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A's owner excited to see Aaron Judge hit HRs against his team

New York Yankees' Aaron Judg. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Watch: A's owner excited to see Aaron Judge hit home runs against his team

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 4/4/24

Athletics owner John Fisher said on Thursday that he's looking forward to seeing some of the best MLB players hit home runs at the franchise's temporary home in Sacramento over the next three years.

During his comments at Sutter Health Park (home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats), though, Fisher failed to mention an A's player and instead named New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge as a primary attraction.

That, of course, would mean that Fisher is eager to see the former AL MVP outfielder hit dingers against his own club.

JOHN FISHER: "[We're excited to] be able to watch some of the greatest players in baseball, whether they be Athletics players or Aaron Judge and others."

@NBCSAthletics pic.twitter.com/Sxm3e8fIrc
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 4, 2024

The 62-year-old's words will only add heat and criticism to an already-overloaded amount of negativity toward him in recent seasons.

Fisher has been targeted since the Athletics announced their plans last April to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028.

Fans staged a "reverse boycott" by packing the Oakland Coliseum and wearing green "Sell" shirts while holding signs and chanting "Sell the team" during a game last June against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Athletics are one of the most storied organizations in baseball history with 15 pennants and nine World Series titles but all of that came before Fisher became a majority owner in 2005.

Not only have the A's failed to reach the Fall Classic since 1990, but they've made the postseason just seven times in the last 19 years since Fisher joined the franchise.

Any time the club has sniffed success, Fisher and company have decided to blow things up and have a fire sale, rather than build a title contender.

Following its division title in 2006, Oakland missed the playoffs and couldn't finish over .500 for five consecutive years. Under former AL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin and with stars like third baseman Josh Donaldson in the lineup, the Athletics made the playoffs for three straight years from 2012-14.

Oakland reset and finished in last place in the AL West three consecutive seasons from 2015-17 before again going on a nice run. The A's made the postseason three straight times from 2018-2020 behind power bats like Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson before seeing them all depart in either 2021 or 2022.

The Athletics allowed Semien to walk in free agency in January 2021 and traded both Chapman and Olson in March 2022 to the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, Oakland has been by far the worst team in MLB over the last two seasons, going a combined 110-214.

The A's 56-year run in Oakland is now officially coming to a close and things aren't going well, starting the season 1-6.

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