Interview #9: Sarah Dumaop, Grieving A's Fan

The A’s made Sarah cry. Then I cried. Then Maggie laughed. She’s such a little trooper!

Background: Sarah (Michael) Dumaop was born in 1986 and grew up in Danville, California. She went to college at UCSD and then medical school in the Milwaukee area. She eventually returned to the Bay Area, living in Oakland and now Alamo, CA where she got to cheer on her hometown A’s again in person. She spends much of her free time with her family, including husband Wilmar and son Marty.

We talked about being a fan, her parents East Coast fandom, her favorite parts about being an A’s fan and… the ending.

Growing up a Baseball Fan

“Yeah, my dad used to take me to A’s games all the time. Usually when the Orioles were in town because he is from near Baltimore, or we would go when the Yankees were in town because my mom, when she immigrated here from the Philippines, immigrated to New Jersey and was a big Yankee fan. I don't think my parents intended for me to be an A’s fan, but because my dad really liked baseball, used to be a season ticket holder, I went to a lot of games when I was little and I don't even remember all these games. I started going to a lot of games, even before I can remember and started liking the A's even before I can remember. I mean, I don't even have, like, a memory of liking them. I just liked them.”

So your dad is a big O’s fan?

“So he's born and raised in like, southern central Pennsylvania, which is maybe like 45 minutes north of Baltimore. So he used to go to tons of O’s games and loved the O’s when he was little. I don't think he's actually been to Camden Yards.”

How did your mom wind up a Yankees fan?

“She’s from the Philippines and then immigrated to New Jersey, the Newark area, and I guess there are lots of Yankee fans there, but I don't know, I feel like Yankee fans are everywhere. Blech.

It was in her 30’s, I think, early 30’s when she immigrated here or late 20s. It's like 1978? Yeah, probably like 28 or 29. I don't know if she liked baseball before she came here, to be honest. I don't know how big baseball really is in the Philippines or if it was back then. But she wanted to assimilate into American culture. She likes tennis, but otherwise doesn't really like other sports. Like, she doesn't like football or even basketball for that matter. I think baseball and tennis are her number ones. She started liking volleyball after I played volleyball in high school.”

Did you play baseball or softball at all?

“No, I didn't. I always wanted to play baseball, and I used to play baseball with my brother in the backyard. Back then it was not really like, OK for girls to play baseball. I know there were like, a few girls in classes above and below me that would play. But like, for the most part, it was just like a 100% dominated boys sport. And I didn't want to play softball. If I was going to play, I wanted to play baseball. So, I ended up just playing baseball with my brother in the backyard.”

So what made you like the sport of baseball?

“Yeah, that's a really good question. I don't know. I found it really exciting. I also really enjoyed the crowd. There's really something special about Oakland that I feel like a lot of people don't understand or recognize. And they talk all the shit about Oakland and how they don't have fans and nobody goes to games. There's not like a lot of numbers, but the people that go there are fucking awesome. Like, there's just something about the energy that's in that stadium. I don't know if I could necessarily verbalize that's what I was feeling when I was little.”

“But I definitely, even now, even this past season, I was still feeling it and I would still feel it when I would see the A's play in different stadiums, like when they were playing San Diego when I lived there, and even when I lived in Milwaukee and I was lucky they came for interleague there. I felt it. You know, I think it's cool to be in a huge stadium with tons of people who appreciate a game that's a little bit slower and you have to concentrate a little bit more. I couldn't even tell you what specifically it is, but I really, really like the energy of the crowd. And maybe that's because Oakland A’s fans are awesome and fucking diehards. I find the sport really interesting. I couldn't tell you why I started liking it and kept liking it. I always enjoyed the food. I enjoyed my family. It was fun taking BART before I knew that BART was a disgusting shithole.”

Her Days Away from the Bay

What was your relationship with baseball in college and then med school?

