An update on the folly that is the A’s move to Sacramento (2025)

As most of you know, I have been a critic and skeptic regarding John Fisher’s pillaging of his Oakland fanbase and proposed move to Las Vegas, with a three-year (at least!) interim stop in Sacramento.

I remain VERY skeptical that the A’s will ever play in Las Vegas.

And now, per this San Francisco Chronicle article by Susan Slusser, players and agents are expressing concern about the artificial turf that’s going to be placed in Sutter Health Park in Sacramento (shown above). This is being done because the A’s are going to have to share the park with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

Player agent Scott Boras weighed in. Now, I know how many of you feel about Boras, but he’s absolutely correct in this case:

“Being raised in Elk Grove, the summer heat there in the Sacramento area is extraordinary, and if they put artificial turf there, that’s going to magnify the impact of the heat,” agent Scott Boras said. “In the major-league stadiums where there is Astroturf, there’s a dome so that the turf doesn’t absorb the heat. Those of us who played on Astroturf when it’s outdoors, like I did in the minor leagues, you understand it just releases heat, and you get up into 120-130 degrees in your shoes because you’re absorbing that heat.

“And what amendments have been made to allow for indoor pregame work? These are player concerns that have to be addressed. Protection of the players’ health and safety is imperative and from a business perspective — we are dealing with elite athletes.”

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Giants reliever Sean Hjelle, who has played parts of the last four seasons for the River Cats, also had some choice words, especially as it concerns the Triple-A team:

“I can only imagine that they’re going to be playing second fiddle for three years, and they’re going to have to be reactive to things like this, which sucks,” said Giants reliever Sean Hjelle, who has spent parts of four seasons in Sacramento. “But that’s the pecking order — everything River Cats will be thrown out. They’ll have to adjust and react at every single turn.”

“It’s going to suck when it’s 100-115 degrees in June, that’s all there is to it,” Hjelle said.

That “it’s going to suck” was such a definitive statement that it wound up as the headline to the article:

Beyond that, from Susan Slusser:

Most agents are concerned about the facilities not being up to snuff for their big-league clients. The team clubhouses will be in the parking lots and players will have to walk through the outfield to get to the dugouts as they do in some spring training sites. The trainers’ rooms and workout rooms won’t be as spacious as many big-league parks. Team buses might not be able to park at the stadium except for drop-offs. Ballpark amenities for players’ families could be reduced.

Several agents noted the A’s will struggle even more to attract free agents than they do already. Others said that players across MLB haven’t really processed what playing at a Triple-A facility for three years will entail.

The Cubs, incidentally, will be the A’s very first opponent in Sacramento, visiting for a three-game series March 31 and April 1-2. Fortunately for the Cubs, the weather should be relatively pleasant when they visit. The average high in Sacramento on April 1 is 70, with a low of 47. Meanwhile, the average high for most of July is 94,

So playing conditions in Sacramento for MLB players, used to larger and better facilities, are generally going to be pretty bad for most of the summer.

And if that’s not enough to sour you on the whole idea, what if you live in Sacramento and invest money and time in rooting for the A’s there and by some miracle, they make the postseason? You’re out of luck:

With the A’s very relocation being made for greater financial gains for team owner John Fisher, the idea of the team staying put in Sacramento’s 14,000 seat capacity ballpark for a potential postseason run seemed unlikely. We reached out to the A’s to see if there is anything in their agreement with Sacramento that says that those potential games have to be played at Sutter Health Park, and this was their response.

““Home” postseason games are not guaranteed to be played at Sutter Health Park. In the event a “home” postseason game occurs at an alternate location, A’s season ticket holders will have priority purchase access for tickets.”

Well then. Burke notes that Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum are the only MLB-quality parks within a reasonable distance of Sacramento, but logistics likely would prevent playing any postseason games there. And if you think “postseason” is a distant dream for the A’s, I will note that the A’s are 33-26 since July 1, one of the best records in the American League. They’re likely to improve this year by nearly 20 games from their 112-loss season in 2023 (and the Cubs had better take them seriously when they visit Wrigley Field next week). It’s not impossible for the A’s to make a run at a wild card in 2025.

Slusser’s article says the A’s will sell out the 14,000-seat Sutter Health Park for most if not all games next year, but at full MLB prices, especially in the hot summer, I have to wonder about that. Is there a chance the A’s could wind up back in Oakland? The Coliseum has been sold, but:

Because ownership doesn’t fully transfer to AASEG until later this month, its officials aren’t in a position to comment on their plans for the Coliseum. There doesn’t appear to be any reason they wouldn’t talk to the A’s should Sacramento prove to be unworkable or should MLB or the union press for another option, one with big-league facilities. The Oakland Roots have an agreement to play there next year, and other sports leagues are believed to have interest in the Coliseum, too, but schedules could be adjusted to accommodate a major-league sports franchise.

What a mess John Fisher has created. He’s completely alienated one of the most loyal fanbases in MLB, is sending his team to a potentially unsuitable ballpark for three years (or maybe more!) and there’s no update on any possible ballpark in Las Vegas — and I continue to believe that move won’t happen at all.

As always, we await developments.