Any amount of success on the field won’t do anything to heal the fans’ broken hearts or diminish their rage toward ownership. And after going a combined 104 games under .500 the past two seasons, simply no longer being mentioned in the same breath of the 1962 New York Mets and their modern-record 120 losses would be an improvement.

After losing 100 games in a season just once in their first 54 years in the Bay Area, the A’s have suffered that indignity in each of the past two: 112 games last season, a year after they lost 102.

The A’s are once again operating with by far the lowest payroll in the majors, and another 100-loss season wouldn’t be a surprise. Fangraphs.com projects the A’s will lose 91 games, but a sampling of major sports betting sites puts the number between 102 and 104 losses.

The A’s have had a winning record in a full month just once in the past two seasons – July 2022, when they went 14–12. The A’s finished 62 games under .500 last season and 42 games under in 2021.

The franchise is likely years away from a true revival, but here is a look at some of the players that need to come through to make the A’s competitive on their way out of the Bay Area.

Zack Gelof

The A’s used 104 different players the past two seasons and more roster churn is on the way, but it sure looks as if second base could be in good hands for a while. Gelof joined the A’s in early July and the 2021 second-round draft pick was an instant smash, becoming the first player in franchise history with 20 extra-base hits and 20 runs scored in his first 28 games. Gelof, 24, finished with a slash line of .267/.337/.840 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Those numbers project to 30 homers and 30 stolen bases over a full season, something only Jose Canseco has accomplished in franchise history. He passed the other Bash Brother, Mark McGwire, in the franchise record books with 10 home runs in his first 35 games, six fewer than it took Big Mac.

Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling

Much of the A’s present and future could very well be riding on the shoulders of the trio of 30-something former All-Stars. Oakland tied the 1915 Philadelphia A’s 108-year MLB record by using 24 different starting pitchers last season. The group combined to go 20-72 with a 5.74 ERA and produced a quality start – at least six innings and three or fewer runs – just 32 times. If Wood and Stripling, both former Giants, bounce back from down years and Blackburn can stay healthy, the trio would anchor a rotation that could keep the A’s competitive and allow the franchise’s young starters more time to develop. As an added bonus, if they are productive – and healthy – any or all of the trio almost certainly would be coveted around the trade deadline and could help the A’s add more pieces to their ongoing rebuilding project.

Brent Rooker and Seth Brown

Only the Guardians, Tigers and Royals have hit fewer home runs than the A’s among teams in the American League the past two seasons and the duo could form a formidable lefty-righty threat in the middle of the lineup – and make them valuable trade pieces later in the summer when teams look for bats to bolster their playoff hopes. Rooker and Brown led the A’s in home runs the past two seasons, respectively, but neither has displayed much consistency. Rooker went from off-season waiver claim to the A’s lone All-Star last season, but that was largely due to a huge opening month that saw him hit .353 with nine of his 30 home runs and a .465 on-base percentage. He mostly scuffled after that before socking eight homers in September. Brown also finished strong, but barely hit .200 most of the season, and after hitting 45 home runs in 2021-22 had a reduced role because of injuries and continued struggles to hit lefties.

Shea Langeliers

The catcher turned 26 during the winter, so he’s no longer a young prospect. But Langeliers has only spent one full season in the majors and still has time to show the A’s if he’s more than what they’ve seen – and make the Matt Olson trade not look so lopsided. Langeliers has power – 22 homers in 490 plate appearances last season – but also struck out 143 times (while batting .205 with a .268 on-base percentage) and has a career WAR of 1.2. He’s a better defensive option than top prospect Tyler Soderstrom, but the A’s will need Soderstom’s bat in the lineup. Kyle McCann and Daniel Susac (a first-round pick in the 2022 draft) might soon push their way into the mix as well.

Mason Miller

Miller generated a jolt of positive buzz around the A’s last April after he carved up the minor leagues and brought his crackling 100-mph fastball to the majors. He held the Mariners without a hit in his third career start, but then was shut down for three months because of an elbow sprain. Miller, 25, returned in September and made six more appearances, and in all racked up 38 strikeouts in 33 ⅓ innings. Miller, a 2021 third-round draft pick, had only made 11 minor league appearances before his A’s debut because of arm issues, so he might just be scratching the surface of his potential. He’ll open this season as a reliever – he’s got the makings of a dominating closer – but he could get another shot as a starter if he can remain healthy.

When Buster Posey first joined the Giants late in the 2009 season, he was one of 204 players to debut in the majors that season. Last season, 261 players appeared in their first MLB games – a year after there were a record-setting 303 debuts.

More top prospects than ever are being fast-tracked, in large part because of rules intended to discourage teams from manipulating service time to stall players’ arbitration and free agent clocks.

Here’s a look at some of the prospects fans should know for Opening Day and to keep an eye out for later this summer. (High-profile international free agents such as Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga are considered rookies this season but did not make the prospects list because of their significant pro experience overseas.)

