The Athletics will be granted permission to move to San Jose by February, top Major League sources tell Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). A's GM Billy Beane declined comment on the report according to Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). However, Nightengale tweets that the A's have received private assurances from MLB about the impending approval but cannot speak about it publicly.
The A's have been said to be basing their spending decisions on the fate of the new stadium. Getting a new ballpark would signal the club to go into an all-out rebuilding mode in order to field a competitive team for the new space. If the A's didn't feel that they could get the new stadium that they seek, they likely would have increased spending in the short-term in order to make the franchise more attractive to a prospective owner.
Yesterday, Beane admitted that the club's recent moves were made with an eye on a brand new ballpark being in their future. The club's recent trades involving Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez give the A's a fresh stock of prospects that should be able to help them win a few years down the road.
The Athletics will have to pay the Giants for territorial rights if they move to San Jose, but that amount has yet to be determined, Nightengale tweets.
Let them move into that planned NFL stadium for LA
beats whatever Oakland can offer.
Why would MLB want another team in LA? And in a football stadium too? Do you miss the 500 foot walls and fake grass?
Truthfully, with all the tech firms and internet billionaires and the hour plus trip to San Francisco theres probably a better revenue base in San Jose than in the much larger LA.
What are you talking about? They ARE leaving Oakland.
i know. my comment was a joke.
chill out everyone
If that was truly meant as a joke, you may want to give up on sarcasm.
I really don’t see a joke and think you are covering for getting called out.
My thoughts exactly.
Nothing is written in stone. Back in 1991, I remember hearing that the Giants ARE leaving San Francisco for St. Petersburg.
Russia?
Florida?
annnnd they were saved by the A’s and their kind owners. Shame the Giants dont have that same kindness toward the A’s when the situations were reversed. Scumbags.
A certain Justin Timberlake song comes into my head fr this post.
is it di(k in a box
Technically that is Lonely Island ft. Justin Timberlake
Technically that is Lonely Island ft. Justin Timberlake
The Giants of San Francisco were also moving to Toronto in the seventies, but that never happened either, which enabled the Blue Jays to receive an expansion team.
This might be good… Just have to wonder if some slight of hand deal went on underneath the table with Selig and the Giants? Payout between the Giants and MLB in general to make up for supposed future loss of revenue in exchange for allowing Oakland to have some of their “turf”?
Regardless, would have never thought the Giants had given permission and Selig is not of the spine to force his will upon anyone. Great news regardless on the face of it.
Seeing as the Giants had no legal rights whatsoever other than a handshake agreement from 1992 that was based on the Giants moving to SJ in the late 90s that didnt happen, the Giants dont deserve anything. Selig should have immediately crushed those fake “rights” the A’s gave the Giants 5 years ago. No court would side with them, because the whole scenario is illogical and not bound by any law.
No pro sports team in America has “territorial rights”, other than the Giants and San Jose.
Corporate worlds can work in strange ways is what have always thought of when teams move and television rights, not fan in seat.
It is kind of like, say another CBS affiliate for example wanting to move close to another, thereby taking viewership from another and the SFG do get to keep a good portion of local broadcast without sharing.
Yes.. I understand fully there was an agreement years ago between the 2, but things change in the business world over time for anyone who has been in that circle and if nothing is put on paper? Toss it out in the wind, nothing matters anyway.
Why IMO there had (IMO)to be some kind of cash going to the SFG in order to make up for future “damages” to the Giants for lost local TV revenue.
It wasn’t a handshake, it was a signed document. The A’s blew it by not having an expiratiion date. And your courts will do no good because baseball has an antitrusst exemption. If Selig had the power to move the team to San Jose he would have done it long ago. Selig want MLB to be in San Jose, that’s why he chose Wolfe to be the owner. Not bound by any law? Since when is a signed agreement not binding?
So you’re saying that Bud Selig “chose” Lew Wolff to be the A’s owner (co-owner, actually) because he wants “MLB” (I’m assuming you mean the A’s) to be in San Jose, even though — according to you — Selig doesn’t have the power to move the team to San Jose, or else he would have done it long ago??
How does that make any sense, whatsoever?
You mean we may finally have a time frame?!? About freaking time!!!
this isn’t anything official, what are you so excited about?
Did I not use the word “may”? And why would there be any reason to doubt Nightengale’s reporting? If this wasn’t true, Beane probably would have told Joe Stiglich that “we’re still awaiting a decision, but remain optimistic that we’ll hear something soon,” just like the umpteen other times he’s been asked about the stadium situation over the past few weeks.
