MC Hammer dishes on his Oakland A’s origins and Bay Area sports

MC Hammer dished on his true origins with the Oakland A’s, his Oakland Raiders leaving for Las Vegas and the rebuilding Golden State Warriors.

MC Hammer’s greatest hit may have been called “U Can’t Touch This,” but he actually touched on quite a few topics with FanSided’s Mark Carman in the lead-up to Super Bowl 54 in Miami this weekend.

Teasing his upcoming Super Bowl commercial for Cheetos’ new Cheetos Popcorn, the Oakland native dished on his job with the Oakland A’s as a kid, his feelings about the Oakland Raiders leaving for Las Vegas and the rebuilding Golden State Warriors.

While many already know that Hammer, a.k.a. Stanley Kirk Burrell, served as a batboy with the team in the ’70s, he felt the need to clarify the true story about what his role was with the Athletics.

At the time, he had two brothers who worked in the building — one as a batboy, the other as an assistant clubhouse manager. When the owner saw a young MC Hammer dancing walking into the clubhouse one day, he invited him in.

“He said I danced like a grown man, he saw me dancing to a James Brown song, he explained. “I was just having some fun, and he invited me in the game and made me his righthand man and for the next nine years. My job — because he was an absentee owner, he lived in Chicago — was to go to the owner’s box, only me, dial Chicago and do the play-by-play from Oakland to Chicago. I did it from the time I was nine until I was 18. So by the time I was 14 years old, I was on ABC’s Kids Are People Too as the youngest executive vice president in Major League Baseball.”

That’s not all, however. As it turns out, MC Hammer’s connections from a young age ran even deeper.

“At 15 or 16, my broadcast partner became a gentleman who was going to Cal-Berkeley,” he said. “Subsequently, years later, he would build a stadium that was first called AT&T Park and become the general manager of the San Francisco Giants. His name was Larry Baer.”

The 56-year-old MC Hammer is still an avid fan of Bay Area sports, including the Raiders and Warriors. While he’s sad to see his NFL team leave, he appears he’s taking solace in their new destination.

“If they had to go anywhere, my preference would be Las Vegas,” he said.

Burrell also spoke at length about the Warriors’ rebuilding year and how load management is coming at a great time for his team’s superstars, as well as his journey through life, his spirituality and, of course, Cheetos Popcorn.

MC Hammer spoke to FanSided on behalf of Cheetos.