National League

Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers – The Brewers believe they have the next Ronald Acuna Jr., Mike Trout or Juan Soto on their hands, which is why they signed the Venezuelan native to an $82 million, eight-year deal  this winter, a record for a player yet to reach the majors. Chourio has played just six games above Double-A and turned 20 just before spring training, but will open the season in the majors and all signs point to the right-handed hitter having star potential because of his combination of power and speed. He hit 22 home runs with 44 stolen bases last season, becoming just the fifth teenager to have a 20/40 season minors and the first since Acuna did it in 2017.

Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates – Pittsburgh has no need to rush Skenes, although last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick out of LSU might force their hand. The 21-year-old right-hander only made a handful of appearances in spring training, but displayed his triple-digits fastball and capped first big-league camp by striking out Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday in the spring breakout exhibition. He’ll likely open the season at Double-A, but could arrive in the majors by mid-season.

Jordan Lawlar, SS, Diamondbacks – The No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 draft was overmatched when he was called up late last season ( a .129/.206/.129 slash line with 11 strikeouts in 31 at-bats), but figures to join Corbin Carroll as the faces of the franchise. Lawlar, 21, has 20-homer/30-steal potential and has drawn comparisons to a young Derek Jeter.

Other prospects to watch in the National League

Kyle Harrison, SP, Giants; Luisangel Acuna, SS/2B, Mets; Michael Busch, INF, Cubs; Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals; Tyler Black, 3B, Brewers; Hunter Goodman, 1B, Rockies; Carson Wisenhunt, SP, Giants; Nick Frasso, SP, Dodgers; Lyon Richardson, SP, Reds; James Wood, OF, Nationals; Thomas Saggese, 2B/3B, Cardinals; Mick Abel, SP, Phillies; Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs; Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals; Marco Luciano, SS, Giants.

American League 

Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles – The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft is considered the top prospect in the game. The 20-year-old will open the season in the minors, but it’s just a matter of time before he joins the Orioles’ already impressive group of young stars led by All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who was the unanimous A.L. Rookie of the Year last season. The son of one-time A’s outfielder Matt Holliday had a slash line of .323/.442/.941 with 12 home runs, 24 stolen bases and 101 walks as he moved through four minor league levels last season, finishing with 18 games at Triple-A.

Evan Carter, OF, Rangers – Carter, 21, was the breakout star of the Rangers’ World Series run, reaching base 28 times in 17 playoff games. The 2020 draft pick appeared in 40 games in the majors in all, with a slash line of .303/.414/.989 with six home runs and six stolen bases and is considered a potential Gold Glove left fielder.

Nolan Schanuel, 1B, Angels – An on-base machine in college, Schanuel made his MLB debut weeks after being the 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft and he’s reached base in every game he’s played in for the Angels – 29 and counting. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound lefty is still a work in progress – he drew 20 walks, but also struck out 19 times in 109 at-bats and hit .275 with just one home run and six RBIs – but the Angels are firmly in rebuild mode.

Other prospects to watch in the American League

Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays; Darell Hernaiz, SS, A’s; Brooks Lee, INF, Minnesota Twins; Everson Pereira, OF, Yankees; Colt Keith, 3B, Detroit Tigers; Heston Kjerstad, RF, Baltimore Orioles; Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox; Orelvis Martinez, SS/3B, Blue Jays; Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles; Ricky Tiedemann, SP, Blue Jays; Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Guardians; Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers; Curtis Mead, INF, Rays; Ceddanne Rafaela, OF, Boston Red Sox; Parker Meadows, OF, Tigers; Wilyer Abreu, OF, Red Sox; Denzel Clarke, OF, A’s.

There’s been the Mustache Gang. The Bash Brothers. Charlie O – the owner AND the mule. The greatest of all time. Moneyball. The voice of God. And The Streak.

How much longer those memories will be made in Oakland wasn’t clear as the A’s prepared to open a season in the East Bay for the 57th time, but there is no question they have left an indelible mark on the Bay Area sports scene.

Here’s a look at some of the teams, players and moments that will forever link the A’s to Oakland.

The Streak

The A’s had their Big Three starting pitchers  – Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito – at the height of their powers, but it was Cory Lidle who led the team with four wins during the stretch. For much of the streak, the A’s were untouchable. During one 14-game stretch, they outscored their opponents 105-37 and trailed for a total of just five innings.

The Streak also included a Labor Day weekend performance that cemented Miguel Tejada’s MVP credentials with consecutive walk-off hits for wins No. 18 and No. 19.

Then came the thriller for No. 20. With Hudson on the mound, the A’s blew an 11-0 lead to the Royals, but Scott Hatteberg came off the bench in the bottom of the ninth to hit a home run to give the A’s a 12-11 win in front of 55,000 delirious fans.

The A’s went on to win 103 games and the A.L. West. But after taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five ALDS against the Twins, their magical season ended with two straight losses. The A’s held the record streak until 2017, when Cleveland won 22 in a row.

Years later, the streak was revisited in “Moneyball”, the film based on the 2002 season and GM Billy Beane’s role as a sabermetrics revolutionary. Beane cemented his Hall of Fame status by crafting perpetually low-payroll A’s teams into contenders. From 2000 to 2020, the A’s reached the playoffs 11 times. They won just one series, but only the Yankees, Dodgers and Cardinals appeared in the playoffs more often during those 21 years.

