‘SHAMEFUL’: Former A’s Owner Blasts Giants For Departure From Bay Area In New Memoir

In a blistering new memoir titled “Moments,” former Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff has broken his silence on the franchise’s painful departure from the Bay Area. The 90-year-old real estate developer, who served as the team’s public face from 2005 to 2015, points the finger directly at the San Francisco Giants, saying the team’s move is “100 percent due to the nasty, shameful, and continuing opposition of the Giants.”

Wolff’s central thesis is that the Athletics’ relocation—currently in a transitional phase in Sacramento before a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028—was caused by the Giants’ refusal to relinquish territorial rights to Santa Clara County. Wolff argues that the Giants’ iron grip on San Jose, the Bay Area’s most populous city, stripped the A’s of the leverage needed to secure a viable future in Northern California.

The roots of the animosity date back to 1990, when the A’s—then under the benevolent ownership of the Haas family—granted the Giants the rights to Santa Clara County to help them avoid a move out of state. Wolff contends these rights were conditional on the Giants actually moving to San Jose. When the Giants instead built Oracle Park in San Francisco, Wolff argues the territory should have reverted to shared status.

“The Giants’ position really, really messed us up in trying to even negotiate with Oakland,” Wolff told The Athletic. He described the subsequent MLB blue-ribbon panel, which spent years studying the issue without resolution, as a “cruel joke,” adding, “What I did not realize was that the amazing individuals comprising MLB … attract, employ or have around deceitful and dangerous sycophants. Not all, but some. And these sycophants assassinated the A’s!”

Giants chairman Greg Johnson has countered these claims, stating his responsibility is to protect his organization’s strength, noting that San Jose represents a massive portion of the Giants’ fan base and revenue.

The current acrimony is the latest chapter in the history of one of baseball’s most nomadic yet storied franchises. Founded in 1901 as a charter member of the American League in Philadelphia, the Athletics were the original AL dynasty. Under legendary manager Connie Mack, who led the team for 50 years, the “A’s” won five World Series titles and adopted the “White Elephant” as a defiant logo after Giants manager John McGraw dismissed them as a “useless possession.”

In 1955, the team moved to Kansas City, an era largely remembered for owner Charlie Finley’s eccentric innovations—such as Kelly Green uniforms and a mule mascot—and a frustrating reputation as a “farm team” for the New York Yankees.

The 1968 move to Oakland sparked a modern renaissance. The “Swingin’ A’s” of the 1970s won three consecutive World Series, followed by the “Bash Brothers” era of the late 80s and the “Moneyball” revolution of the early 2000s.

Yet despite winning nine World Series titles across three cities—trailing only the Yankees and Cardinals—the franchise has been plagued by stadium instability for decades.

Wolff’s memoir serves as a defense of his partner and current owner John Fisher, who has faced intense vilification from the Oakland faithful. While fans like Oakland 68’s president Jorge Leon blame ownership for “constant rebuilds” and a lack of investment, Wolff insists that “apathy” from local government and the Giants’ “nasty opposition” left the club with no choice but to leave.

As the A’s play out their temporary residency in Sacramento, the wounds in Oakland remain deep. For a franchise born in Philadelphia and forged in the East Bay, the move to the desert represents the end of a 57-year Northern California legacy—one that Wolff insists was sabotaged by the neighbors across the bridge.