the start in place of Mason Black, who was moved up to cover for the injured Tristan Beck, Howard was bitten by the same issues that have led him to his fourth organization in two years.

Leadoff man Ryan Noda deposited the second pitch he saw, a 94-mph fastball, onto the berm in left field, and the next batter, Zack Gelof, gave the same treatment to another heater to right field.

“We’re taking a look at everybody with some of the injuries we’ve had,” Melvin said. “If he wants to go out and make an impression, it was only gonna be an inning today, but when the first two guys hit homers, it gets your attention a little bit.”

A pair of Giants also recorded their first homers of the spring, with J.D. Davis taking a 1-2 fastball from Paul Blackburn deep to the opposite field, and Luis Matos showing off the extra muscle he put on with a three-run homer off Scott Alexander — one of three former Giants on the A’s pitching staff — that scraped the left field wall in the fifth.

Results don’t count, until they do

Melvin was feisty following his club’s fifth exhibition of the spring, which ended in a loss to his former team as his current club still searches for its first win.

In five spring games, the Giants have allowed 36 runs — 7.2 per game — all but nine of them coming in the first five innings, when both teams’ regulars are generally still in the game.

“We’re giving up way too many runs early in the games here and putting ourself in a hole,” Melvin said. “We’re scoring some runs, but we’re giving up way too many. It’s not a great feeling. … No one’s going to remember it, but we remember it right now. Every game you suit up for, you go out there to win, so no, we need to play better.”

Kemp joined the Cincinnati Reds on a minor league contract this week.

The 32-year-old was granted free agency for the first time this offseason after playing four of his eight big league seasons with the A’s. The speedster hit .240 with a .675 OPS while playing mostly second base and left field over his four years in Oakland.

He thanked fans with a social media post on Wednesday night.

“A piece of my heart will always be with you in the bay,” he wrote. “From my first time playing in the Coliseum as a rookie in 2016 to calling it home these past four seasons, it has been a blessing. It’s the city where Michelle and I started our family and received open arms from everyone working in the F lot to all the attendees throughout the stadium.

“To A’s fans, I can’t help but think about and feel for each and everyone one of you. I think of the families whose roots have made them lifelong A’s fans, hoping to pass on the tradition of taking their kids to games to cheer on the hometown team. My wish is that the team would stay in Oakland and give the fans what they deserve.”

love for the 510 pic.twitter.com/o6uhi2DoXi

— Tony Kemp (@tonykemp) February 28, 2024

Kemp was a fan favorite while with the A’s.

On the night of the reverse boycott last June, Kemp said the fans “have a right to feel the way they feel. They probably had a future planned out with these people. They probably had kids and came to games as kids and had a plan of what they were going to do. Leaving for another city is devastating. I completely understand.”

After a down season last year in which he hit .209 with a .607 OPS, Kemp will have to earn his way onto the Reds’ roster.

His minor league deal reportedly comes with an ability to opt out on March 23 if he hasn’t been told he’ll make the team. Kemp may not be a prolific power hitter but he did steal 15 bases while drawing 44 walks to only 40 strikeouts in 419 plate appearances last year.

Kemp will reportedly earn $1.75 million if he makes the Reds’ roster. He earned $3.725 million in his final season with the A’s.

“Like a bird, finally let loose to fly,” May said Saturday at Fans Fest, a celebration of Oakland sports fans at Jack London Square. “Last year was very hard. I just had a lot of stuff I was worrying about.”

Last season, May was the highest-paid player on the A’s and one of the team’s veteran leaders who was trying to keep things positive in a difficult year for him personally, having stepped away for about a month to deal with mental health issues, and for the franchise, which announced its plans to leave for Las Vegas.

It felt impossible for May to speak honestly about playing for a team that ended up with the 10th-most losses in MLB history while using an MLB-low payroll.

There was plenty he wanted to say, but couldn’t.

Like on that Tuesday night in June, when more than 27,000 A’s fans showed up for a reverse boycott to protest Fisher’s decision to move the team to Vegas.

Fans chanted “sell the team.” They were vocal and angry towards Fisher, but were incredibly supportive any time the A’s did something well on the field.

“That’s a connection with the fans that only exists here,” May said. “If you’re an underdog, these fans are there for you. It’s why I’ve always gravitated to it.”

The A’s won a spectacular game over the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1, and May recorded the final out while pumping his fist and screaming as he walked off the mound.

Earlier that day, the only negative thing May could say about Fisher was this: “It is about money for John. It is. There’s no dancing around it.”

What did he really want to say?

