One of the fixtures of Athletics games this season, other than an overmatched roster built by an uninspired front office and nihilistic owner, has been the word "SELL." Oakland fans have taken to chanting the word, as well as wearing gear that features it printed across the chest. The message is clear: Oakland wants to keep the Athletics and lose owner John Fisher, who is doing everything within his power to relocate the franchise to Las Vegas.
Fisher, for his part, does not seem impacted by the "SELL" movement. To wit, he told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week that he hasn't even thought about selling.
"I have not considered selling the team," Fisher said. "I've now owned the team with my partner Lew Wolff, it's shocking really how the time flies, but since 2005. Our goal since then has been to find a new home and build a new home for our team."
Back in June, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill granting the Athletics $380 million in public funding to build a new stadium near the Las Vegas Strip. Major League Baseball's owners would still need to approve of the move before it can happen. It's perhaps worth noting that last month, Bill Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that other owners are said to be upset that MLB waived the relocation fee, and that others have been annoyed with how the A's have (or haven't) used their revenue-sharing funds over the years.
Fisher, who predictably spends most of the interview selling the idea that he loves Las Vegas and that the A's must get a new ballpark in order to compete, also claims the franchise has lost a significant amount of money in recent years: "We'll lose $40 million this year and in previous years, which included COVID when the losses were more significant, but we lost $175 million."
Ignoring the potential accounting tricks that could be used to skew financial data, logic dictates that Fisher, who has an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion, must spend most of his time thinking about money. It's worth questioning, then, why he would want to remain in control of a team that's been burning dollars all these years when he could sell and rid himself of the money pit, as well as the public shaming that comes with attempting to relocate a beloved franchise.
The conclusion you should arrive at is that there's no reason to take Fisher's (or any MLB owner's) claims about financial distress seriously until he produces even the slightest bit of supporting evidence. We suspect that Fisher, like every other owner, never will do such a thing -- especially not when he's already convinced politicians to give him a handout.
