Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval is trying to sell sand in the desert. The thing is, he’s pushed the relocation of the A’s to Las Vegas so much he’s having delusions of grandeur.
“Always great talking to you!”
I’ve just gotten off the phone with Kaval. It’s my first time speaking with him, but these things happen. When you’re constantly trying to make a 20+ year effort for a new ballpark become a reality, you have to forgive someone for thinking they’ve talked to you before when they haven’t.
But as the post-interview about additional details on the proposed Las Vegas ballpark continues, it goes further and further into what feels like more of a used car salesman pitch.
“You are doing a great job covering this story,” he adds which means it’s clear he’s never talked or read some of my stories. While I believe the ballpark comes together, I’ve questioned the business practices of the A’s and done so on more than one occasion.
Again, I try and brush it off. When you glad hand, suck up to politicians and kiss babies as often as Kaval has had to do to try and pull a rabbit out of your hat, you get to a stage where you use the same lines to butter people up, including media members.
But, without prompting, what came next shows that Kaval is living in an alternate reality where the A’s are on the verge of doing some miracle — something monumental in the annals of MLB history.
“This is the most important MLB venue since Oriole Park At Camden Yards,” Kaval says of the Vegas ballpark.
It’s an extraordinary statement, and nearly impossible to believe. Here’s Kaval touting the smallest seating capacity ballpark with a unique roof and little else, as the most transformative ballpark in the last half-a-century. It may not be the first of the modern ballparks (the White Sox holds that honor), but OPACY defined the return of the baseball-only facility and ushered in a wave of others with a retro vibe.
I bring up the possibility of leaving the brand in Oakland and starting fresh. “You’ve got some real challenges with a depressed brand model heading into a new market with little momentum to tout,” I say. “I know the club wishes to retain the A’s brand but it’s almost as if rebranding and allowing something unique to Vegas would be better. See Expos to DC and both iterations of the Senators (Minny and then Arlington) as examples.”
If the comment about the ballpark design being akin to Camden Yards was extraordinary, Kaval moved into delusions of grandeur in response to my comments.
“I like the example of the Dodgers,” Kaval says. “Our relocation is most similar to the Dodgers move out of Brooklyn.”
At this stage I have to think he’s trolling. No one can honestly believe this. Paired with the Giants, the Dodgers relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles remains one of the most significant moments in Major League Baseball’s history. No clubs had ever been west of the Mississippi River at that stage. Los Angeles was a vast and growing market. It came as commercial air flight was entering the mainstream. Walter O’Malley had Dodger Stadium built with an eye toward the experience patrons at Disneyland received with a spotless venue and an iconic location where the PCL had been the alternative to MLB.
Kaval had to be saying all of this thinking he was off-record. No other way anyone would say such over-the-top and unrealistic comparisons. But, he said, “In fact, you would be well served to write an article on it.”
In the end, the idea that John Fisher could be something akin to Walter O’Malley, or that the new ballpark could tug heartstrings like Oriole Park At Camden Yards had me getting a sense of déjà vu. His delivery; his trying to sell me on the deal. And then the true comparison came to my mind.
If there’s a situation and key players in this moment for the A’s that harken to baseball’s past, it is the Marlins. Fisher, who has been tormented with “Sell the team” reminds one of former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. As for Kaval, he reminds one of former Marlins president, David Samson. In both cases, the president of the club was charged with making long-sought-after ballparks come to fruition. Both have that “used car salesman” vibe as if they’re coning you into buying a lemon. And truth be told, the ballpark design in Miami where the Marlins relocated, and the A’s design for their relocation to Las Vegas aren’t too dissimilar. At least the Marlins were the first to break free of the retro designs post-OPACY. The A’s can’t even say that. Attendance in Las Vegas? Seems like something around what the Marlins draw is a reasonable expectation.
For many of the fans, maybe the Marlins would be the best comp for other reasons. After all, Loria sold the club shortly after arriving in Miami, and new ownership fired Samson. After all, it’s not if but when Fisher eventually sells the A’s.