OAKLAND — Like he’s done so many times before, Bob Melvin arrived at the Coliseum early on Friday morning to run up and down the stairs of the 57-year-old ballpark.

Then he looked into the upper deck, noticed the retired numbers and had a sad realization: all the Oakland teams — the Raiders, the Warriors and the A’s — could soon be gone.

“That’s one of the first things I thought about today,” the former A’s manager said.

Now leading the Padres, who have a $250-million payroll but are on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs, Melvin returned to the Coliseum on Friday for the first time since he left the A’s in 2021.

“I got here plenty early today,” he said. “I went out here early, saw Clay Wood, the groundskeeper, and Reba, who is his dog, who is a very good friend of mine. She remembered me, came running, that was a very good feeling right away.”

Perhaps he was caught up in the nostalgia of being home, but Melvin seemed almost reluctant to acknowledge the A’s pending move to Las Vegas, noting that he’s not an expert on the subject, but saying, “they’re still here.”

“It’ll probably be a while if they do go to Vegas,” he said. “Nothing is for sure. Fans and everybody else should enjoy (the team) while it’s here and hopefully it’s here a bit longer than everybody thinks.”

Melvin seemed to be holding out hope that something could happen between now and November, when MLB owners will vote on the A’s bid for relocation. A’s owner John Fisher needs 75% of the owners to sign off on his move before the A’s can officially say goodbye to the city they’ve called home since 1968.

Melvin, who was born in Palo Alto and grew up in Menlo Park, said he came to his first A’s game when he was 12 years old. He became a first-round draft pick in 1981, enjoyed a 10-year big league career and began managing in 2003.

He managed the A’s from 2011 to 2021, making the playoffs six times in 11 years.

With the A’s expecting to rebuild, they let Melvin exit his contract a year early. He signed a three-year deal with the San Diego Padres, who were making the jump from a low-budget team to one of the game’s most daring and biggest spenders.

“It was going to be a different direction than the one when I was here,” Melvin said. “They were good enough to let me go somewhere else and try something different.”

During his time managing the A’s, Melvin said he often felt like they were on the verge of getting a new ballpark.

“It was Fremont, it was San Jose, it was Laney (College), it was Howard Terminal, it was potentially here,” Melvin said. “There was a lot being bantered about.”

Asked if he has feelings about the Coliseum, Melvin said, “it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that some of the other places do but it means a lot to me.”

The A’s, who began their final homestand of the season on Friday, have one more year on their lease before they need to find a new home. They don’t expect to begin building a new ballpark in Las Vegas until 2025 and won’t begin playing it until 2028.

“I don’t think anything has been settled on completely at this point,” Melvin said. “That was always the case here. The one thing that remains is this place is still here.”

This year has been the hardest of his career “because of the expectations we’ve had as a team,” Melvin said.

With superstars like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, the Padres entered the season ranked the No. 2 team by ESPN, which gave them an 81% chance to make the playoffs and 9% chance to win the World Series.

Instead, the Padres (69-78) entered Friday’s series in Oakland 6-1/2 games back of a Wild Card spot with five teams in front of them.

“I feel responsible,” Melvin said. “I feel accountable for what goes on here. And I think everybody is disappointed, certainly myself included.”

A three-time Manager of the Year, Melvin is now facing questions about his job security as the 61-year-old has only one year left on his contract.

USA Today wrote last week that Melvin “could take the fall” for the Padres’ poor season.

And a San Diego Union Times story this week suggested the Padres lacked leadership in the clubhouse, but the finger was pointed at Manny Machado, not Melvin.

“Ultimately I’m the leader, so I have to feel accountable for what’s transpired here,” Melvin said.

Across the field, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said he wouldn’t be in a big league dugout if it wasn’t for Melvin, who first hired him as a bench coach in 2016.

“I can’t thank him enough for it,” he said. “But obviously I want to beat him tonight.”

Melvin returned the compliment, saying that Kotsay is doing a great job and the 100-loss A’s are still playing hard in September. 

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“But I don’t like the word, ‘spoiler,’” Kotsay said.

Meanwhile, the Padres need to “run the table” to make a miraculous playoff run, Melvin said.

Wrapping up a challenging year, he seemed relieved to spend a weekend in the Bay Area.

“I love this place,” he said.

And the fans, who gave him an ovation after the A’s played a short video tribute to Melvin before the second inning began on Friday.

“I think the fans will embrace this team as long as they possibly can,” he said. “And who knows where it ends up.”