Trevor May is retiring from the A’s, and shortstop John Fisher is retiring

“Anyway, whatever. It is what it is. The fact is that you’ve got everything you’ve got, and now you’re too weak to take any responsibility for anything you do. Yeah, whatever, Auckland is Auckland. You can do it all.” “It’s not a great city. But you’re putting hundreds, if not thousands, of people out of work who have worked somewhere for decades, and you haven’t acknowledged it at all.”

“Just be better. That’s all we ask. Be human.”

Fisher decimated payrolls, forced the trade of star players and raised ticket prices, all of which led to a sharp decline in attendance at the Coliseum. It made it difficult to remain an A’s fan while making it easier to create a narrative for MLB and other team owners that baseball couldn’t work in Oakland and that a move to Las Vegas was the right thing.

However, May’s criticism of Fisher – contained in his unique exit interview – reflects what fans are saying through their organized protests, anti-Fischer chants, ‘Sell’ T-shirts and creative signage, and could also be an indication of discontent with ownership at the club. A.

In large part, players have been reluctant to shoot Fisher, who directly or indirectly signs checks. But the comments of a veteran like Maye suggest that players, like fans, don’t appreciate what Fisher has done for the once-proud franchise.

“The fan base, say what you want about them, say anything, but they’re tight out there, and they’re great, and they talk about baseball and the players on the field,” May said. “There’s this fan base with the best fan bases that love their players. Despite all this, everything I’ve been through, they still support us. They still say, ‘We know this isn’t your fault.’ We love you.’ And I want everyone out there to know how important this is to us. Seriously, thank you. All I wanted to do was do my best and give you something you’ll enjoy.

Maye, 34, is retiring after nine big-league seasons including with the Twins and Mets. In his swan song in Oakland, he posted a 3.28 ERA with a career-high 21 saves in 49 games on a team that lost 112 games. In his last 15 games, he has not surrendered any earned runs.

After retirement, May said he wants to write a book about baseball, hang out more with family and continue baking and cooking. He said he wrote a script for a short baseball movie. Of course, he plans to continue voicing his opinions on baseball and other matters in various roles behind the microphone.

“I want to go out on my own terms,” May said. “The way baseball usually works is that the vast majority of players retire because the powers that be say you’re not good enough to play anymore. Watching yourself slowly deteriorate until you’re just struggling to be relevant and have a job, it seems like… Horrible, especially when I enjoy everything else so much more.

Maye, who signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the A’s, missed a month of the season while on the injured list because of “anxiety-related issues.” That came in April after he surrendered eight earned runs in his first eight games.