Swingin’ A’s

When the A’s arrived from Kansas City in 1968, their roster was loaded with young talent that, in short order, went on to form the core of one of the great dynasties in baseball history.

Nicknamed the “Mustache Gang” because most of the players had long hair (by early 1970s standards, anyway) and grew facial hair to collect a $300 bonus offered by then-owner Charlie O. Finley, the A’s won back-to-back-to-back World Series titles in 1972, ‘73 and ‘74.

From 1969 to 1976, the A’s never finished lower than second in the A.L. West, at one point winning five straight division titles. By the time their dynastic, winning ways ended after the 1976 season, most of their stars had been traded or allowed to depart as free agents.

Jim “Catfish” Hunter, who anchored those rotations along with Vida Blue and Ken Holtzman, delivered the first signature moment in the Oakland era in 1968, in the franchise’s 11th home game, by pitching the AL’s first perfect game in more than 40 years.

Reggie Jackson, who went on to become a cultural icon later in the 1970s with the Yankees, was the biggest star of the era, making the All-Star team six times in eight seasons and winning the MVP in 1973. Gene Tenace went from backup to 1972 World Series hero to All-Star, and Joe Rudi and Campy Campaneris also were All-Stars and vital components. But third baseman Sal Bando was the captain and the one teammates looked to when things got rough. And make no mistake, this could be a volatile bunch,

Among the most notorious scrapes were between John “Blue Moon” Odom and Blue  – in the clubhouse after they had clinched their first World Series berth – Jackson and Bill North, and Rollie Fingers and Odom. But when the A’s were finished fighting each other – and Finley’s tight-fisted financial ways – they took on the rest of the baseball world and usually won.

Bash Brothers

For much of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the A’s were the rock stars of baseball. It’s difficult to imagine now, but the A’s drew nearly 3 million fans to the Coliseum in 1990 and were a top attraction in every A.L. city where they went.

Sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco introduced the world to the forearm bash home run celebration, but the Bash Brothers were hardly the only stars during an era that saw Oakland reach the World Series three years in a row, from 1988 to 1990, and winning it all in 1989 in the earthquake-interrupted series against the cross-bay rival Giants.

Oakland native Dave Stewart never won a Cy Young award and was an All-Star just once, but he won 20 games in four straight seasons, finishing in the Cy Young voting as high as second to Bret Saberhagen in 1989. Stewart was 6-0 in ALCS games and always seemed to get the best of Boston star Roger Clemens.

Fremont’s Dennis Eckersley was the top closer in baseball, winning the Cy Young and MVP awards in 1992.

Topping the lineup for the end of the Bash Brothers era was the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. Oakland native Rickey Henderson debuted with the A’s at the age of 20, when the franchise was at one of its bleakest moments, and became an instant star in the “Billy Ball” era. After five seasons with the Yankees, he came home midway through the 1989 season and produced a remarkable postseason that saw him hit .441 (15 for 34) with 12 runs scored, eight RBIs and 11 stolen bases in nine games, as the A’s plowed through the Blue Jays and the Giants for their first title since 1974.

Outside the lines

Then-owner Finley had already built a reputation as a showman before he moved the A’s to Oakland, and he never let up until he sold the franchise … after trying multiple times to move it again.

When the A’s arrived from Kansas City, a mule named Charlie O and a mechanical rabbit named Harvey were part of the package. Charlie O was led past the stands before games, and fans could sit on the mascot for photos. And Harvey popped out of the ground near home plate to deliver fresh baseballs to the umpire.

Finley also brought the A’s colorful uniforms and untraditional white spikes from Kansas City. In Oakland, Finley was the first to hire ball girls, but was unsuccessful in getting MLB to adopt orange baseballs.

Finley also gets credit for hiring Roy Steele, who was the Coliseum public address announcer for nearly 40 years and became known to fans as “The Voice of God.”

And the team has had their share of colorful players who could fill reporters’ notebooks and TV sound bites on and off the field. In the 1970s, it was Reggie, Vida and others fighting Finley and each other. By the late 1980s, the players were treated like celebrities – and gossip writers had a field day when Canseco was linked romantically with pop superstar Madonna in 1991.

Jason Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP,  hit for average and power, partied like a rock star and helped set the stage for its “Moneyball” era success, though fans never forgave him for riding that success and charisma into a record deal with the New York Yankees.

Oakland A’s by the numbers

4 – World Series title won by the Oakland A’s: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989

7 – MVPs: Vida Blue (1971), Reggie Jackson (1973), Jose Canseco (1988), Rickey Henderson (1990), Dennis Eckersley (1992), Jason Giambi (2000), Miguel Tejada (2002)

5 – Cy Young winners: Vida Blue (1971), Jim “Catfish” Hunter (1974), Bob Welch (1990), Dennis Eckersley (1992), Barry Zito (2002)

7 – Rookies of the year: Jose Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), Walt Weiss (1988), Ben Grieve (1998), Bobby Crosby (2004), Huston Street (2005), Andrew Bailey (2009)

1,406 – Rickey Henderson’s career stolen bases, 468 more than Lou Brock, who is No. 2 in MLB history. Henderson also holds the modern record for steals in a season, 130 in 1982.

