MESA, Ariz. – As the A’s players filed out of the Hohokam Stadium clubhouse to warm up for their Cactus League finale, team staffers armed with cardboard U-haul boxes, metal hampers, and hand trucks rushed into locker room.
Much like the rest of Oakland’s spring camp, the club’s equipment managers needed to work fast. They had little time to pack up for the team’s departure to Japan on Thursday.
“We’ve got a lot of boxes,” one team employee called out, his voice rising above the chorus of zippers and duct tape, and the rattle of hangers being stripped of clothes soon to be stuffed into suitcases.