He said it at the end of the season, when he announced his retirement on his YouTube show and slammed Fisher on the way out, calling him a “greedy (expletive).”

Saturday, he again sounded off on Fisher and the A’s, who have yet to publicly release any renderings of their new ballpark, announce a financing plan or determine where they’ll play until their Vegas ballpark is ready in 2028. There are also several legal proceedings in Nevada that could stop some or all of the $380 million in public funding that’s supposed to help pay for it.

“It’s predictable,” May said. “I just don’t think they’re very good at this. I try to search track records for John’s business record and he really hasn’t done anything successfully. Not truly. He hasn’t really hit anything well. Most of it is because of his status. He gets a return to a level because of who he is but there’s nothing being added.”

In Oakland, Mayor Sheng Thao has been just as frustrated with Fisher, who she predicted will do “John Fisher things” when he gets to Las Vegas. Thao thought the city was close to a deal with the A’s for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, but she never heard from Fisher until he called to say the team was focused on moving to Vegas.

Said May: “Everyone is realizing he’s not bringing anything to us. We’re not going to get anything. We’re only going to give. He’s not going to give us anything. So what’s the point of being in business with this person?”

May’s problem is that the other 29 MLB owners, commissioner Rob Manfred and lawmakers in Las Vegas are going along with it. The owners voted 30-0 to approve Fisher’s planned relocation to Las Vegas, despite several owners who voiced their concerns privately, as reported in The Athletic last November.

May said he wanted to speak out while he was still a player, but it was difficult. So when he announced his retirement, he found himself no longer holding back.

“It’s important that the fans know that we (the players) know,” May said. “We know. Everyone knows. I don’t know why we can’t acknowledge things.”

May said the Vegas deal is obviously flawed, “but this is easy, to shrug and let someone else deal with it. There’s a lot of people who could shut it down in Vegas who won’t because they don’t want to put the wrench in the machine.

“I have no idea how this got green-lit when there was no plan. I think we’d know about the plan because they’d put it out immediately if they had one. It’s kind of predictable.”

The players on the A’s “just want an answer,” May said. They don’t know where they’ll be playing after the team’s lease at the Coliseum expires following the 2024 season. The team is negotiating with the city on an extension, but those talks don’t seem promising.

“The Coliseum has been old since it was been built,” May said.

And playing in a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento or Salt Lake City would be unfavorable for the players, who have to sign off on such a move before the A’s could do it.

“That sucks,” May said. “But the guys are so good at just being like, ‘When have we ever had any control over anything?’ So they just go along with it. They have to if you want to keep your job. And I would too.”

The only A’s free agent additions of note this winter were lefty Alex Wood, who signed a one-year, $8.5-million deal, and reliever Trevor Gott, who signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal.

At this point, why would anybody sign a two-year contract to play in Oakland?

“There won’t be anyone who signs a two-year contract,” May said. “Maybe one year with an option. But not at least until some of this stuff gets ironed out. It’s not like the A’s are looking for that anyways. Which is understandable.”

All signs point to another frustrating season at the Coliseum.

“If I’m (general manager David Forst), I don’t know how you operate under these circumstances,” May said. “I don’t know how you do that job. He’s finding a way though.”

Muller, a key piece to the prospect package the A’s received from Atlanta in the Sean Murphy trade before last season, is out of options, so he’ll have to break camp with the team or possibly be lost to a waiver claim. Sunday, Muller made his Cactus League debut and allowed one run with three strikeouts in two innings in Oakland’s 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Glendale, Arizona.

The 26-year-old lefty was the A’s Opening Day starter last season and had a good start, then struggled and was demoted to the minors. When he returned, the former Braves second-round draft pick mostly pitched out of the bullpen with mixed results.

Muller allowed just two hits against the Dodgers, but one was a solo home run to Redwood City’s James Outman. The homer is notable because Muller struggled to keep the ball in the ballpark last season — he allowed 16 in 77 innings and at one point allowed at least one homer in nine straight appearances — and Outman bats left-handed. If Muller doesn’t claim a spot in the rotation he’d need to show he can consistently get left-handers out as a reliever.

Other than Outman’s homer, Muller had no trouble with the Dodgers’ other lefties: he struck out Freddie Freeman and Jayson Hayward swinging, and got Max Muncy looking. Muller didn’t get a chance face the Dodgers’ newest big left-handed bat, Shohei Ohtani, who has yet to make his spring debut.