17 – Western Division championships

6 – American League pennants

4 – World Series MVPs: Gene Tenace (1972), Reggie Jackson (1973), Rollie Fingers (1974), Dave Stewart (1989)

124 – All-Star Game selections: Mark McGwire represented Oakland nine times; Rickey Henderson and Reggie Jackson are tied for second with six appearances as Oakland A’s.

1 – All-Star Game MVP: Terry Steinbach (1988)

10 – MLB players born in Oakland who played for the A’s

The Giants still have him beat on parades.

Lantow isn’t a major league manager, he’s a member of the Santa Rosa Strat Club. In an age of baseball video games can pass for the real thing and fantasy leagues keep score in real time, the group is a throwback.

They gather at Ausiello’s Fifth Street Bar and Grill in downtown Santa Rosa once a week to play a dice-based baseball board game that debuted in 1961 known as Strat-O-Matic. Or simply Strat.

Last August, however, the group lived out a Strat player’s wildest dream: playing at an actual big league ballpark.

While the REAL Giants were wrapping up a three-game series against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, a handful of club members settled into a suite at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark for the final round of their league’s playoffs.

That’s where Lantow guided, appropriately enough, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and the 1966 Giants to a series sweep of the Hank Aaron-led 1966 Braves.

“It was really cool,” said Lantow, who didn’t get a parade, but had a victory walk that included a trip onto the field while holding the league’s championship trophy. “It was so much fun.”

Kyle Ferguson, the Braves’ manager also was blown away by the experience.  “I lost, but it was a blast. To actually play a baseball game at Oracle Park. You couldn’t ask for a venue better than that.”

The club as well as the epic field trip to Oracle Park are largely the result of club founder and commissioner Joe Beland’s perseverance.

In 2020, Beland spent two weeks in the hospital with COVID-related complications. He lost 80 percent of his lung capacity. He flatlined once.

This being in the heart of the pandemic, nobody could visit him, including wife, Monica. To help pass the time as he recovered, Beland started ordering sets of Strat player cards from his hospital bed to add to his already sizable collection.

When Monica started to see boxes show up on their doorstep, she knew Joe was on the mend.

“I shouldn’t have had the credit card with me in the hospital,” joked Joe, who now owns a copy of every Strat season ever produced – going back to the 1900s.

Before COVID hit, Beland and three others had started to play the game of their childhood a few nights a month at a local comic book shop. When he got out of the hospital, the games moved outside to Beland’s backyard, and soon the field of teams expanded to six.

“I’ve collected cards forever, but I wanted to get other people to play,” Beland said. “With all the bad news that was going on in the world at the time, we needed something to do together.

Beland has been a Strat pied-piper ever since.

Much of the club has connections to the Home Depot where Beland has worked for 37 years. There are also friends of friends. One member joined up after stumbling across the group’s game night. The league currently is 10 managers strong – three former champs are taking a season off – and Beland is ALWAYS looking for more players to expand the club. The club, mostly Giants fans, has even taken a Dodgers fan into the fold.

Beland’s only request is that players wear a baseball jersey to each league night, bring their own scorebooks and, most importantly, have a good time.

“I didn’t know anything about it until Joe. It was all Joe,” said Laura Baker, who grew up rooting for the Padres but wasn’t familiar with Strat until she joined the league. “He’s a good salesman.”

Beland put his persuasive skills to the test when he asked the Giants if they’d allow a handful of the league members to spend a couple hours at the ballpark late last summer to complete their season. The request caught the Giants by surprise, but piqued their interest. Eventually they were cleared for a Thursday afternoon visit.

“I told them we’d play in a closet,” Beland said. “We just wanted the feel of going down to the ballpark, and wouldn’t it be great to play the World Series in a place where they played the World Series.”

There’s also a big league feel about how the club’s champions are recognized.

The league plays two 10-week seasons per calendar year (spring and summer), and the winner of each season gets their name placed on an one-of-a-kind trophy Beland built just for the league. It has a wooden base that’s about a foot and a half wide, with figurines of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle on either side of a silver candlestick that has a crystal baseball attached to the top.

If that’s not enough, he also orders replica World Series rings for each champion that have as much bling as the real thing.

Strat-O-Matic has a computer version which is now more popular than the board game. But the Santa Rosa club members aren’t the only ones out there who prefer a roll of the dice to a mouse click.

Every February, hundreds of Strat players line up outside the company’s Glen Head, New York headquarters – often in the snow or rain – to personally receive the new set of player cards instead of waiting a few days for them to arrive in the mail. It’s been dubbed “opening day” and is a reason to celebrate across Strat nation.

While the Santa Rosa club is just establishing itself, about 3,000 miles east of the Bay Area the East Meadow Strat-O-Matic league is about to begin its 53rd consecutive season.

The league was started in 1972 by a group of Long Island, New York, friends and is, by all accounts, the longest continuously running Strat baseball league in the world.

“It started with us arguing about who do you think is the best player in baseball,” said Jim Drucker, the founder of the league. “We wanted to see who knew the most about baseball. That was 52 years ago.”

