SAN FRANCISCO – Giants players who spent time in Sacramento playing for the Triple-A River Cats will have a chance to relive their minor league days next season.
The Oakland A’s announced yesterday that the team would leave the East Bay for Sacramento after the season, where the team plans to play from 2025-27 while a stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is built.
The park will undergo renovations to install the requisite upgrades needed to host an MLB team. A’s team president Dave Kaval said Thursday that the team will pay to upgrade the batting cages, weight rooms and field itself at the stadium, and will also add seating, premium sections and advertising at Sutter Health Park.
Tyler Fitzgerald played in Sacramento a year ago and said one of the most important changes for players was installed this offseason.
“Last year we had one cage for home and away, and I think this year they have two cages,” Fitzgerald said. “With a big league club coming in, visiting teams are gonna need their own.”
San Francisco pitcher Tristan Beck played in the state capital last season, and said he has no doubt fans will come out to watch.
“I liked my time in Sacramento, and I know historically it’s been an unbelievable fanbase,” Beck said. “Sutter Park is an unbelievable ballpark, and I’ve heard the renovations they did this year are unbelievable. So it should be interesting.”
Giants players struck a mostly diplomatic tone when discussing the possibility of playing a game in 14,000-seat Sutter Health Park, with catcher Patrick Bailey remarking that “the renovations they did make it much more presentable.”
The Oakland Athletics announced on Thursday, April 4, 2024, to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland. (Kirby Lee via AP)
Fitzgerald hopes that outfield seating is added and a bigger scoreboard is put in place by the time 2025 rolls around.
Bailey added, “You know, I don’t think any situation like this is ideal, but you know, hopefully they make the best of it.”
Giants manager Bob Melvin didn’t address the playing conditions in Sacramento, but did express disappointment after hearing that the team he managed for 11 years is moving from its longtime home.
“It’s sad,” Melvin said. “I really enjoy the Coliseum, and if that’s really the case and that’s where they’re going, it’s too bad.”
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Neither Fitzgerald nor Beck believed the vaunted Sacramento summertime heat should be much of an issue for players, especially those that went through the minor leagues in regions with scorching temperatures during the season.
The A’s Triple-A team is based in Las Vegas and plays outdoors.
“I never really had a problem with the heat last year in Sacramento,” Beck said. “I felt like other places we go to like Texas were way hotter.”
Melvin said one of the bright spots of the move is that the A’s new residence is only a two-hour drive from the old Coliseum.
“At least they’re fairly close to where A’s fans can still take a drive and watch them, but you know, it’s gotten pretty dramatic there,” Melvin said.