“I still had a pretty strong relationship with baseball. I obviously wasn't as involved as I was prior to medical school, ‘cause when I went to (University of California) San Diego I was going to 20 games a season, or a decent amount.”

“And then in med school, as you probably know, in the Midwest everybody loves sports, everybody is gung ho about their team, whether it be college or professional or whatever. So it was very easy to like the Brewers. Everybody wanted to go to a Brewers game. They have the best tailgates. And I mean everybody says it because all the Chicago fans would come up from Chicago just to tailgate. And even though I was busy studying, there would always be some school event like, let's go to a Brewers game and they they would pay for food and even like alcohol.”

“Or I would just go with friends like, let's take a break from studying and and go to a game. I still went to a decent amount of games at Miller Park (American Family Field now). And I still also watched a lot of baseball. Like I said, my husband bought me MLB TV when we were living in Wisconsin, so I would still watch A’s games, even though often times they would be on really, really late because of the time difference. But I would. Still, like I wouldn't watch like every game. Even though I had to, you know, take a step back from my fandom, I definitely was still enjoying it and still using it as a study break.”

Her current family ties to baseball

Is Wilmar a baseball fan too?

“No. So when we first started dating, he was not a baseball fan at all. He just didn't care. And then obviously I'm a big baseball fan, so we’d go to Padre games all the time when we started dating because we were living in San Diego. Regardless of whether we were seeing the A’s or not, I love the Padres. They're definitely my NL team because I hate the Giants, so it's easy to like them. And then he just he started liking baseball and was definitely more into the Padres, like he had no reason to like the A’s. When I moved to Milwaukee, he got me MLB TV, so I could watch A’s games because it was like a lot harder to watch them over there. Then he started liking the A's because I was watching games all the time and he was watching with me. Now he's actually a really big A’s fan. This year has really dampened back our fandom, so it's a little bit different now. But prior to this year, yeah, he became a big fan because of me.”

When did you have your kid?

“2021. It was always my dream to take a child, whether boy or girl, to baseball, and I was so scared that it wasn't gonna happen because I thought they were going to leave during COVID or something. I didn't take him in the 2021 season, because obviously he was born August 31st and then there's like zero time left, but we took him, I don't remember how old he was, but definitely before he turned a year, we took him to two games. And we took him to two games in 2023, also.”

What if Marty becomes a Giants fan?

I gotta say, the stadium is beautiful. They have a lot of amenities. When and if the, I mean, the A’s are gonna leave, but when they leave, I'll still go to baseball games. I'm jus not going to, they're not my team, like they won't be my team and they may be Marty's team and that’ll kill me. But, he can like whoever he wants to like.”

Doesn’t sound like it…

“I think I'll be really angry about it, but I'll try my best to hide my anger.”

Do your parents still go to games?

“No, I think the last A’s game I went to with my parents, I was pregnant. It was in 2021 before I had Marty. The Yankees were in town and I made them come with me. My parents haven't really wanted to go to games with me recently. I think they're just getting older and you know, Oakland, it doesn't really have the best reputation anymore. It kind of scares people now. I work in Oakland, I work in Richmond. I'm cautious and careful and I still go to A’s games.”

The good times with the A’s

What do you like about the Oakland Coliseum?

“We went to a Moneyball game, and I wouldn't even know that it was Moneyball era at the time, until I just look back on it now. Stadium was packed. I think we were sitting in the third deck, I don't think we were on Mount Davis. And the stadium was full and even back then you could tell like, there were a lot of games where the stadium was not full, so when the stadium was full, it was a big fucking deal. I don't even remember if we won that game or not.”

She thought I was at this game, I hope she didn’t think I was Brett

“The atmosphere is always electric, palpable, like palpably electric and insane. But when the stadium is actually full, and you know you're dealing with that atmosphere it's just well above and beyond. And so, like, I couldn't even tell you specifically who was playing, but I just remember I was watching baseball with my friends, surrounded by tons of other people who love the Oakland A's just as much as I do. And it was just amazing. But it's funny how I don't remember any details, I just remember the feeling.”