For a long time, Drucker and his group kept their activity under wraps.

“We hid this from our friends, wives, girlfriends and family for 20 years,” Drucker said. “We were all pretty much kind of embarrassed we were playing a game pretty much made for 10-year-olds.”

Some of those 10-year-olds not only are still playing, but there are countless stories about people who went on to all sorts of roles in baseball crediting Strat with helping them learn the inner workings of the game.

Strat is the creation of Hal Richman, who was a recent Bucknell University mathematics student who wanted to make the most realistic baseball game ever made. Electronic Arts/EA Sports founder Trip Hawkins has said Strat was one of his inspirations because of the depth and accuracy of its statistics.

The game also is credited with helping spawn baseball’s sabermetrics movement because of the way statistics on Strat player cards can be evaluated. The cards, essentially 3×5 index cards, consist of three columns and 11 possible outcomes in each. The outcomes are based on each player’s actual stats.

Tom Kwiatkowski has also won three championships in the Santa Rosa club. He’s considered the club’s expert number cruncher, analyzing each player card for any possible advantage. Others manage in the moment  – Morgan Dabbs’ decision to attempt a game-winning steal of home is the most ill-advised AND memorable play in league history.

“Maybe I had a couple of beers,” Dabbs said with a laugh. “That was my first season, I think. I came out bold”

Kwiatkowski will take the odds and cold, hard stats every time.

“They’re a lot more fun than me, but …,” Kwiatkowski said, flashing a huge smile and his three replica championship rings. “Imagine if Billy Beane knew what your stats were going to be, what your chances were of getting a home run in this game. He would make the same decisions.”

Beane probably did.

The longtime A’s executive who in the “Moneyball” film and book by the same name famously is credited with helping usher in the sabermetrics era in the early 2000s, is among the most famous Strat alums. But despite the best analysis and preparation, the dice didn’t always go Beane’s way, either. He was known to throw the dice down the street after really bad rolls and even destroy player cards for poor performances, according to Alan Schwarz’s book “The Numbers Game.”

Another Strat success story is Giants Hall of Fame Giants broadcaster Jon Miller. In a Q&A with Strat-O-Matic.com, Miller shared that as a kid, he was the ultimate Strat multi-tasker. In addition to calling out the play-by-play as he rolled the dice for both teams, young Miller supplied all the ballpark background sounds – crowd noise, organists, vendors – as well as handling the P.A. duties.

“With all of that going on as I rolled the dice for each play, it created some uncomfortable moments if someone happened to walk in on me at an exciting moment in the game,” Miller said. “When a friend of my mom, looking horrified, exclaimed, “What’s he doing, for God’s sake?!” My mom ad-libbed, “Oh, it’s, uh, you know, uh…Asthma!  Yes, that’s it, asthma.  He’ll be fine.”

Santa Rosa’s league likely will not produce the next whiz GM or broadcast superstar. All are baseball fans, but mostly of the casual variety.

“I enjoy baseball, but it’s more for the camaraderie and hanging out with everybody,” said Heidi Hartman, in her second year with the club.

Ausiello’s on a Tuesday night might not be Oracle Park, but the Santa Rosa club enjoys the home-field advantage. The drive is shorter, there’s food, beer and plenty of room to enjoy each other’s company – and take a step toward next season’s World Series –  one dice roll at a time.

“There’s a lot of smiles going on here,” said Ferguson, surveying the scene at the league’s opening night in January. “You don’t get to see that on a computer screen.”

It won’t be an easy choice for even the most passionate A’s supporters, who must reconcile their fury about ownership’s relocation effort – and stewardship of the once-proud franchise – with the emotions of saying goodbye to the Green and Gold as they know them.

Here’s a look at some key series to watch this season:

March 28-31 vs. Cleveland Guardians

The A’s open the season on a Thursday night against Cleveland in what might be the beginning of the end in Oakland. Will history and nostalgia put A’s fans in the seats? Last season’s opener against the Angels drew 26,805 fans, the A’s fourth largest crowd of the season and one of just five dates that drew more than 20K. Or will a planned boycott leave the Coliseum even emptier than usual? An early April visit by the Red Sox to conclude the homestand could be a better gauge of fan apathy.

April 26-28 at Baltimore Orioles

The A’s head back to the town where its Oakland era began. The Oakland A’s played their first game on April 10, 1968, at old Memorial Stadium. They lost 3-1, but a young outfielder named Reggie Jackson hit the second home run of his career – he’d go on to hit 561 more. The A’s debut had been scheduled a day earlier, but was postponed because of the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. The A’s home debut came a week later, also against the O’s.

May 6-8 vs. Texas Rangers

The reigning World Series champions and Bay Area native (and former A’s shortstop) Marcus Semien arrive to wrap up the A’s longest homestand of the season, a 10-gamer that starts with the Pirates and Marlins. The series finale not only coincides with the 56th anniversary of Catfish Hunter’s perfect game, but it includes one of two traditional doubleheaders scheduled this season by MLB.

