Barry Zito’s best baseball skill might have been his gravity-defying curveball. But the one-time Cy Young Award winner can carry a tune, too — and for that reason, he briefly took center stage for Oakland Athletics fans one more time.
Zito performed the national anthem before the Athletics’ final game in Oakland on Thursday, part of a series of pregame festivities that welcomed back A’s greats. Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart each threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game began against the Texas Rangers.
Oakland Coliseum has been the home of the A’s since the franchise moved from Kansas City in 1968. But the team will play in Sacramento starting next season as it finalizes plans to relocate to Las Vegas.
The crowd roared at the surprise appearance of Zito, who has embarked on a professional music career since retiring from baseball in 2015. At the end of the performance, there was a flyover and a loud “Let’s Go Oakland” chant. Fans waved their caps in the air at Zito.
Former A’s ace Barry Zito sings the national anthem 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/wDDw9Vwf3Z
— A’s on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) September 26, 2024
Henderson and Stewart, both franchise icons and Oakland natives, were also main attractions for fans. Before the A’s and Rangers began the game, both Henderson and Stewart entertained long lines of fans asking for autographs.
Zito, 46, was part of a dominant Oakland rotation that helped the team to four American League West titles in seven years. He made All-Star appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2006, and earned the Cy Young in 2002, winning 23 games for an A’s team that went 103-59.
The left-hander spent his next seven seasons across the bay with the San Francisco Giants before returning to the A’s for his final season in 2015.
The A’s, after 56 years, will relocate to the state’s capital, roughly an hour and 30 minutes northeast. The team will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. Sutter Health has been home to San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate, the River Cats. The move comes five years after the Raiders — who played in the Oakland Coliseum from 1966 to 1981 and 1995 to 2019 left for Las Vegas.
Oakland is 68-90 in its final season in the city, a record that ranks ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels (63-95 entering Thursday) and Chicago White Sox (38-120 entering Thursday) in the AL. Both the Angels and White Sox set franchise records for losses this season.
The A’s did, however, have a better record at home (37-43) than on the road (31-47). And while the stakes Thursday were meaningless as it pertains to Major League Baseball’s playoffs, A’s fans filled the Oakland Coliseum for one final, sentimental ballgame — their signs showcasing a mixture of sadness and disdain for their home team’s departure.
The first pitch from A’s rookie right-hander J.T. Ginn was a strike at 12:37 p.m. local time.
(Photo: Eakin Howard / Getty Images)
