Blue Jays’ Bassitt takes Coliseum memorabilia in final game vs. A’s originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Chris Bassitt tossed a gem Friday night at the Coliseum, and he couldn’t leave the bump without a little memorabilia.
The former Athletics-turned-Toronto Blue Jays pitcher was back in Oakland for the first game of the three-game set. And after eight innings of one-run ball, Bassitt picked up some dirt from the Coliseum mound and put it in his pocket before walking back to the visitors’ dugout.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever see this place again,” Bassitt said after the A’s 2-1 walk-off win against the Blue Jays.
At the end of the eighth inning, Chris Bassitt struck out Miguel Andujar, picked up some dirt from the Coliseum mound and put it in his pocket:
“I don’t know if I’ll ever see this place again,” Bassitt said.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 8, 2024
Chris Bassitt reaches down to scoop some Oakland Coliseum dirt after his final strikeout tonight. His 2.36 ERA at the Coliseum is 2nd-lowest all-time, min. 250 IP. He’s above Catfish, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Eck, Stew, etc. Trails only Paul Lindblad’s 2.29. pic.twitter.com/82oW78J44Q
— Adrian Garro (@adriangarro) June 8, 2024
There still are two games remaining in the series, but Bassitt likely played his final game at the Coliseum.
The A’s lease at the ballpark ends after this season, and the team announced it will play three years of baseball at the San Francisco Giants Triple-A affiliate’s stadium in West Sacramento until their proposed Las Vegas ballpark opens.
The A’s have called Oakland Coliseum home for more than 50 years.
Bassitt was a fan favorite in Oakland during his six seasons with the club from 2015 to 2021. He was named an MLB All-Star during his final season with the A’s after boasting a 12-4 record with a 3.15 ERA through 157 innings pitched in 27 games. In March 2022, the A’s traded Bassitt to the New York Mets in exchange for two right-handed pitching prospects, J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller.
Friday was a special night for the former A’s starter against his old team, as Bassitt struck out seven against two walks and allowed one run on four hits on a mound he’s all too familiar with. He reached eight innings on 102 pitches.
“His bag of tricks showed up,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said postgame (h/t MLB.com). “This kid can pitch. We had him for [six] years. Bass was a staple. When you talk about the [Bob Melvin] era, Bass was the stable force behind that pitching staff that was so successful. He grew up in this organization. You saw tonight the competitor that he is.”
While there weren’t too many familiar faces in the A’s dugout due to the organization’s many years of rebuilding, the Coliseum still holds a special place in Bassitt’s heart — and the memories forever will remain.
“A lot of people would come here and see how bad Oakland’s Coliseum is … and I just see people,” he said. “I see BoMel. I see [Matt] Olson, [Matt Chapman] doing stupid stuff. I see [Marcus] Semien, I see [Chad] Pinder, [Mark] Canha — I see all those guys. This place, obviously, is very, very special to me.
“There’s a million different places in this place that I see funny, weird things that happen, and it just brings me back to my best friends in the game.”
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