Rob Manfred Says Comments on A's Fans 'Taken Out of Context'

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred insisted Friday that a seemingly snide comment he made about the Oakland Athletics' attendance as part of a "reverse boycott" last week was taken out of context.

According to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, Manfred said the following on the subject of the A's in London ahead of a game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals:

"My comment about Oakland was that I feel sorry for the fans, that it was my initial preference that we find a solution in Oakland. The comment that I made about the fans on a particular night was taken out of context of those two larger remarks. I feel sorry for the fans. We hate to move. We did everything we could possibly do to keep the team in Oakland. And unfortunately one night doesn't change a decade worth of inaction."

After the A's drew 27,759 fans for their 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday week as part of a reverse boycott, Manfred told reporters: "It was great. It's great to see what is, this year, almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That's a great thing."

Manfred's comment was in spite of the fact that the Athletics drew more for that game than MLB's average per-game attendance of 27,497 this season, according to Baseball Reference.

Manfred did go on to say that he felt bad for the Athletics' fans before blaming the city of Oakland for failing to reach a resolution regarding a new ballpark:

"I think that the real question is, what is it that Oakland was prepared to do? There is no Oakland offer, OK? They never got to a point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site. And it's not just John Fisher. You don't build a stadium based on the club activity alone. The community has to provide support and you know, at some point, you come to the realization, it's just not going to happen."

Per Drellich, the spokesperson for Oakland mayor Sheng Thao combatted Manfred's comment by placing the blame on the A's organization:

Regardless of who is truly to blame, it looks like all systems are go for the Athletics to move from Oakland to Las Vegas in the coming years.

Last week, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo approved a plan that will provide the Athletics with $380 million in public funding toward a stadium that will be built on the Las Vegas strip.

Once that occurred, MLB began the process of getting a relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas approved, starting with the A's submitting a relocation application.

A's fans showed up in droves last week to offer their support for keeping the team in Oakland, but the Athletics still rank last in MLB this season in average attendance with only 9,688 fans per game, according to ESPN.

It is difficult to blame the fans, though, as the Athletics' roster was stripped down to bare bones, resulting in a 19-58 record, which is the worst in MLB this season.