Oakland A's Mark Kotsay is still reeling as emotions run rampant in the final game

Manager Mark Kotsay felt months of emotions as he drove through the gates of the Coliseum on Thursday.

Watch the fans arrive in the parking lot. See the number of cars. Horns honked by a group of production team members following close behind. Feel the energy already crackling in the air.

Kotsay fended off questions about the emotions surrounding the Oakland A's move for months. Then came the A's final game at the Coliseum on Thursday.

Tears welled up in Kotsay's eyes as he spoke to the media before the game. They came again during a speech to fans after the game. Emotions delayed for months, bubbling over in front of more than 45,000.

“I’m still reeling at the moment,” Kotsay said. “Concentration during the game helped eliminate those emotions and here they are again. The speech comes from the heart. I am both an Oakland A’s player and a major league player and manager because this is where home began and this is hopefully where home ends.”

Home. For the A's, it's currently a loose concept that's been put on hold because of a lot of work left to make Sutter Health Park – their new home in Sacramento – a major league baseball stadium and questions about financing their new one stadium in Las Vegas.

Thursday was the last day Oakland hosted the A's. To Mark Kotsay, who played in Oakland for four years and coached for nine. To a young squad with limited ties to the city but endless gratitude for the fans.

Kotsay's overwhelming emotions came to the fore on Wednesday evening as he walked with his wife Jamie to midfield, his former stomping ground, after the game. There, Kotsay delved into the significance of Thursday's game and sparked a discussion with Jamie about his feelings and how he would express them to fans.

This was the first draft of Kotsay's speech to the fans. The A's PR staff did the rest of the work on Thursday morning. During the speech, Kotsay thanked the fans, staff and led supporters in a final round of “Let's Go Oakland” cheers.

The players had no idea what Kotsay was trying to say. Some didn't even know he was going to speak.

“It fired me up,” second baseman Zack Gelof said. “He played for the A's. He has guided us through the times. We are also trying to get out of this difficult time with the talent we have now. I mean, absolutely, just an amazing moment. He didn’t care about himself, he just cared about the fans.”

It's a mindset Kotsay instilled in his players earlier in the week, showing the team how much they meant to Oakland and the fans.

“He let us know, 'Make sure you do something for the fans, the staff and the people on the field and off the field all week long,'” right fielder Lawrence Butler said. “'Recognize them and thank them for everything they do.'”

The players took it calmly. During the Texas series, they filled the path to the field and signed dozens of balls and jerseys. Pitcher JT Ginn applauded from the crowd as he left Thursday's game. They took out their hats and listened as Kotsay addressed the crowd and then gathered for a photo.

“Grown up” is how Kotsay described his team in this homestand. Maturity in honoring the fans, maturity in managing large crowds, maturity in remaining balanced despite everything.

The term can remain the same. Oakland fans won't be there to see it. You won't be there for the wins, the losses, the epic walk-offs and the pitching gems. Sacramento and one day Las Vegas will have these moments.

There is no consolation prize for Oakland fans in this mess. But Kotsay will always love Oakland. That appreciation will live on in countless memories: his inside-the-park home run as a player, delivering an unexpected second-half turnaround as manager in 2024, expressing his gratitude to fans on Thursday and leading the team to one final win in Oakland led.

The crowd cheered as Mason Miller secured the victory in the ninth round on Thursday. But Kotsay, leading the A's in Oakland in his final moments, could only see what lay before him: a sellout crowd, players in Kelly Green “Oakland” jerseys, an unprecedented celebration on the field.

“It was almost silent,” he said. “That’s strange, isn’t it? I didn't hear the roar. I just watched the joy of Mason and the group. The game itself and the energy were just as great as a playoff game.”

But there will be no more playoff games in Oakland. The memory of Thursday's thrilling win, which Kotsay managed as if it were a playoff game, will have to suffice. Countless playoff games, Kotsay's appreciation for Oakland, the gratitude of the players. All just memories.