Thank you, r/OaklandAthletics!
Reddit is the first place I posted about "Goodnight Oakland A's", my children's-book-styled video about the end of this era of Oakland baseball. The reaction I got was overwhelming, with a ton of responses telling me they wanted to own the project as a hardcover book.
So that's exactly what I set out to do.
I sourced new photos, finding incredible photos here on reddit, and licensing images from A's photographers, press outlets, and even the Baseball Hall of Fame. When I announced the book was available to my mailing list yesterday, the first printing sold out in three hours! It's been an incredibly humbling experience – I'm so grateful to this community for the response, and I'm thrilled to see how this has connected for so many A's fans.
You can check out the book (and see the updated video with some previews of the book photos!) here. I held out a few copies from the first printing and I'll be bringing them with me to Last Dive Bar's "The Wake" at Line 51 in Oakland after the last home game – stop by and say hello!
When I left my job working for the A's over 10 years ago, I made peace with the distance I'd need to take from the team for my own mental and emotional health. To come back into this fandom through this project, here at the end of this run in Oakland, is mind-blowing and exhilarating and tragic to me. I was at that fantastic game a few weeks back, the 13th inning walkoff, and the energy in the building felt so similar to the vibe for the 2012 and 2013 playoff runs. I'll be at the last game too – for one last dose of Oakland A's magic. One last chance to be the best home-field advantage in baseball.
But, just like the Animal House clip we used to play reminds us – nothing is over until we decide it is. Oakland will rise again.
1 comment
I can’t find the words. Just an upvote will have to do. Hopefully I’ll stumble across some words later.