The Oakland sports world has been facing major trouble in recent years. In 2019, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors shifted across the bay to San Francisco. The next year, the NFL’s Raiders resettled in Las Vegas. Now, it seems like MLB’s Athletics are also headed in the same direction. The city will officially have no more major sports teams to boast about.
For the A’s, owner John Fisher announced last month that he wants to relocate to a better stadium along the Vegas Strip. It has become such a central issue in the sports world that even NBA analysts are talking about it. Apparently, not even the recent Steph Curry-LeBron James clash is a big enough issue! A’s fans are certainly not happy with Fisher. One popular ESPN commentator for the NBA even thinks the next owner of the A’s should be MLB veteran Alex Rodriguez.
Jeff Van Gundy advocates for Alex Rodriguez to purchase the Oakland Athletics
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Former New York Yankees player and businessman extraordinaire, A-Rod has remained active in the sports world even after his retirement. Acting as an analyst for FOX Sports as well as keeping up with the NBA news is part of his job description. But could he add ‘MLB team owner’ to his resume? ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy certainly thinks so.
Martinez native Jeff Van Gundy speaking out for the A's during Game 2 of the Lakers/Warriors series. pic.twitter.com/gFdPvLWRQ0
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) May 5, 2023
After all, Rodriguez has already been handling part-ownership of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. At a recent game, Gundy discussed the looming fate of the A’s with another broadcaster. The former shortstop was sitting courtside and Gundy mentioned him, “…And I hope Alex Rodriguez is here partly to try to buy the Oakland A’s. The greatest baseball dynasty from ’72-’74 that Major League Baseball has ever seen. To see them at six wins now, it’s so disappointing…I hope he buys them.”
Seeing as how fans have taken to chanting “Sell the team!” at the A’s games, they would certainly welcome a new owner. As for how well-received A-Rod will be remains to be seen. Interestingly, he actually bid for a baseball team a few years ago, but was unsuccessful.
A-Rod and Jennifer Lopez’s failed bid for the New York Mets
Before Steve Cohen bought the Mets from the Wilpon/ Katz family, A-Rod and his then-fiancee J-Lo were involved in a bidding war with him. But reportedly, despite whatever numbers they offered, it would have never gone to Rodriguez.
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Given his PED past, the couple was careful to state that Lopez would be the one making the final decisions. But the previous owners remained unfazed and the Mets ultimately went to Cohen.
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WATCH THIS STORY ??Alex ?A-Rod? Rodriguez Tried Being a Salesman for Minnesota Timberwolves Tickets for a Day- Here?s How It Turned Out
Could this be A-Rod’s chance to get back in the bidding game? Do you think he could make it as an MLB team owner?