The fan-made "SELL" T-shirts wore by Oakland Athletics fans during their reverse boycott night last week are heading to Cooperstown. The National Baseball Hall of Fame expects to add the T-shirts to its collection to document the moment in history, reports the Mercury News. The Hall of Fame routinely collects items when a team changes stadiums.
"We are here to document history and preserve that history as it relates to baseball and it relates to the game. That happens on the field, when a significant accomplishment takes place, but it also happens off the field," Jon Shestakofsky, the Hall of Fame's vice president of communications and content, told the Mercury News. "... What we're really documenting here is the voice of fans. And fans having a voice in this process."
A season-high 27,759 fans showed up to RingCentral Coliseum last Tuesday to express their displeasure with the team's imminent relocation to Las Vegas. Fans planned the reverse boycott night and, as part of the event, the "SELL" T-shirts were made and given free of charge to anyone who showed up for the game. Over $27,000 in donations were received to fund the T-shirt project.
The A's extended their winning streak to a season-high seven games during reverse boycott night and, throughout the game, the crowd chanted "Sell the team!" and "Stay in Oakland!" among other things. There were coordinated moments of silence and even a few celebrities at the ballpark taking part in the reverse boycott.
Ultimately, Las Vegas lawmakers approved a $380 million funding package for a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. Once A's owner John Fisher secures funding for the rest of the $1.2 billion project and received the necessary approvals from MLB, the franchise will relocate to Las Vegas. It is expected to happen by 2027.
Fisher's intentionally terrible Athletics are 19-57 this season and on pace to win 41 games, which would be the fewest since the expansion New York Mets went 40-120 in 162.