Seeing Eric Chavez hit for the cycle (6/21/2000)

“One of my coolest memories I gotta say, was I got to see Eric Chavez hit a cycle. And on that day I got shit on, excuse my language, by a seagull. And I was like, ‘God, this fucking sucks’, but then he hit a cycle so, I was like, oh, that must be good luck.”

Note: it definitely is. Next time you go to a game and see a flock of birds, park yourself right under it and it’s a guaranteed win.

A’s season tickets

“My husband, we were just fiancés at the time, we moved to Oakland in 2017 for my job training. In 2019 he bought me a season pass. Well, it was called A’s Access. So it's not like a formal season pass, but it basically gets you into the stadium for any game. And like 6 or 8 games you get to pick your seat and we bought a tier where you pick your seat in the second deck, but we bought it for the 2020 season, funny enough. But we bought it like near the beginning of the 2019 season and they just allowed us to grow all the 2019 games. And as you know, their games are never sold out, especially then. So we were just going in for free. Like just on a whim. Like, I’d get done with work early and I'll be like, ‘Let's go to a game.’ Just take BART and go. It was awesome. Like it would be like 3:00 PM it's like ‘You wanna go to the A’s game?’ Sure. It was so much fun. Definitely the most games I had gone to in a season and we didn't even end up using that season pass because of COVID.

Even though John Fisher was messing up the team and the Coliseum was a shit show and nobody was going to games anymore it still had the great atmosphere, it was still so fun to just see my team on a whim. And I remember when he bought me the season pass, I honestly was tearing up because it was always my dream to have a season pass to fucking Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum because I never thought I'd see the day like, one, to be like living back in the Bay Area, but two, just how many times did they say, like the A’s we're going to leave and they, you know, and they didn't, but like, how many times in our lifetime alone is this now the third time that they're saying they're going to leave, maybe fourth.”

And then the current relationship status

So what are your plans for 2024?

“We're gonna go? Graig, to be honest, I've gone through many stages of grief with this team because I am an optimist and I'm very loyal and they've hurt me many, many, many times. But this, I think was just the fucking last straw. And it's not even like I hate them now, I just don't...

I can tell you about how I felt this past year and all of that is true, and I still feel remnants of it. But this past year, it feels so stupid saying this, because none of these people give a fuck about me. But this last year, they just killed me, killed my A's optimism and love. I was so angry. I think I even cried a little bit about it, but I usually only like cry happy tears for the A’s. I don't cry when they do dumb shit because they do dumb shit all the time. I just think John Fisher is evil. I think (Dave) Kaval is evil. I think they're all just constantly lying and just like, just fucking say how it is. Just say that you guys fucking want out. They're just full of shit and it’s just insulting to all of the fans.

I can't even like go into all the details. So like I said, I've gone through like waves of up, down, up, down, anger, sad, whatever. And now I'm just kind of like, apathetic about it. I'm at a place where like, I can't feel the same about this team anymore, and I never, ever, ever thought I would say that. It's not like a thing that you can just turn off, you know, like it's not like I hate the team now and I don't like the team anymore. It's not like that. I obviously still love baseball and I love what my Oakland A’s used to be. And I'll still go to the game and I'll support the players and I'll enjoy the feeling that I get when I go in the Coliseum. I get goosebumps and I'm like, this is my home. I feel like it's the end of an era, if that makes sense. I have reached my end with them. You know, even if for some weird reason they end up staying, which I don't... I think this is it. I really think this is it. It would take a lot for them to revive what used to be in me for that team. I don't know if what I'm saying is making sense.