Not to mention, *someone* would have refuted Nightengale’s report by now if they had any reason to doubt its validity. And no one has.
over analysis? i like it!
Horrible move. I go to San Jose State, and I all I ever see is Giants hats. How are they going to build a fanbase?
…by winning
cross your fingers
Most of them are just fair weather followers. And keep in mind that the Giants drew poorly for a long time before they moved into AT&T Park. A new ballpark will definitely mean increased attendance and revenue for the A’s, as well.
Wait, you go to San Jose State, but you can remember things that happened in 1991?
Wait, you go to San Jose State, but you can remember things that happened in 1991?
Hey not everyone suffers infantile amnesia.
Uhhh yeah, it’s called being a returning student in my late 20’s that was born in 1983, so try to find another way to try to impress people by seeming clever.
By being in San Jose with a competitive modern ballpark?
Pirates and Padres fans would like to have a talk with you….
It’s kinda telling that no one at SJSU wears SJSU hats eh? I guarantee that if the A’s were 2 miles down the road from SJSU there would be A’s hats everywhere, just like everyone downtown is obsessed with the SJ Sharks.
On the contrary, I see plenty of people wearing SJSU stuff, but you’d have to combine people wearing SJSU stuff and A’s stuff just to get three-fourths of the people I see walking around with 2010 World Series Champs shirts. You make a good point about the Sharks, but I honestly don’t see thousands of people jumping ship, especially since the Giants just won the title, and most fairweather Giants fans already root for the Yanks and Sox as their “back-up” team.
The fan base that would be gained would be the casual fan and that is what they are lacking now. The sf hats are everywhere because 90% of the state regularly broadcasts the giants game and the a’s get nothing. If the stadium is walking distance from state then you will see plenty more a’s hats. The clowns wearing the 2010 chip shirts are all bandwagon people anyways.
as long as they just get a new freaking stadium already
Doesn’t matter. Horrible sports state.
San Jose Athletics or are they still in Oakland?
It’s long been rumored that they’d become “The Oakland A’s of San Jose” if/when they moved there.
They were only to become “at” when moving to Fremont they would have been San Jose a’s at Fremont or silicon valley a’s at Fremont. Was at not of. They will be just San Jose Athletics.
How sure are you of this?
I can vouch. The entire point of moving to Fremont was to be as close to San Jose as
they could without breaking the Giant’s territorial rights. The A’s owner Lew Wolff stopped just short of saying as much. He thanked the Angels for doing the legal work of naming themselves after a city in another team’s territory while taking about the Fremont move.
Now that they are moving the team to San Jose, the city of San Jose is selling them the land at a discount, and you can bet your nose that they have no intention of doing this to get a team named after another city.
Following the Angels if that happens
You are the worst if you do that.
Bandwagon foo!
Watching all those contracts turn into albatrosses will be exciting, I bet.
I can’t seem to find any information about the name change, San Jose A’s sounds terrible, They should keep Oakland..
the Oakland A’s of San Jose? kinda like the LA Angels of Anaheim?
I would support The California A’s too, the Angels had it right and were far less hate-able when they had that name.
This is nice piece of xmas news! Keeping the A’s in the Bay is better than them moving to Portland/Vegas/San Antonio etc. I can live with this, if they left I’d give up being a fan of baseball. A move to the wealthy SJ area, an area thats shown the Sharks so much love and support, is so great, the A’s would immediately become suitors to any big name FA and would finally become successful again.
This is probably good for baseball. The A’s have moved from a big market (Philadelphia) to a smaller market (KC) to an even smaller, poorer market (Oakland). Now let’s hope that given a bigger, wealthier market they can again prosper.
When the A’s were in Philadelphia and KC, there were no small markets or big markets…
”
When the A’s were in Philadelphia and KC, there were no small markets or big markets..”
Had to add this…
They were moved by 2 notorious skin flints in Connie Mack and Charlie “O”, then those people won all the WC’s also unless go back to the turn of the century and the steroid, late 80’s era of Canseco and McGuire.
Greener pastures are ahead if they are moving. Just hope the ghost of Charlie O’s mule does not go along with them.
McGwire … no one seems to be able to spell his name…
The A’s play in the fifth largest market in the US. That small market talk is a myth.
Why do so many A’s haters insist on crying foul when anyone DARES call them a small market team? No, they’re not technically located in a small market. Most people are aware of that. But they ARE a low revenue team, and they ARE a small budget team. So what’s the harm in people referring to them as a small market team, when they do, in fact, have to operate like one?
