After nearly six decades, Oakland Athletics is moving to its new home. But this shift is not without backlash, this time, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks has called out team owner John Fisher. After all, the team is engrained into the hearts of fans; and to address them, Fisher recently wrote a letter on X. But instead of calming down the fans, it just enraged people more, including ABC7 reporter Larry Beil calling out Fisher saying his letter is a ‘work of fiction’ and he is a “pocket pincher” and a “disgrace to his family name”.

And the backlash didn’t stop there; Tom Hanks also blamed Major League Baseball. Well, before Hanks became the famed Hollywood actor he is now, he was just a boy in the Bay area. The Oakland Athletics moved to the area when he was just 12, but it didn’t take long for him to bond with the team. “When the A’s were in the World Series, the world came to Oakland, Not San Francisco. Oakland,” Hanks wrote in an email to The Athletic. And now, after 56 years, the team is leaving, and he has a lot to say.

Tom Hanks calls out John Fisher 

Tom Hanks is a die-hard fan of the Oakland Athletics, and he remembers every little detail about them. He recalled seeing the Coliseum lights from his family home. As a high-schooler, he experienced the raw emotions of watching the team he supports win three World Series titles. He attended the “Hot Pants Day,” and saw Willie Mays’ final at-bat. Plus, Hanks even worked as a popcorn vendor at the stadium. The memory is still etched perfectly in his brain even after decades; and he spoke his mind about the ordinal.

Tom Hanks was in disbelief at how Major League Baseball could let such a rich and strong franchise crumble. Hanks laid the blame completely, not on the city which the owner of the team has mentioned as plentiful, but on MLB and Fisher. “How in the world does Major League Baseball turn inside-out one of the most storied franchises in the history of the game?” He said to the Athletic, adding, “I don’t blame that loss on the city managers of Oakland, nor the taxpayers of Alameda County. The owners and baseball blew the lead.” And it’s already a theory that most fans have on John Fisher.

Fans were seen at the Coliseum asking for the stadium’s dirt.; a sight that brought many to tears. The crew of the stadium collected it and gave fans, who later voiced that the crew seemed to care more than the owner. Now, the last game is due at the Coliseum on Thursday, when they will finally close their doors before heading to Sacramento, and then, Las Vegas. It’s the end of an era.

Grey Papa gets choked up with Oakland Athletics leaving.

Broadcaster Greg Papa, who was also the television play-by-play announcer for the Oakland A’s with Ray Fosse from 1991 to 2003, isn’t thrilled either. He got emotional during his final goodbye to the Coliseum, since they were closing their doors. After the game, Greg Papa expressed his feelings, and his shaking voice said a lot more than his words. He mentioned how the vibe at the Oakland Athletics stadium first felt like a reunion, with plenty of faces of people he hadn’t seen for years. But it soon turned more heartbreaking.

Greg Papa, getting all choked up, said, “But then when I got in the car and drove away, it felt more like a funeral and it felt like someone very close to us has died and you’re not going to see him again.” He voiced a sentiment many fans are going through – they are mourning. Looking at the reaction from Papa, a fan voiced, “The MLB and John Fisher should be taken to court and the city of Oakland be handed Athletics history and name and color.” Like him, many fans have voiced their displeasure. But the truth is, it is a closed chapter now.

Now, the team is set to move and even their name ‘Oakland Athletics’ will fade, leaving just Athletics—a team stripped of its roots. What’s your take on this? Share your thoughts in the comments.