The A’s offense for the second time in two spring games was mostly silent. The A’s, after collecting three hits in a 5-1 loss to the Rockies on Saturday, had five hits, and four of those were singles. Hoy Park, a candidate to fill the Tony Kemp utility role, doubled home Jacob Wilson, the A’s first-round pick last June, to end the Dodgers’ shutout bid in the top of the seventh. Park scored on a wild pitch.

— Dany Jimenez had an encouraging Cactus League debut, retiring all three batters he faced on fly balls. Jimenez led the team with 11 saves in 2022, but was not much of a factor last season because of an elbow strain and inconsistency. If he recaptures his 2022 form it’d be a big boost to a bullpen that figures to open the season with Mason Miller as the closer and Lucas Erceg as the primary setup man.

— On-base machine Zack Gelof started both the games over the weekend and reached base in both games. He was out of the game when younger brother Jake, the Dodgers’ second-round draft pick last June, struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.

— Muncy, the former A’s infielder, hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Francisco Perez to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Perez is another candidate for a left-handed role in the A’s bullpen, along with Scott Alexander, Sean Newcomb and Muller.

— The A’s continue Cactus League play on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now, Fans Fest is a celebration of Oakland sports clubs, such as the men’s and women’s soccer teams, Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul, the newly created baseball club, Oakland Ballers, the ultimate frisbee club, Oakland Spiders, and many more local clubs.

Oakland Athletics fan Hal Gordon, also known as “Hal the Hot Dog Guy,” who sells hot dogs at A’s games, wore a possum costume in honor of the famous possum who has appeared at the coliseum during night games since 2014. 

Former A’s players Coco Crisp, Grant Balfour, Trevor May and others turned out at to greet fans, sign autographs and pose for photos.

Read the full story here and see more photos from the event.

Joyce Wilson, a resident of Napa, was seated by the stadium’s entrance at least two hours before the gates opened to ensure she would be first into the venue. Not even eventually watching her beloved A’s drop their Cactus League opener 5-1 to Colorado could damper her spirits.

Clad in a customized 50th anniversary A’s jersey featuring her last name and the number 81 to represent the number of home games in a season, Wilson has been a season ticket holder for 35 years. In those years, she’s collected over 18,000 autographs.

“I have Rickey (Henderson), Big Papi (David Ortiz), Yoenis Cespedes, Joe Rudi,” Wilson said, continuing to rattle off names.

Wilson has been making the trek to Arizona to catch Cactus League ball for over 20 years now. Whether the team stays in Oakland a few more years, moves to Las Vegas, or anywhere in between, she has no plans to stop coming to Arizona.

“Oh yes, definitely, I want to support the guys,” Wilson said. “It’s not their fault (owner John) Fisher is doing what he’s doing. I’ll be an A’s fan wherever they are.”

Bay Area native Sabrina Brown wasn’t quite as supportive, saying she won’t be going to spring training or regular season games for the team she’s supported since 1968, once the season ends.

“This will be our last year and then they can go,” Brown said. “We’ll be done and over it. This is our last year being season ticket holders. Even if they stay next year, we won’t continue. Maybe still go to one or two (games). The team is good, but it’s the owners and (president) Dave Kaval (that are the issue).”

Brown’s husband, Adam, was born and raised a Los Angeles Dodgers fan but converted to A’s fandom after marrying Sabrina. Now, the two are taking their baseball attention back down south.

As for A’s fan Tyler Obalek, a Los Angeles native, this season represents one last opportunity to visit his favorite team’s stadium.

“My buddy and I are like ‘We got to go to a game this year’ and it’s on our bucket list for sure,” Obalek said, adding he’ll still support the team regardless where they play. “Besides the Warriors and Niners, there’s nothing left there. The move to Vegas doesn’t feel right in the slightest.”

There remains a possibility the A’s could play somewhere such as Sacramento for a few years before a stadium in Las Vegas is scheduled to be completed for the 2028 season. Travis Carpenter, a fan from Sacramento, would welcome the team’s temporary stay in his city.

“It’s a really hungry city for sports because we only have the Kings,” Carpenter said. “So if you’re really interested in baseball, football, something like that, we have to travel to the Bay Area. And now that those teams are disappearing, not only are they losing it, but Sacramento is, too.”

Carpenter took his 10-year-old son Rayce to his first A’s game last season, and this is their first year coming to spring training.

On Friday, Rayce was able to get his jersey signed by his favorite player, Zack Gelof. Whether in Oakland or Vegas, the Carpenters plan to go to one or two games a year moving forward. But it doesn’t make the franchise’s relocation any easier for them.

“It’s unfortunate, because I know the fan base is there,” the elder Carpenter said. “The A’s have been there for so long. It’s kind of like pulling the rug out from under generations of people.”

