On April 21st the 3-0 Take Podcast posted a tweet from Danny Vietti about the Oakland Athletics attendance numbers. He said “to those clowning the A’s for having poor attendance; go ahead…But, understand why this is happening. This is a boycott by A’s fans after nearly 2 decades of watching their owner refused to invest in the team they love…It’s not that A’s fans don’t exist. They’re tied of the BS. It’s a boycott.”
First, A’s fans are not boycotting because of what has happened with the ownership groups over the past 20 plus seasons. The reason is much simpler and it is due to owner John Fisher and team president Dave Kaval.
What is interesting though is when Kaval first started in the role he was all about the fan experience. Now, it is almost as if he is a ghost and there is now a major disconnect and zero communication between him and the fans who are justifiably upset.
A’s fan John Cook points out what Kaval’s mistake was and how to fix it. He tweeted “here’s what to do Dave Kaval. Put out a press release admitting that the 2022 ticket fiasco was clearly an error in judgment and, based on the feedback of our passionate fans, we’ve decided to bring back A’s Access immediately with more favorable pricing…to bring back the energy of our fans at the Coliseum.”
Even better though tonight the A’s game was broadcast on Apple TV, where fans were interviewed about the situation and called out A’s ownership for what is happening. A tweet from Hannah said “the way the broadcast is supporting us is more than ownership ever will. Honestly pleasantly surprised.”
Athleticsgirl also tweeted tonight “Wow. Super shocked the MLB Network crew is calling out the Athletics ownership on national TV. Not to mention that they got it right. GO A’s.”
For those unaware of the reasons for why A’s fans are staying away it is due to the ticket prices being raised drastically, trading away Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea, not attempting to re-sign several key free agents including Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Josh Harrison, letting manager Bob Melvin leave of the San Diego Padres without any compensation, and worst of all not spending any money on free agents.
So no, Vietti this has nothing to do with what has happened the last 20 plus seasons, it has everything to do with what is going on with the franchise at this current moment. Yet it seems that the attendance issue will become a recurring theme in 2022 until the A’s organization decides to fix the mess that was created.