OAKLAND — For many years, A's team photographer and longtime Haight-Ashbury resident Michael Zagaris has lived and loved life as an eclectic, blue-jean-wearing beatnik on the Oakland Coliseum.
That a part of his life resulted in tears Thursday afternoon. It was 44 years old. Services will proceed.
Zagaris was one in every of three profession A's behind-the-scenes personnel whose time on the Coliseum got here to a dismal end after 44 years when the Rangers' Travis Jankowski reached third base at 3:06 p.m., ending the sport – and the A's time here since 1968 – with a 3-2 win in Oakland.
Unlike Zagaris, A's vp of stadium operations David Rinetti and visiting clubhouse manager Mikey Thalblum will remain with the club in Sacramento and beyond for its forty fifth season next 12 months.
Traveling secretary Mickey Morabito, whose arrival in 1980 makes him the Athletics' longest-serving worker with 45 years of service, also keeps his job when the team departs while he familiarizes himself with the ins and outs of one other airport.
Zagaris, who turns 80 before the A's 2025 home opener at Sutter Health Park on March 31 against the Cubs, said he has known for a while that Thursday's Coliseum finale could be his last game with the A's.
“Nothing lasts forever. It's sad. But that was a great time in my life,” said Zagaris, who didn’t feel like commuting from his home in San Francisco to Sacramento and back. “The (A) coaches have been attempting to persuade me to go all season, but I’m not going to Sacramento. That's a two-hour drive that makes the 405 from LA to San Diego seem to be a German Autobahn.
“And when I’m 80, I can’t get an apartment in Sacramento.”
True to his countercultural upbringing, Zagaris doesn't exit without sticking with “The Man,” as he criticized A's owner John Fisher for uprooting the team from its home of the last 57 years.
“That’s because of John Fisher,” Zagaris said. “It's about money and greed. He doesn't care about the fans, he just cares about making more money. It's sad. I think this is a black mark for the sport. It's not a matter of life or death. This is not us in a shopping center in Bucha (Ukraine) being bombed by Russians, but it is sad.”
Thursday was particularly tough for Rinetti as a few of his security guards were told there was no work for them in Sacramento.
“That was my life. In the last 44 years, I've spent more time on this place than anywhere else, even in my house,” said Rinetti, who grew up in Oakland and whose wife and two children will remain of their East Bay home while he travels to Sacramento commutes. “During these times you simply take into consideration all of the stuff you've been through and also you appreciate it.
“Just the hugging of all these people, especially in the last six games… a lot of tears. I am Italian, I cry. And by the way, I’m not done crying yet, especially today.”
For Thalblum, staying on the Colosseum really felt like a second home for the entire family. There he met his wife Janine. He even married her there. His two boys spent a number of time alongside him, working as A's batboys.
“There are so many people here who are not just people you see. They became friends,” Thalblum said. “Some are like family, others were at our wedding here on the Westside Club.
“This whole leaving thing, I compare it to people who grew up in a house their whole life and all the memories they have there. Memories with her neighbors. And you’ll think about that for the rest of your life.”
The 4,495th and final A's home game in Oakland history was an occasion that former clubhouse manager Steve Vucinich couldn't miss. Vucinich, who retired in 2021 after tying Connie Mack for the franchise record of 54 years of service, got here back to pay his respects to departing friends while mourning the lack of baseball in the town where he lived grew up.
“It's difficult. The sight of people losing their jobs touched me the most,” said Vucinich.
He understands the financial hit that part-time security guards, ushers, ticket agents and vendors will take. Concession employees told ABC 7 they were informed this week that they might not receive any severance pay Pay or medical insurance after Thursday's game.
Vucinich was particularly shocked by the departure of A's groundskeeper Clay Wood, whose job – together with those of his team members – was officially eliminated 30 years after the sport.
“The hardest part for me was Clay,” said Vucinich, who has consciously avoided his friend since learning the news in August. “I finally saw him at the fireworks on Friday evening. We had quite a wine festival. But everything will be okay.”
When Vucinich was asked to reflect on the avalanche of turmoil attributable to the town's lack of the A's championship, he paused for a moment before saying solemnly, “I just wish it hadn't happened.”
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