The bane of every Major League Baseball announcer’s existence this season is the Athletics.
After playing in Oakland for 57 years, the franchise relocated to Sacramento, awaiting its new ballpark in Las Vegas.
In a strange move, the team is going by the Athletics and refusing to include Sacramento or Las Vegas in their official name. Given that the natural flow of an MLB team’s name typically begins with the city or state, this is causing a lot of problems for announcers who instinctively or subconsciously fill that empty space with “Oakland.”
Take Kansas City Royals play-by-play announcer Ryan Lefebvre, who became very self-conscious late in Friday’s contest between the Royals and A’s, wondering aloud how many times he must have said “Oakland” over the course of the broadcast.
“Have I said Oakland at all tonight?” he asked. “I wanna feel like I have.”
Broadcasting partner Rex Hudler seemed convinced that he hadn’t mistakenly used the old name. However, a montage courtesy of Last Dive Bar proved that Lefebvre had said Oakland at least eight times during the game.
So in the top of the 8th, Royals broadcast ask “Have I said Oakland tonight…I wanna feel like I have?”
Well Royals…yes you have.
8 times and counting. pic.twitter.com/LH2dRHH4kE
— Last Dive Bar 🏟 (@LastDiveBar) June 14, 2025
Hopefully, Lefebvre doesn’t give himself too hard a time because we’ve been hearing announcers and broadcasters mention Oakland all season long. The San Francisco Giants announcers have basically made it a point to do so, though they’ve also invented the Oaklamento A’s. The Mets’ broadcasters called them the West Sacramento A’s. Other announcers have referred to them as The Artists Formerly Known as the Oakland A’s.
Twins announcer Cory Provus also recently demonstrated how hard it is to stop yourself from saying Oakland.
Twins announcer Cory Provus, demonstrating the bane of every MLB announcer’s existence this season: Trying not to say Oakland when playing the A’s. pic.twitter.com/R3WJh9G8Ot
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 3, 2025
We don’t think too many people are going to kick up a fuss if MLB broadcasters keep calling them Oakland this season. If anything, it feels like a small victory against A’s owner John Fisher, who is loathed by many these days, even if it seems like the league is doing what it can to protect him.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.