On August 31st, 1990, Dennis Eckersley saved his 40th game of the season in Oakland’s 4 – 2 win over the Texas Rangers. He joined Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Reardon as the only pitchers to save 40 games twice.

On Opening Day this year, I was as at the Oakland Coliseum to see the Oakland Athletics lose to the Cleveland Guardians. I entered the stadium through the Dennis Eckersley Gate (pictured above).

With the Athletics leaving town for Sacramento and then Las Vegas, that has me wondering about the legacy of Dennis Eckersley and all the old Oakland A’s. Will there be a Dennis Eckersley Gate in the new Las Vegas stadium? Will that new field still be called the Rickey Henderson Field?

In Bloomington, Minnesota, there is a street by the Mall of America called Killebrew Ave. It was a great name for a street when the street ran next to Metropolitan Stadium where the Twins played from 1961-1981. Now it just seems weird. And kind of sad.

During our trip to Pittsburgh earlier this month, we came across markers for the stadium where Honus Wagner played and the site of the first World Series. We also came across a marker for Three Rivers Stadium where Roberto Clemente played.

In 3-5 years the Athletics will be only a memory in Oakland. In 30 to 50 years, they will be just a marker along a sidewalk.