Chaos, delays and ‘Oakland’ chants as A’s honor franchise Hall of Fame class
It was a surreal scene Saturday at Sutter Health Park for the Athletics during their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but not for the reasons they had hoped.
Just as former star pitcher Mark Mulder was about to make his speech in his new green jacket, the ballpark’s fire alarm rang out. And instead of Mulder talking about his fond memories playing for the A’s in Oakland, a loud and repeating beep echoed through the public address system.
“There is a fire emergency in the building,” a robotic voice said. “You are to the leave the building at the nearest exit or exit stairway. Do not use the elevator.”
The fire alarm soon stopped. But its triggering caused the public address system to need rebooting before the ceremony could resume. So there was roughly a 10-minute delay in the ceremony, causing it to get cut short before the A’s took on the Cincinnati Reds.
During the delay, some of the fans broke out in a loud “Let’s Go Oak-land” chant, which has new meaning this season since the A’s dropped having a city in their official name while they play in West Sacramento, their temporary venue for home games following their move from Oakland at the end of 2024.
The A’s were inducting the “Big Three” of pitchers Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito into their team Hall of Fame, along with broadcaster Monte Moore, who called A’s games on the radio from 1962 to 1977. The new honorees and the living members of the A’s Hall of Fame sat on the middle of the infield in silence while system rebooted.
Of course, the A’s were holding the ceremony 86 miles from where Mulder, Hudson and Zito pitched. They comprised one of the best starting rotations in baseball during the “Money Ball” years of the early 2000s that included four consecutive postseason berths from 2000 to 2003.
And while rabid A’s fans used to pack the dilapidated Oakland Coliseum to watch those teams, very few made the trip to honor the Big Three in West Sacramento before Saturday’s game.
The A’s are playing at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A River Cats, before their planned move to their new ballpark on the Las Vegas strip in 2028. They failed in numerous attempts to build a new stadium in Oakland and surrounding cities Fremont and San Jose.
Hudson was asked before the ceremony about it taking place in West Sacramento and not in Oakland with the fans he played in front of.
“It’s an honor to have it anywhere. But obviously if it were in Oakland at the Coliseum at the Coliseum in front of our home fans for all those years, that would have been really special,” Hudson said.
“There was an edge about the Coliseum that really helped us win. With the horns, the drums, the fans, we feel like it gave us an edge out there. All the fans in the Bay Area and Oakland, I always appreciated the support and love that you gave us. It’s something that I’ll always cherish.”
Once the delay ended and his microphone resumed working, Mulder opened his speech with, “I think we are still at the Coliseum by the way.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2025 at 7:40 PM.
