San Francisco Giants starter Alex Cobb started his night by striking out seven of the first eight Oakland A's hitters he faced on Tuesday. The Giants snapped a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the visiting team, but last night's game was hardly about wins and losses, and more about both sides of the Bay coming together to attempt to keep the A's in Oakland amid relocation threats.
Cobb talked to reporters after his start, and shared his thoughts on the chants throughout the game, and the history of the A's franchise.
"I had no idea what was going on. It just got loud. I was trying to focus on...the PitchCom. I couldn't hear PitchCom. I actually threw a pitch I didn't want to throw because I didn't hear it."
This is very reminiscent of when Hogan Harris was on the mound for the A's in the top of the fifth inning on June 13th for the "reverse boycott" game. Harris said postgame that he thought his PitchCom was broken because it was so loud at the Coliseum during the "sell the team" chants.
"It was energy for sure" Cobb continued. "I think it's really cool to see the bond between the two fanbases pulling in the same direction and wanting the same thing. Everybody knows how good this little rivalry has been for baseball, and the passion--I've been in Oakland when they're at the top of the league. The energy that that crowd brings when they're in postseason contention, it's just a very unique atmosphere. That fanbase is very passionate."
Cobb, 35, has been in the big leagues for at least part of 12 seasons, with the last two coming with the Giants. He also spoke a little bit about how difficult it is to build up a fan base like the one the A's currently have, and how long it takes, reflecting back on his days with Tampa Bay.
"I think it takes so long to create that deep-rooted fan base. I played in Tampa for a long time and they were a new franchise. We were a really good baseball team, but, we were still relatively new. There wasn't generations of fans that grew up [with that team]...you could feel it. I think that they're starting to get there now where the kids that were young who saw good baseball teams now are older and they're passionate about their team. Whenever you move a franchise, that's going to take a really long time to create. Like I said, it's a unique environment over there. If they do end up leaving, it'll be sad because I have a lot of really fun memories [of playing] in that park."
In five games at the Coliseum, Cobb has a cumulative 1.60 ERA across 33.2 innings. Against the A's overall, he is 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA in 11 starts. It's pretty easy to see why he has a soft spot for A's fans and the Coliseum.
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