Blue Jays’ Bassitt takes Coliseum memories from final game against A’s originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Chris Bassitt dropped a gem Friday night at the Coliseum and couldn’t leave without some memories.
The former A’s pitcher turned Toronto Blue Jays was back in Oakland for the first game of the three-game series. And after eight one-run innings, Bassitt scooped up some dirt from the Coliseum mound and pocketed it before returning to the visitors’ dugout.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever see this place again,” Bassitt said after the A’s 2-1 win against the Blue Jays.
At the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Bassitt struck out Miguel Andujar, picked up some dirt from the Coliseum mound and put it in his pocket:
“I don’t know if I’ll ever see this place again,” Bassitt said.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 8, 2024
Chris Bassitt bends down to pick up some dirt from the Oakland Coliseum after his final strikeout tonight. His 2.36 ERA in the Coliseum is the second-lowest of all time, min. 250 IP. He is above Catfish, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Eck, Stew, etc. He is only behind Paul Lindblad’s 2.29. pic.twitter.com/82oW78J44Q
– Adrián Garro (@adriangarro) June 8, 2024
There are still two games left in the series, but Bassitt likely played his last game in the Coliseum.
The A’s lease on the stadium ends after this season, and the team announced it will play three years of baseball at the stadium of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in West Sacramento until the stadium opens. proposed in Las Vegas.
The Oakland Coliseum has been a place the A’s have called home for more than 50 years.
Bassitt was a fan favorite in Oakland during his six seasons with the club from 2015 to 2021. He was named an All-Star during his final season with the A’s after boasting a 12-4 record with a 3.15 ERA in 157 innings pitched in 27 games.
And on Friday, a special night for the former A’s starter against his old team, Bassitt struck out seven with two walks and allowed one run on four hits on a mound he is very familiar with. He went eight innings on 102 pitches.
“His bag of tricks came out,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said after the game (h/t MLB.com). “This kid can pitch. We had him for (six) years. Bass was a staple. When you talk about the (Bob Melvin) era, Bass was the stable force behind that pitching staff that was so successful. He grew up in this “Tonight you saw the competitor that he is.”
While there weren’t many familiar faces in the A’s dugout due to the organization’s many years of rebuilding, the Coliseum still holds a special place in Bassitt’s heart, and the memories will remain forever.
“A lot of people would come here and see how bad the Oakland Coliseum is…and I just see people,” he said. “I see BoMel. I see (Matt) Olson, (Matt Chapman) doing stupid things. I see (Marcus) Semien, I see (Chad) Pinder, (Mark) Canha… I see all those guys. This place, Obviously, it’s very, very special to me.
“There are a million different places in this place where I see weird and fun things happen, and it reminds me of my best friends in the game.”