There's a billion things I could say about how stupid all of this is. And yeah, I know there's a lot of people just like me who have been diehard fans forever. And they have been hurt by this team. Many, many, many, many, many times with all of the trades, with all of the playoffs and then you lose in the fucking first round or Wild Card game or whatever. You know, like there have been many, many, many of those, but we all stick around. We all are still here despite not getting any reciprocation. I mean, they're not putting any money into the team. All these players were like homegrown and we made them good, and then we're basically the farm team for the MLB. Like I said, it's the last straw and they just couldn't at least try to find an elegant way to do this? They just really had to like shit all over the fans and the city.”

If you could go back in time and talk to yourself in high school. What would you tell 15-year-old Sarah?

“That’s hard. You know, on the one hand, I want to say like, ‘Don't like this fucking team!’ Like, don't put your energy and love into this team. But then on the other hand, yeah, it's been like a hard 30-plus years being a fan. But at the same time, I don't regret it. I wouldn't take any of it back, so I almost wouldn't interrupt high school Sarah because I still, despite all of the shit… there's been so much shit that we've all dealt with as A’s fans. I still have had amazing memories and amazing baseball games I've been to and I've seen amazing plays and I've seen amazing players. It was so cool to see that happen. I would just tell high school Sarah, ‘You do you. Enjoy baseball the way you're enjoying it.’ I wouldn't change anything.”

Meeting Stomper and her favorite A’s player

When did you go to Spring Training?

“2018. It was so much fun. It's just so cool to see all the players right up close, and then I finally got to meet Stomper which had always been a dream of mine. But like he was, I was never sitting in the seats where. I got to take a picture with him and it's actually still my screensaver on my phone.”

Who's your favorite player ever?

“Ohhh favorite player ever. You know, I was gonna say Miguel Tejada, but he went to the Giants and that really pissed me off. OK, this will be a tie.

Obviously, I just have this connection to Eric Chavez because we saw him hit a cycle and I just thought that was so cool and so badass and I just thought he was an excellent third baseman.

I also really, really liked Liam Hendriks, he was the closer (from 2016 to 2020). When I first saw him play, I was like this guy is not going to stay on the A’s, like they're gonna trade him in, like, 2 seconds. He's gonna be gone. I am not gonna get tied to this guy, but I saw a decent amount of games with him playing and I just always knew if we got to the point where he was in at the end of the game, I knew we would win the game and he never lost a game when I was watching so I loved him.

I got to meet him in person and I freaked the fuck out when I meet any celebrity, but usually the celebrities, I mean, are sports players. And my husband thinks it's so funny because I act like a fucking dumbass and I'm stuttering and just stupid and embarrassing. But he was so nice, so nice.

It was A’s Fan Fest in Jack London Square. My husband bought me tickets, which is so nice of him, and honestly, they were like maybe these players might be here, maybe not. And so it was kind of like, who knows who's going to be here. He was there for some reason which was fucking awesome.”

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Takeaways

Man that was rough. We went through everything she loves about baseball, which Sarah put so beautifully. Talking about the atmosphere, being in a crowd with fellow fans cheering on your team. Going with parents from an early age. Getting her husband involved in her passion and now with a kid of her own to take to games.

And then…. the A’s are leaving. And that was hard to listen to. It doesn’t come across as well in print, but the audio you can really hear the pain. The pauses as she tries to come up with the right words, the anger and grief that bubbled back up, knowing there are no more good days coming for her favorite hometown team.

I’ve known Sarah since high school and she has always been one of the nicest, most easy-going and fun people I know. I’m so glad we still keep in touch, especially since we both keep trading wins in our high school fantasy football league. But just seeing what people like her are going through… She has a tough job as a doctor at hospitals in Oakland and Richmond. She has a toddler at home. She has a lot on her plate and the A’s were always something that brought her joy or a break from life or an excuse to get some sun. And through no fault of her own, that 35-year connection is over.

Why? So a few billionaires can get a few more dollars? Instead of trying to be leaders in the community and help rebuild Oakland or stay loyal to your East Bay fan base… they’re picking up and going to a town where nobody cares nor wants them.

But at least the Stomper memory was cute ;-)