June 18-20 vs. Kansas City Royals

The A’s won’t visit their one-time hometown this season, but the cities’ MLB fortunes have been intertwined since Charlie O. Finley moved the franchise to Oakland following the 1967 season. The teams are at similar stages in their respective rebuilding plans: For much of 2023, it was a race between the A’s and Royals to see who might challenge the 1961 Mets for the losingest season in the modern era.

June 21-23 vs. Minnesota Twins

The last of the A’s three-peat World Series champion teams from the 1970s will get its day. The 1974 team, which beat the Dodgers in five games 50 years ago, will be honored on Sunday, the final day of the series, and replica jerseys from that season will be given away to fans. The series opens with one of the more promising promotions of the season – a Satchel Paige Rocking Chair bobblehead giveaway – as part of African American Heritage Night. The A’s connection to Paige came in 1965, when the longtime Negro Leagues star pitched in one game for the Kansas City A’s …  at the age of 58.

July 12-14 at Philadelphia Phillies

This weekend series in Philadelphia may serve as a reminder of what some call the carpetbagger history of at least some of the franchise’s owners. The A’s called Philadelphia home from 1901 until 1954 – two years less than their run in Oakland – before moving to Kansas City amid outcry opposing relocation of the team. Financial troubles, waning fan interest and losing teams were cited for requiring the franchise to leave town.

July 19-27 vs. Los Angeles Angels

Since arriving in Oakland, the A’s have played more games against the Angels than any other team – it’ll be 906 times after this season. Beloved former A’s coach Ron Washington is managing the Angels this season, and fans will get a lot of Wash, Mike Trout and Co. in a hurry: All 13 of the A’s games against the Angels will be played in a 28-game span from late June to late July.

Aug. 2-4 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The A’s will be coming out of the trade deadline when they finally get their first look at Shohei Ohtani in a Dodgers uniform. Interestingly, the A’s have had significant success against the Dodgers in the Coliseum. They closed out the 1974 World Series against the Dodgers with three straight wins in Oakland and got their only win in the 1988 World Series against L.A. at home. The A’s are 23-19 against the Dodgers since the start of interleague play in 1997, including a 16-5 record at home.

Aug. 17-18 vs. Giants

Two weeks after the A’s visit San Francisco for possibly the final time as a Bay Area-based rival, the teams will meet for a weekend series at the Coliseum. Bay Bridge Series games have been among the most well-attended games ever played in the Coliseum – four of the top nine all-time (including playoffs) and the top two overall. Will this edition bring out fans of Bay Area baseball in droves two more times?

Sept 24-26 vs. Texas Rangers

The Yankees’ only visit of the season to Oakland to open this homestand is just the start to what could be an emotional week for A’s fans. Even the most staunch anti-John Fisher contingent will have to make a no-win decision: Make a final statement by staying away from the ballpark for what might be the final games of the franchise’s Bay Area existence or be there, if this is the end of the Green and Gold in the 510?

Sept. 27-29 at Seattle Mariners

After 57 seasons, these could be the final days that “Oakland” is seen on jerseys in the major  leagues. This will be the 15th time in the past 31 years the A’s play the Mariners in their final game of the regular season, a stretch that began when the strike-shortened 1994 season ended against the M’s. This will be the 12th time overall an Oakland A’s regular season concludes in Seattle, including the A’s second season – in 1969 – against the Pilots in what was their final game before that franchise moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.

Larry Baer, the team’s president and chief executive officer, said Thursday the Giants will use a rotation of announcers to start the season and that a search for the second full-time PA announcer in the history of the team’s waterfront ballpark will begin “soon.”

“The process will take time because she is a legend, and is going to be very, very tough shoes to fill,” Baer said when asked about Brooks-Moon during the team’s media open house at Oracle Park. “So in the meantime, we’ll have rotating voices into the immediate future in the PA booth.”

The Giants issued a release Monday that said the team and Brooks-Moon were unable to reach a contract agreement for this season and that “after extensive discussions they mutually and amicably agreed to part ways.” It would have been Brooks-Moon’s 25th season behind the mic.

Baer didn’t reveal any potential interim announcers on Thursday, but Giants fans won’t have to wait very long to see — and hear — who will be first to try to fill Brooks-Moon’s spot.

The Giants conclude the Arizona portion of spring training on Saturday and play host to the A’s on Tuesday night in the exhibition finale for both teams. The Giants open the regular season next Thursday in San Diego and won’t play their home opener until April 5 against the Padres.

Baer noted that the Giants will name the PA booth after Brooks-Moon and plan to honor her during a game sometime this season.

“She’s an icon, she’s been an inspirational voice for generations of players, fans, an ambassador for the Giants,” Baer said.  “Renel is truly a forever Giant and she is a San Francisco Giants icon.”

Baer’s comments at the open house came a day after Brooks-Moon, who has been the Giants’ PA voice since the team moved from Candlestick Park in 2000, thanked her fans and friends and offered words of encouragement to her successor and new Giants manager Bob Melvin in an Instagram post, her first extended public comments since the controversial breakup.

“It was, and always will be, the greatest honor of my life and career to serve as your PAA and community ambassador,” Brooks-Moon wrote, in part.