Never understood the anger the giants had against the move… San Jose is an hours drive, give or take more or less time with traffic, south of San fransisco. Where as Oakland can be seen from San Fran, it is a 5 minute boat ride and a 20 minute drive. This could actually help the giants by making the closest MLB team now even further away.
Giant’s are hoping to drive the A’s out of the bay area all together.
the “anger” is due to the giants high A team, the San Jose Giants. they’re worried about the A’s taking away all the san jose fan base. i dont think the giants are throwing a hissy fit just for funsies…to my knowledge. hope i helped.
I live in San Jose and I can tell you it has NOTHING to do with the SJ Giants. The Giants don’t care at all about the SJ Giants. The city of San Jose begged the SF Giants for years to help renovate the San Jose municipal stadium where the SJ Giants play. The SF Giants told the city to shove their problems where the sun don’t shine.
Finally, when the A’s seriously looked like they might move to San Jose, the SF giants bought a controlling stake in the SJ Giants and cried foul that San Jose was the heart of their territory (SF be damned evidently). Believe me when I say the SF Giants only see the SJ Giants as a negotiating chip and nothing else.
There is no rule that says the SJ Giants and the San Jose A’s can’t exist in the same city. The SF Giants are just using them to extract franchise and moving $$$ from the MLB, or trick owners into thinking San Jose really is more important to them then San Francisco. Once this is over, the SF Giants will sell their stake in the team and go back to not caring.
Maybe Giants get some $$$ for an increase payroll if there is money considerations. Probably a 0.0000000009% chance this happens but if payout is good would they consider Fielder for 5 or 6 years?
you already answered your question
What, are you expecting the comp to be 100 million dollars or something?
Don’t count on Bud the Doofus! He’s been sitting on this for years while the A’s franchise withers.
A decisive leader he isn’t. His 8 figure salary is an outrage.
Only like 1010 days since he started the blue ribbon committee .. Ugh
Unrelated to baseball, but merry Christmas to the fellow commenters, and to the writers at MLBTR.
Ditto. Let’s just hope that Tim makes at least one guy work on Christmas so I can check the site between the festivities.
maybe they could just keep reposting how so many mystery teams are interested in seth smith
Ditto!
Ditto!
Why would the A’s have to pay San Fran when they are moving from 14-15 miles away currently, to ~50 miles away? Does that make any sense to anyone? I would think SF would be happy to have a team from across the bay move out of their immediate territory. I have never understood how a city with that population could support two teams (and they haven’t). At least this way you have some distance between the two teams.
It only makes sense to the evil Giants, who took the A’s owners kindness and turned it on them and refused to extend the same kind hand when the A’s needed the EXACT same help some 20 years later. Holding onto “rights” that were given in order to keep the Giants in the Bay Area, so the Giants could eliminate the A’s from the Bay Area, is disgusting. The Giants should be laughed out of any court if they chose to sue over this.
Not to mention the A’s in SJ would make them further away and the Giants could set up a fanbase in Oakland when the A’s move. Most SF residents who were in SF when they won the WS are moving to Oakland anyway because the rents are going up.
hahah wow
Truth hurts bro. I used to like the giants until they got their new park and used the SF media (mostly Ratto) to openly turn the public against the A’s to the point where they wanted them out of the Bay. Neukom is an outright scumbag.
honestly doesnt hurt me at all..too bad you switched, good luck with your future decisions.
the problem lies with the giants high A team, the San Jose Giants. they’re worried about the A’s taking away all the san jose fan base. i dont think the giants are throwing a hissy fit just for funsies…to my knowledge…in my opinion
Not true. See my other post for full details, but the City of San Jose asked the Giants multiple times for funds to renovate the aging facilities the SJ Giants play in and were told to take a hike.
Two years ago, only when it started looking likely the A’s would go to San Jose, did the SF Giants buy a controlling stake in the SJ Giants and make any renovations.
The meager value of the SJ Giants is dwarfed by the franchise value increase to the Giants if the A’s leave the bay area. The Giants would be on a level only the Yankees and Red Sox achieved.
This is all about the SF Giants doing what is best for for their bottom line at the expense of what is best for baseball. The second this is over, no matter the outcome, they will sell their stake in the SJ Giants and go back to barely caring about their high A team–just like every other team in baseball.
