The native of Oakland Nico Hoerner Wishes A is still played there: “I feel for … fans of sport”
West Sacramento, California – The second base of Chicago Cubs Nico Hoerner was born in Oakland, went to the Oakland high school and stayed in the Bay Area for College. On Monday he was in the initial training for the first home game that his favorite childhood team, Athletics, has played since he left.
He did not hide where he wanted the game to be instead.
“I would prefer to play in Oakland,” Haerner said in a small Club House by Sutter Health Park, a renewed minor stadium in which the A moved for at least three seasons. “Oakland is a special place for me. I am really grateful to have played there in 2023.”
Hoerner played three games against that season, going 6-for-15 (.400) with two doubles, a walk and a theft. Now 27, Hoerner went to the main school before crossing the bay to the University of Stanford. Her mother still lives in Oakland.
The best sporting events I have ever been, said Hoerner, were the playoff games between the Tigers of A and Detroit while he was in high school.
“The energy in the stadium, I remember the single Walk-off of Coco Crispo (2012), and nobody left the stadium for about 30 minutes after the game,” he said. “As someone who grows with dreams of playing in the main championships, seeing that in first person, as can be the baseball playoff, it still gives me chills.”
“I would prefer to play in Oakland … I feel for fans in Oakland.”
The native of Oakland Nico Hoerner shares his thoughts on the state of the A. pic.twitter.com/xvd3tqyf61
– Marquee Sports Network (@watchmarquee) April 1, 2025
The A have been the most recent of the three main sports teams to leave Oakland, following the raiders of the NFL, who moved to Las Vegas, and the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, who crossed the bay up to San Francisco.
“I feel for fans in Oakland, baseball enthusiasts, sports enthusiasts in general,” said Hoerner. “All three teams that went in a very short period are a serious blow for an entire community. Three teams that have created a lot of joy for many people. Only directly, as regards the community, I think sport has an important role in a place and that all this undresses very quickly is a really demanding thing.”
A good number of friends from Hoerner has stopped going to A games in recent years while they were still playing at the Oakland Coliseum. When asked about what fans would say at home, Hoerner stopped briefly.
“In the whole League, many people really appreciated the quality of the baseball that was played there without always the best resources, and the fans and the energy they brought,” Haerner said. “The players speak a lot of their experiences by playing the Colosseum, even if the changing rooms were not the most imaginative, or things like that. Just an excellent baseball place, and I hope the fans know that the players appreciated many of the same things they did.”
(Photo: Matt Dirksen / Chicago Cubs / Getty Images)