Brooks-Moon, who has been the Giants’ PA voice since the team moved into its waterfront ballpark in 2000, wrote a lengthy post on her Instagram account as her first extended public comments on the breakup. She was quoted in a statement the team released Monday when it announced that “although they discussed an extension of Brooks-Moon’s contract which ended in December 2023, after extensive discussions they mutually and amicably agreed to part ways” and she won’t be in her familiar role this season.

The trailblazing former radio host used the platform on Wednesday to say thank you to her fans and friends and offered words of encouragement to her successor and new Giants manager Bob Melvin, but did not address the decision specifically in the post.

“Dear San Francisco and San Francisco Giants Fans,” Brooks-Moon wrote, “Needless to say, it’s been an emotional few days. But couldn’t let another day go by w/o expressing my gratitude for your overwhelming support, love and concern.”

She added, “It was, and always will be, the greatest honor of my life and career to serve as your PAA and community ambassador.”

Brooks-Moon noted that she was a “Giants fan in utero” because her mother — “a huge baseball & Giants fan” — was pregnant with Renel when the Giants moved from New York in 1958.

Brooks-Moon praised her co-workers at the stadium as well as on NBCSports Bay Area among the memories she and her husband, Tommie, made during her time behind the mic.

She wrote, in part, “We have shared so many great times together over 24 years. Tommie and I have become personal friends w/ so many of you, which has been a joy!

“I will miss you all so much. From our pregame selfies and hugs – (you know I’m gonna hug!), your generous and unique gifts, (shout out “bracelet sisters”), to just talking baseball before and after games, and so much more. And all the precious babies I have held!

“Shout out to sections 214 and 213, right below the booth! Oh did we have fun during the 7th inning stretch!

“And the way you lifted me up when mother died, I’ll never ever forget.”

Brooks-Moon, the first woman to serve as PA announcer for a World Series game, concluded the post by writing, “… it will always be my hope that I have inspired little girls, young women and people of color to pursue their dreams, no matter what.

“Best of luck to my successor and I hope you enjoy every single minute of it! Go get em Bo Mel!Love, Renel”

The team said it will name the announcer’s booth at Oracle Park in Brooks-Moon’s honor and recognize her years of service during a ceremony at a game this season.

“Renel has been the familiar and inspirational voice for generations of players and fans at Oracle Park,” Giants CEO Larry Baer said in a statement on Monday when it was announced that Brooks-Moon would not return this season. “As an ambassador for the organization and a respected leader, Renel has been a Giant voice in the ballpark and in the community, and will be a Forever Giant.”

Tuesday, the 33-year-old left-hander was named Opening Day starter for the first time in his 12-year big league career.

Wood had been almost exclusively a starter during his career, including his first two seasons with the Giants. But last season, 17 of his 29 appearances with San Francisco were as a swing reliever, entering games anywhere from the second to the ninth inning.

Wood told reporters earlier in camp that the opportunity to be a starter was a big factor in choosing to sign the A’s.

“The biggest thing was the opportunity to start every fifth day,” Wood told this news organization earlier in camp. “Also, it’s nice to be wanted.”

Tuesday’s news was about as big of a vote of confidence a starting pitcher can receive. As a result , Wood will be on the mound at the Coliseum on March 28 when the A’s open the season against the Cleveland Guardians and their new manager, former A’s All-Star Stephen Vogt.

Wood, an All-Star with the Dodgers in 2017, pitched exclusively as a starter during his first two seasons with the Giants, playing a key role in the team’s 107-win season in 2021 when he went 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA. He opened last season in the Giants rotation as well and had a 1.80 ERA after three starts before suffering a hamstring injury. Wood never got untracked upon his return and after six inconsistent starts moved into the swing reliever role. He made just three starts after June 22.

In three Cactus League appearances with the A’s, he’s logged a 4.76 ERA, with 13 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

Wood will be the sixth different pitcher in seven seasons to start on Opening Day for the A’s. Kyle Muller handled the honor last season, joining Frankie Montas (2022 and ‘20), Chris Bassitt (2021), Mike Fiers (2019) and Kendall Graveman (2018) in recent seasons.

The A’s, coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons for the first time in Oakland franchise history, viewed Wood as a potential stabilizing influence for the rotation. Over 12 seasons his career record is 76-65 with a 3.74 ERA. His $8.5 million, one-year deal is the second-highest salary on the team, second to fellow starter Ross Stripling ($9.25 million.)

The A’s tied a MLB record by using 24 different starting pitchers last season, but enter the season with four veterans in the rotation: Wood, Stripling, JP Sears and Paul Blackburn. The No. 5 spot appears likely to go to rookies Joe Boyle or Mitch Spence.

The Guardians announced that Shane Bieber will be their Opening Day starter. It’ll be the fifth straight season-opening assignment for the 2020 Cy Young winner.

Yet another tie

Miguel Andujar, Brent Rooker and J.J. Bleday each blasted a home run among their two hits during the A’s 7-7 tie with Texas in Surprise, Ariz. The A’s finished with their third straight tie, which may be a Cactus League record, if such detailed records existed.

Reliever Dany Jimenez’s bout of wildness – he walked four consecutive batters in his 1/3 inning of work – was symptomatic of Oakland’s struggles as they walked 11 batters as a team.