Brown and her family renounced their season tickets after holding them for four decades. Along the way, the family collected 1,500 autographed bats and an innumerable amount of other A’s memorabilia. But after 56 years in the Bay, she is frustrated a deal couldn’t be reached for the team to stay.

“There’s plenty of land, you have BART, you have Amtrak, the freeway, all the sideroads, there’s multiple ways in and out,” Brown complained. “Where they’re at now there’s still room to play and build up the area. It’s a whole sad situation.”

Oakland A’s manager Mark Kotsay was more optimistic about the franchise’s relocation situation.

“It’s potential, but it’s not certain, right?” Kotsay said following Oakland’s loss to Colorado in which Esteury Ruiz’s home run accounted for the A’s lone run. “My message is to come out and support the team and support the guys. I look forward to when the season starts, getting back in the Coliseum and playing in front of (the fans).”

With rumors that the A’s could agree to a lease extension at the Coliseum until 2028, the future lies in question. For at least one more year though, A’s fans will be rooted in Oakland.

Not when there’s something worth celebrating, that is.

The total attendance was estimated by event organizers to be “more than 10,000.” The A’s averaged about 10,400 fans per game last season.

“There’s an element of protest, just making sure the voices are continuing to be heard,” said Trevor May, a reliever for the A’s last year who was one of six former A’s players to show up Saturday. “But this is a celebration of fans, that’s what Fans Fest is. A celebration of everyone. Everyone here likes the same things, likes to be with each other, likes to hang out and go to games.

“We’re letting them know we (the players) liked being with them, too. We’re all in this together. We know we would all prefer a different situation and it’s none of our decisions. At least there’s support here.”

The event was billed as a celebration of sports teams, not an anti-A’s fest, but it turned out to be a little bit of both.

It felt like a block party, with music playing and beer flowing starting at 11 a.m., as fans entered through various security checkpoints and then made their way to some of the 60 vendors throughout the square.

There were artists selling bobbleheads and pictures of special moments in A’s history, memorabilia collectors selling autographs and baseballs, autograph tents where former players met with fans, live music, a stage for special guests and all the food and beer one could ask for on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Watching it all unfold, event organizer Bryan Johansen, one of the founders of the Last Dive Bar fan group, couldn’t stop smiling.

“I just got back; I had to go pick up the players, I did a beer run, and this looks amazing and beautiful,” he said. “I’m going to love looking back at all the pictures. I just hope everybody has an amazing time.”

Along with May, fellow former A’s Coco Crisp, Grant Balfour, Ben Grieve, Billy North and Mike Norris spent time with the fans.

“It just feels like a bash for the fans of this city, and we’re showing love for them,” Crisp said.

The A’s lease at the Coliseum expires after this season, meaning it could be the team’s last after 57 years in Oakland. Conversations are ongoing between the team and the city in an attempt to extend the lease, but Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said Saturday that she’s still demanding that the A’s name and logo stay in Oakland, and that MLB guarantees the city an expansion team after the A’s leave for Las Vegas.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he’s not in position to guarantee expansion. Thao, who showed up to Fans Fest wearing a hat supporting the new independent-league Oakland Ballers, sat down for an interview with baseball show Foul Territory and said she is not budging.

“There comes a time when you have to cut the cancer, that’s my position,” Thao said about getting rid of A’s owner John Fisher. “Keep the A’s branding and name and we get an expansion team.”

Thao said she hasn’t spoken with Fisher in a long time.

“Good luck in Las Vegas,” she said. “I know John Fisher is going to do John Fisher things.”

Thao said Saturday’s event was “way better than anything John Fisher could do. The energy is amazing. There’s nothing like Oakland fans.”

Those fans plastered Fisher’s face on the outside of portable toilets at the event, aptly named “The Johns”.

There was some extra controversy before the event, when Drake’s Brewing Company, an original sponsor that also serves at the Coliseum, pulled out at the last minute. Drake’s hasn’t commented about why they pulled out, and the A’s have told media outlets they did not contact Drake’s about their involvement, but event organizers remained suspicious.

“Hours before the event they pulled out with no explanation given, just unforeseen circumstances,” Johansen said. “We know Aramark (a food vendor that works with multiple MLB teams) is who they report to. The A’s can say they didn’t contact Drake’s, but did they contact Aramark? It’s just unfortunate.”

Several East Bay breweries, including Fieldwork and Altamont stepped in to fill out the lineup alongside Dokkaebier, 21st Amendment and others.

