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Marcus Semien, a native of East Bay and former A's star, is sentimental about the move

Posted on by Vanessa
Marcus Semien, a native of East Bay and former A's star, is sentimental about the move

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OAKLAND – Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien walked into the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday and memories immediately burned through his body.

He no longer plays for the Oakland A's and no longer lives in the Bay Area, but his heart and soul will always be here.

This is my home.

He was born and raised in the East Bay.

With the A's, he developed into an All-Star level player.

He became a rich man after playing for the A's.

And now, after coming to the Coliseum at just five years old and cheering on Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Jermaine Dye and all the A's great stars, later playing for the A's and now appearing as a guest player, it hit him on Tuesday night.

This will be the last time in his life that he plays baseball at the Coliseum, as the A's play their final game at the stadium against the Rangers on Thursday.

“I'm focused on playing good baseball,” Semien said, “but it's pretty surreal when someone tells you these are the last baseball games here. I still don't believe it.”

“I'm sure when the game is over (on Thursday) and I take the bus out of here, it will really hit me.”

After the season, the A's will move to Sacramento, two hours north of Oakland, where they will play for at least the next three years.

They will then play permanently in Las Vegas starting in the 2028 season.

And in one fell swoop, the 57-year-old Oakland Coliseum, home of four World Series championships, six league championships, 17 division titles and seven Hall of Famers, will be vacant.

“Definitely, it's very emotional for me,” Semien said. “This place is special to me. They gave me a chance here.”

“I've played a lot of major league baseball here, apparently more than anyone else in the league right now. I've trained in this weight room and developed into a major league player here. So that's the part that really hurts.”

MORE: News anchor has had enough of A's owner John Fisher

Semien has actually played more games at the Coliseum (408) than any other active player and is also the active leader in hits, doubles, triples and runs at the stadium.

Now he will say goodbye, perhaps with a shovel of dirt, before leaving the field on Thursday.

Semien says his entire family will be in attendance for the three-game series, including Thursday's finale. Security officials spoke with the Rangers before Tuesday's game and warned them to be cautious in case fans get overzealous.

There are expected to be 200 Oakland police officers on hand (usually 19), but this will be a game like no other, having been sold out for months.

Semien believes the crowd will be respectful because he knows that if things are thrown onto the field, A's owner John Fisher won't clean up the debris. The cleanup will have to be done by the loyal stadium workers, most of whom will lose their jobs after Thursday.

“Personally, I'm not (concerned),” Semien said. “We've come up with a plan to make sure everyone is safe. I'm fine. I don't know exactly what the whole thing looks like yet, but I think they've come up with a pretty good plan.”

“I mean, I wasn't here for the last Raider game, but I saw how frustrated the Raider fans were and that they left. That's totally understandable.”

Semien hopes he won't have to worry about fan action, but that his last memory of the Coliseum will be a home run and maybe a win, shoveling some dust off the infield before he leaves town.

“It's a special place, especially for a kid growing up in this area,” Semien said. “When the Raiders left and this became a baseball stadium, I thought, 'This is cool.' I spent the offseason here, training on the field. I just thought this was a fresh start. It's already over.”

“So it’s kind of sad how quickly this happened.”

Although the A's are no longer there, the Coliseum will not be demolished because football games and other events are planned at the facility.

Who knows, maybe one day a billionaire will come along, renovate or rebuild the Coliseum, and consider Oakland as a potential site for an MLB expansion.

“I still think there's hope that a team will come back here at some point,” Semien said. “This property will still be there if they ever want to build a stadium. So if someone takes it over and comes up with the idea of ​​bringing them back …

“It depends on who's in charge, you know. But it's an area that's hungry for baseball, no matter what the attendance looks like at times. If the ballclub is good and there were better facilities, it would be a better situation.”

Semien can also attest that miracles can happen. When he played for the University of California, Berkeley, the baseball program was scheduled to be shut down after his junior year in 2011. Players were already planning recruiting trips to various schools. In the middle of the season, the team was saved by $9 million in donations.

Who knows, maybe one day someone will be able to help again.

“I'm not a billionaire, I'm a player,” Semien said. “I wish the A's had a nicer place here. I grew up here. I played here. I know this area.”

“With good facilities, good concessions and a good fan experience, you attract people. It's about the people. It's something special for this community.”

“I know all the security people. I know all the people who work here. I feel sorry for them.”

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