Veteran relief pitcher Trevor May announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Monday, and he had some pointed words on his way out.
May, who pitched this year for the Oakland Athletics, called team owner John Fisher a “dork,” and implored him to sell the team.
“Now that it’s official, to the A’s organization and every single person a part of it — I love all of you,” May said in his Twitch stream. “Every single one of you. Except for one guy. We all know who that guy is. Sell the team, dude. I tried to get a ‘Sell’ shirt, it didn’t get here fast enough. Sell it, man.”
Fisher has been the Athletics’ majority owner since 2005, and took full ownership in 2016. The billionaire heir of the Gap Inc. fortune has a net worth of $2.6 billion, per Forbes.
Under Fisher, the A’s have gutted the on-field product, alienated fans and failed to work with the city to complete a stadium deal that would keep the franchise in Oakland. Instead, the organization is planning to move to Las Vegas.
Players who have donned the green and gold, like May, have taken note of Fisher’s leadership.
“Let someone who actually takes pride in the things they own own something,” May said. “There are actually people who give a shit about the game — let them do it. Take mommy and daddy’s money somewhere else, dork. And also: if you’re going to just be a greedy fuck, own it. There’s nothing weaker than being afraid of cameras.”
May, 34, spent only one season in Oakland, but he clearly had an impactful experience. He was at the center of both of the club’s most memorable moments; in both reverse boycott games, he capped 2-1 victories with saves.
In those games, fans flooded to Oakland Coliseum donning “Sell” shirts and reminding the baseball world that the Oakland market is more than capable of having a big-league team.
Yet Fisher and A’s ownership, after hopeful years remaining — in their words — rooted in Oakland, has been intent on relocating. MLB owners will likely vote this November to approve their move to Vegas.
The ugly situation hasn’t sat well with May.
“So, that’s one thing I really struggled with this year, was not just eviscerating that guy,” May said. “Do what you’re going to do, bro, you’re a billionaire, they exist. You guys have all this power; you shouldn’t have any because you haven’t earned any of it. But anyway, whatever. It is what it is. You got handed everything you have, and now you’re too soft to take any responsibility for anything you’re doing. Whatever: Oakland is Oakland. You can make all the cases ‘Oh, it’s not a great city, blah blah blah.’ But you’re putting hundreds, if not thousands of people out of work, who have worked somewhere for decades. And you haven’t acknowledged that at all. So, just be better. That’s all we’re asking. Just be a human being.”
