OAKLAND — Trevor May is finally free from the Oakland A’s and owner John Fisher.
“Like a bird, finally let loose to fly,” May said Saturday at Fans Fest, a celebration of Oakland sports fans at Jack London Square. “Last year was very hard. I just had a lot of stuff I was worrying about.”
Last season, May was the highest-paid player on the A’s and one of the team’s veteran leaders who was trying to keep things positive in a difficult year for him personally, having stepped away for about a month to deal with mental health issues, and for the franchise, which announced its plans to leave for Las Vegas.
It felt impossible for May to speak honestly about playing for a team that ended up with the 10th-most losses in MLB history while using an MLB-low payroll.
There was plenty he wanted to say, but couldn’t.
Like on that Tuesday night in June, when more than 27,000 A’s fans showed up for a reverse boycott to protest Fisher’s decision to move the team to Vegas.
Fans chanted “sell the team.” They were vocal and angry towards Fisher, but were incredibly supportive any time the A’s did something well on the field.
“That’s a connection with the fans that only exists here,” May said. “If you’re an underdog, these fans are there for you. It’s why I’ve always gravitated to it.”
The A’s won a spectacular game over the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1, and May recorded the final out while pumping his fist and screaming as he walked off the mound.
Earlier that day, the only negative thing May could say about Fisher was this: “It is about money for John. It is. There’s no dancing around it.”
What did he really want to say?
He said it at the end of the season, when he announced his retirement on his YouTube show and slammed Fisher on the way out, calling him a “greedy (expletive).”
Saturday, he again sounded off on Fisher and the A’s, who have yet to publicly release any renderings of their new ballpark, announce a financing plan or determine where they’ll play until their Vegas ballpark is ready in 2028. There are also several legal proceedings in Nevada that could stop some or all of the $380 million in public funding that’s supposed to help pay for it.
“It’s predictable,” May said. “I just don’t think they’re very good at this. I try to search track records for John’s business record and he really hasn’t done anything successfully. Not truly. He hasn’t really hit anything well. Most of it is because of his status. He gets a return to a level because of who he is but there’s nothing being added.”
In Oakland, Mayor Sheng Thao has been just as frustrated with Fisher, who she predicted will do “John Fisher things” when he gets to Las Vegas. Thao thought the city was close to a deal with the A’s for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, but she never heard from Fisher until he called to say the team was focused on moving to Vegas.
Said May: “Everyone is realizing he’s not bringing anything to us. We’re not going to get anything. We’re only going to give. He’s not going to give us anything. So what’s the point of being in business with this person?”
May’s problem is that the other 29 MLB owners, commissioner Rob Manfred and lawmakers in Las Vegas are going along with it. The owners voted 30-0 to approve Fisher’s planned relocation to Las Vegas, despite several owners who voiced their concerns privately, as reported in The Athletic last November.
May said he wanted to speak out while he was still a player, but it was difficult. So when he announced his retirement, he found himself no longer holding back.
“It’s important that the fans know that we (the players) know,” May said. “We know. Everyone knows. I don’t know why we can’t acknowledge things.”
May said the Vegas deal is obviously flawed, “but this is easy, to shrug and let someone else deal with it. There’s a lot of people who could shut it down in Vegas who won’t because they don’t want to put the wrench in the machine.
“I have no idea how this got green-lit when there was no plan. I think we’d know about the plan because they’d put it out immediately if they had one. It’s kind of predictable.”
The players on the A’s “just want an answer,” May said. They don’t know where they’ll be playing after the team’s lease at the Coliseum expires following the 2024 season. The team is negotiating with the city on an extension, but those talks don’t seem promising.
“The Coliseum has been old since it was been built,” May said.
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And playing in a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento or Salt Lake City would be unfavorable for the players, who have to sign off on such a move before the A’s could do it.
“That sucks,” May said. “But the guys are so good at just being like, ‘When have we ever had any control over anything?’ So they just go along with it. They have to if you want to keep your job. And I would too.”
The only A’s free agent additions of note this winter were lefty Alex Wood, who signed a one-year, $8.5-million deal, and reliever Trevor Gott, who signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal.
At this point, why would anybody sign a two-year contract to play in Oakland?
“There won’t be anyone who signs a two-year contract,” May said. “Maybe one year with an option. But not at least until some of this stuff gets ironed out. It’s not like the A’s are looking for that anyways. Which is understandable.”
All signs point to another frustrating season at the Coliseum.
“If I’m (general manager David Forst), I don’t know how you operate under these circumstances,” May said. “I don’t know how you do that job. He’s finding a way though.”