It only makes sense to the evil Giants, who took the A’s owners kindness and turned it on them and refused to extend the same kind hand when the A’s needed the EXACT same help some 20 years later. Holding onto “rights” that were given in order to keep the Giants in the Bay Area, so the Giants could eliminate the A’s from the Bay Area, is disgusting. The Giants should be laughed out of any court if they chose to sue over this.
Not to mention the A’s in SJ would make them further away and the Giants could set up a fanbase in Oakland when the A’s move. Most SF residents who were in SF when they won the WS are moving to Oakland anyway because the rents are going up.
The San Jose A’s will siphon off ad dollars and ticket sales from the corporations that supported the Giants. With the A’s in San Jose, it will be harder for the Giants to make money from the businesses in Sillicone Valley.
The dirty little secret that the Giants don’t want anyone to know about is the Giants are doing an awful job of tapping Silicon Valley Businesses. A couple years ago a group of Silicon Valley business, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), wrote a letter to the MLB requesting that the territorial rights of the Giants be waived and the A’s allowed to move to San Jose. The SVLG, according to their website, account for 25% of all private sector jobs in the Sillicon Valley region. Almost none of these companies however, currently advertise for the Giants.
The Giant’s have done an awful job taping Silicon Valley because they play in a city 75 minute drive from the region. Baseball knows this, and it’s one of the many reasons the A’s are being seriously considered for this move. In order to tap these companies, you need a team in the region WHERE they do business, not a 2.5 hour round trip away.
The added revenues to baseball from ACTUALLY tapping the wealth in this region will more then make up for the small amount of revenue the Giants will loose from another team moving there. Besides, if the SF Giants really believed–like they claim–that there is enough business revenue in Oakland for the A’s to survive, then they should have no problems stepping in and making up for their losses when the A’s move 40 miles south.
About time some news comes out. Oakland had its chance to get something done and they didn’t do it.
About time a decision comes on the stadium issue. Oakland had its chance and they were not going to get anything done. San Jose is still in the Bay Area and that is all that matters is that they won’t be leaving the Bay and they will not be playing in a crap hole anymore.
About time a decision comes on the stadium issue. Oakland had its chance and they were not going to get anything done. San Jose is still in the Bay Area and that is all that matters is that they won’t be leaving the Bay and they will not be playing in a crap hole anymore.
Oakland and the A’s deserve one another.
YES YES YES.
FINALLY.
Give it up for Pete! He is bringing it strong. As an A’s fan too this move is long overdue. Happy that a new stadium and revenue may finally give them a real shot at staying relevant. The Angels and Rangers have enormous payrolls and while the San Jose A’s may not be that high it should be enough to compete with.
Long live the San JosA’s!!!
Thank you!
As far as the name, Silicon Valley Athletics might roll off the tongue (and luxury box receipt) a little better than ‘San Jose’
If you’re going to use the stupid Silicon Valley monkier, you may as change the team name to the Motherboards or, keeping in line with being called the A’s, the CEO’s.
Orlando All-Stars?
Hawaii Beachers?
San Jose Sharks?
Las Vegas Casino’s?
Monterrey Mexican’s?
Then . . . the Giants could move their AAA club to Oakland so that their players would only have to cross a bridge to be called up or down — of which will be happening a great deal with the rise of the D-Backs and new owners in L.A.
Soo dumb why not move them to North Carolina?? More people there and they wouldnt have to compete with anyone for the market….
The
Giant’s ex-managing partner Bill Nukem, is a high powered attorney who has
argued in front of the supreme court. The planned this strategy because
it maximizes profits for the Giants. Pretty much no matter what happens
the Giants win.
If the A’s get their ideal outcome and the Giants end up sharing the Bay Area
with no compensation, the Giants win because their closest competition moves 40
miles south.
If the bay area becomes shared and the A’s move 40 miles south, but the Giants
scare the other owners with their strong arm tactics then they get a bigger pay
day then they might have if they had been complaint.
If the Giant’s win the jackpot and their strong arm tactics force the A’s to
leave NorCal, then the Giants will have the largest solo baseball market in the
US.
The downside is you are committing political suicide and screaming to 29 other
owners, “I don’t give a #$%& about baseball or you, just my bottom
line!” This attitude likely cost Bill Nukem his job.
I still don’t think the A’s will catch on in SJ. I’m from the Bay Area and all I see in SJ is Giants apparel. If they moved to Jack London Square, it would be in the best interest of everyone.
So i’ll be expecting an answer to this by the end of the day, kthx