Chronicle: Longtime A's Fans Want Wolff to Sell

The Sunday column by San Francisco Chronicle sports editor Al Saracevic featured a blistering attack on A's owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher. But what made the scathing critique unique was that it  wasn't just the opinions of a columnist; Saracevic sought out longtime A's season-ticket owners and let the fans' angry criticisms speak for themselves. Take Steve Eigenberg, who told the Chronicle he's been going to A's games since April 17, 1968. Eigenberg, 59, said: "Winning should be a commitment, as well as making money. Instead, this current ownership is hell-bent on getting out of here. I hope this is not a long-term ownership group. I hope the other owners will tell them to sell the thing."

Up next were Dave Filipek, 68, and John Einstos, 58. The Chron said the longtime friends and A's fans are "angry" because they've seen Wolff and Fisher run the team into the ground. Einstos said: "A baseball team is the heart of a municipality. It's more than a business. But they treat it like a business."

Filipek was even more damning, saying: "I was really upset four or five years ago when Wolff announced they were moving to Fremont. It cost the team thousands of season-ticket holders."

But maybe Saracevic, who wrote that "Wolff is the most hated man in Oakland," said it best. He ended the column with a thought that the vast majority of Oakland A's fans agree with: 

"This is no way to run a ballclub, folks. Wolff and his silent majority partner, John Fisher, need to give up on San Jose. They need to partner up with city government and local business leaders on a plan that will work in Oakland. This is a city that needs all the help it can get. As the wealthy curators of this public trust, you owe the city and the team's fans that much. Find a way to get a beautiful new stadium built in Oakland. If you can't do that, sell it to someone who will."