A’s announcer Dallas Braden responds to critics calling him a sellout

Athletics announcer Dallas Braden has taken some heat from the team’s jilted fanbase in Oakland for being loyal to the franchise as it makes its protracted move to Las Vegas.

Braden was a popular pitcher for the Oakland A’s from 2007 to 2011, and became a TV analyst for the team’s broadcasts after he retired. Many fans viewed him as sympathetic to their cause, and have subsequently labeled him a sellout as he has represented the A’s at numerous events, including the recent groundbreaking ceremony for the team’s new Las Vegas ballpark.

In an appearance on the “Baseball Is Dead” podcast, Braden essentially owned the criticism.

“To the folks that want to call me a sellout, you know what I say to you? I say you’re right. When I was four years old, I sold out to being the very best baseball player I could possibly be. … If you’re telling 16-year-old Dallas he was going to have an opportunity to be a part of Major League Baseball outside of his playing days, I would have called you a liar because my path was not supposed to end up here. I was not supposed to be at the podium for a groundbreaking ceremony for a Major League Baseball team.

“We all know who that kind of stuff is reserved for. I’m in the same room as Dave Stewart, Hall of Famer. Rollie Fingers, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer. The commissioner sitting feet away from me. So for me, did I sell out? I sold out to Major League Baseball. And I sold out to the dream that I had and the dream that I shared a whole f—ing lifetime ago.”