Thao was one of many who voiced her support for Schools Over Stadiums, a political action group made up of Nevada teachers trying to stop the $380 million in state public funding from going towards a new ballpark in Las Vegas.

The lines were long at the Schools Over Stadiums tent on Saturday, where spokesperson Alex Marks was informing A’s fans how they could help support the cause.

“We’re just here to say thank you to these fans who have been so supportive,” Marks said while standing in front of a sign that read, “STOP THE VEGAS SCAM.”

At one point during the event, a “Let’s go Oakland” chant broke out as if it was the middle of an A’s game.

“I wanted to see how big Fans Fest was going to be,” said Nick Freiri, a longtime A’s fan from Los Gatos. “As a fan, what can we do as a community to show our voices here? We’re here to let them know the fans aren’t the problem. It’s the ownership.”

The former A’s players were sympathetic to the fans’ cause.

“The love of the fans, the support I had when I was here, the way they embraced me, I felt this was the time to come up here and enjoy this moment and be around the fans,” said Balfour, the closer d

uring his years in Oakland from 2011-13. “There’s so much history, I’ll be sad to see them go. I’d rather see Vegas get a new team and start fresh.”

Now it’s time to play baseball, as Cactus League play gets underway today with the A’s hosting the Rockies at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.

All A’s home games during Spring Training will air on Bloomberg 960-AM and stream online A’s Cast. Most away games will stream on A’s Cast. Two A’s home games, on March 15 and March 25, will be televised on NBC Sports California.

The radio broadcasts will feature Ken Korach, returning for his 29th season with the A’s and his 19th as the team’s lead radio announcer; Vince Cotroneo, beginning his 19th season with the Club; and Johnny Doskow, who is entering his second season with the A’s.

The two NBC Sports California spring telecasts will feature Jenny Cavnar, a 20-year media veteran who was recently named the primary play-by-play announcer for live-game coverage of the A’s, and former A’s pitcher Dallas Braden as color analyst.

Here is the schedule, with information on how to tune into each game:

All times Pacific

Sat, Feb. 24, 12:05 p.m. — vs. Rockies, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sun, Feb. 25, 12:05 p.m. — at Dodgers, A’s Cast

Mon, Feb. 26, 12:05 p.m. — vs. Diamondbacks, Bloomberg 960 AM,  A’s Cast

Tue, Feb. 27, 12:05 p.m. – at Guardians, A’s Cast

Wed, Feb. 28, 12:05 p.m. – vs. Giants, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Thu, Feb. 29, 12:05 p.m. – vs. Padres, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Fri, March 1, 12:05 p.m. – at Royals, A’s Cast

Sat, March 2, 12:10 p.m. – at Mariners, A’s Cast

Sun, March 3, 12:05 p.m. — vs. Rangers, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Mon, March 4, 12:10 p.m. — at Reds, A’s Cast

Wed., March 6, 12:10 p.m. — at Angels, A’s Cast

Thu, March 7, 12:05 p.m. — vs. Guardians, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Fri, March 8, 12:10 p.m. — at Brewers

Fri., March 8. 6:05 p.m. — vs. Brewers (in Las Vegas), Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sat, March 9, 12:05 p.m. — vs. Brewers (in Las Vegas); Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sat., March 9, 12:05 p.m. — at Giants

Sun, March 10, 1:05 p.m. — vs. Royals, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Mon, March 11, 1:10 p.m. – at Diamondbacks, A’s Cast

Tue, March 12, 1:05 p.m. – vs. Mariners, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Wed, March 13, 1:10 p.m. – at Padres, A’s Cast

Thurs., March 14, 1:05 p.m. – at Cubs, A’s Cast

Fri, March 15, 1:05 p.m. – vs. Giants, NBC Sports California, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sat, March 16, 1:05 p.m. – vs. Brewers, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sat, March 16, 1:10 p.m. – at Rockies

Sun, March 17, 1:05 p.m. – vs. White Sox, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Mon, March 18, 1:10 p.m. – at Diamondbacks, A’s Cast

Tue, March 19, 1:10 p.m. – at Rangers, A’s Cast

Wed, March 20, 1:05 p.m. – vs. Cubs, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Fri, March 22, 1:05 p.m. – at White Sox

Fri, March 22, 1:05 p.m. — vs. Reds, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Sat, March 23, 12:05 p.m. – vs. Angels, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Mon, March 25, 6:40 p.m. – vs. Giants (in Oakland), NBC Sports California, Bloomberg 960 AM, A’s Cast

Tues., March 26, 5:05 p.m. – at Giants (in San Francisco), Bloomberg 960 AM