Oakland’s defense was also lacking as it committed four errors, including two by shortstop hopeful Darell Hernaiz. Catcher Carlos Perez, who is battling James McCann for the backup spot, had a costly miscue in the bottom of the ninth – he fired a ball into left field while trying to throw out Texas’ Jose Barrero on a steal attempt at third base. Perez’s error allowed Barrero to score the game-tying run.

Kostin, 24, was the 31st overall pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2017 NHL draft, and the 6-foot-3 Russian made his NHL debut with the team in 2019. He has four points (three goals) in 33 games with the Red Wings this year and was a healthy scratch for eight straight games before returning to the lineup in Wednesday’s loss to Colorado.

He is in the first year of a two-year, $4 million deal signed last summer and has struggled to meet expectations after recording career highs last year with the Oilers in points (21), goals (11) and assists (10).

Simek, 31, has spent all of this season with the AHL’s Barracuda, where he was the team captain, but played in 209 games with the Sharks over the previous five seasons.

Simek was signed as a free agent in May 2017, and during the 2018-19 season was the Sharks’ Rookie of the Year, leading the team’s rookies in games, points and assists.

In 109 games with the Barracuda, he collected 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists). This season he had 16 points and 29 penalty minutes in 40 games.

The draft pick the Sharks sent to Detroit was a seventh-round pick originally belonging to the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Staff writer Michael Nowels contributed to this report. 

But with Opening Day rapidly approaching, the largely under-the-radar move keeps looking better and better.

Andujar has been one of the A’s hottest hitters in camp, and on Wednesday he hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs in Oakland’s 12-5 win over the Anaheim Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

Andujar, 29, appeared poised for stardom with the New York Yankees when he was runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018.

But injuries and inconsistency have mostly derailed Andujar’s career path every since.

Andujar has appeared in more than 36 games in the majors just once since that breakout rookie season, and has bounced from the Yankees to the Pirates and now to the A’s, where he’s battling for a roster spot as a corner outfielder, DH and first baseman.

After a strong winter for Licey of the Dominican League, Andujar has opened camp on a tear.

With his pair of home runs off of Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, Andujar raised his Cactus League average to .421 (8 for 19) and has a hit in six of the seven games he’s played in.

It’s a small sample size, but Andujar is starting to look as if he could have a career revival similar to that of Brent Rooker. Rooker, also once a highly touted prospect, was claimed off waivers before last season and ended up being the A’s All-Star representative.

Andujar doesn’t need to be an All-Star to help the A’s this season.

The team scored the fewest runs in the majors a year ago, and the only AL teams to hit fewer home runs were the Tigers, Royals and Guardians.

Andujar hit 27 homers with 92 RBI with a slash line of .297/.328/.855 as a rookie. He’s continued to terrorize pitchers in the minors – he’s a career .318 hitter in Triple-A with one homer every 22 at-bats. He spent most of last season at Triple-A Indianapolis where he hit a minor league career-high .338 with 16 home runs and, 86 RBI. He appeared in 30 games with the Pirates, batting .250 with four home runs and 18 RBI.

— The A’s announced before the game that Luis Medina, one of the leading candidates to join Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling in the rotation, will open the season on the IL.

Manager Mark Kotsay said results of an MRI exam revealed a Grade 2 sprain of the MCL in Medina’s right knee. Medina was injured during his outing on Monday against the Reds.

Medina, 24, had mixed results as a rookie last season. He went 3-10 with a 5.42 ERA in 23 appearances (17 starts) but throws in the mid-90s and was much more consistent in the final month of the season.

Also vying for the No. 5 spot to open the season are Joe Boyle, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, Royber Salinas or Kyle Muller.

Boyle, a sensation in three late-season starts last season, made his third Cactus League start and didn’t hurt his cause. The 6-foot-7 right-hander didn’t allow a hit and struck out three in three innings. He allowed one run and walked three.

Boyle retired the first three batters he faced, including three-time AL MVP Mike Trout on a called third strike to end the first inning.

Overall, he’s allowed just two earned runs with eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings this spring.

Estes entered the game in the seventh and retired all nine batters he faced on just 19 pitches.

The pitch count is even more impressive considering five of the outs he recorded were strikeouts.

The 22-year-old right-hander, who made two appearances with the A’s late last season, has allowed one run and just three baserunners over his first seven Cactus League innings and has been a strike-throwing machine. Only four of the 42 pitches he’s thrown so far this spring were outside the strike zone or not put in play.

— The A’s put the game away with a five-run ninth inning that included a two-run inside-the-park home run by outfield prospect Lazaro Armenteros. It was the first Cactus League hit in seven at-bats for Armenteros, a 24-year-old Cuban defector who signed for $3 million as a 17-year-old in 2016. Armenteros made his Double-A debut last season.

– Second baseman Zach Gelof singled, and has reached base at least once in all eight Cactus League games he’s played in.

– Wood is scheduled to make his second Cactus League appearance on Thursday against Cleveland. The veteran lefty allowed three runs in two innings against the Royals on March 1.

– Four of the Angels’ runs came on a grand slam by Trout off of veteran reliever Scott Alexander.