The Abridged version:
- Fans have embraced the Athletics as the team leans into its short-term Sacramento stay before leaving for Las Vegas.
- The team added “Sacramento” to its jerseys worn for home games after leaving the city’s name off its branding last season. The jerseys, and giveaways, have been popular.
- The West Sacramento mayor teased an announcement related to a pitch to bring an MLB expansion team to the city if the league adds teams in the near future.
Fans began lining up outside the main gate of Sutter Health Park, temporary home to the Athletics, several hours before what was shaping up to be perhaps the most popular giveaway in the West Sacramento ballpark’s 26-year history.
It was the first “Sacramento Saturday” and the temporary resident Athletics, though wearing a Tower Bridge patch on their MLB uniform sleeves last season, were roundly criticized for not featuring Sacramento more in their branding efforts. But that was about to change, as each fan entering the ballpark received a bright green and gold jersey with “Sacramento” displayed across the chest. Many fans wore the jerseys instantly, matching the uniform tops A’s players also wore that day.
There are changes afoot through about a third of the second season of this unprecedented — yes, historic — arrangement, featuring an MLB team sharing a minor league ballpark for multiple seasons with a minor league club.
“There are definitely two things going on this year,” said Jim Webb, a Sacramentan and longtime A’s fan who attended his first game in Oakland during the first A’s season in 1968. Webb had a full-season ticket plan last year, attending about 60 games; this year, without season tickets, he has attended about 20 games.
“One,” Webb said, “they have a better product — they were basically out of contention by June last year. This year, they’re a No. 1 team, and they’re also embracing Sacramento a lot more.”
Another hot start
There’s almost daily baseball at Sutter Health Park, as the A’s and Sacramento River Cats seasons chug into June. The Athletics have remained in first place in the American League West Division for most of the season, without getting much separation from a .500 win-loss record. Crowds are up, and talk of October playoff baseball in West Sacramento is raising the specter of some interesting scenarios, in what some believe could be the Athletics’ last season here if MLB owners and players can’t agree on a new labor agreement, which could result in a lockout next season.
Amid the early-season buzz, elected and business leaders are expected this week to confirm a rumor that has followed the A’s inland stint: The region is developing a formal bid for a Major League Baseball expansion franchise.
While the Athletics are still moving aggressively forward in their planned move to the Las Vegas Strip for 2028, local fans have seemed more accepting this year of the unique temporary situation. Last season, the wounds from leaving their Oakland Coliseum home of 57 years were fresh, and the A’s finished well out of playoff contention, drawing a less-than-expected average shy of 10,000 fans per game.
As Webb noted, the vibe has seemed to tilt. Though MLB still doesn’t recognize the city as its official name, “Sacramento” is now being splashed across jerseys, sweatshirts, jackets and hats, and during every Sacramento Saturday giveaway game the A’s are in town, players are wearing the alternate Sacramento green and gold jerseys. Though appearing sparingly at the end of last season, Sacramento memorabilia is also widely available for the first time in the official team and online stores.
The Sacramento branding efforts may have helped at the gate. After a sold-out three-game series this month against the rival San Francisco Giants, which featured an A’s record crowd in Sacramento during the Sunday afternoon wind-blown rubber match finale, the A’s, through 22 home dates, were averaging 10,704 per game, with nine sellouts logged already, compared to just seven in all of 2025. More sellouts are likely to come, with highly anticipated matchups coming this weekend against the New York Yankees and the first appearance by defending two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers starting in late June.
Sacramento Saturdays and giveaways
Mike Sicilia of Sacramento said he’s primarily a Giants fan and a longtime River Cats partial season ticket holder who has attended several A’s games at Sutter Health Park both seasons, including the early-April jersey giveaway. He said the Sacramento Saturday jersey giveaways have been a hit.
“We’ve only been to two A’s games (this year), but the atmosphere has been electric,” Sicilia said. “No more ‘sell the team’ chants. The baseball has been exciting. We always notice out-of-town fans who are thrilled to see their heroes up close. It helps that they put an entertaining product in the field.”
Yes, entertaining it has been. Unlike 2025, when the A’s were 20-15 on May 5 before going 3-24 from May 6 to June 5, effectively killing any playoff hopes, the A’s in 2026 have been in or hanging around first place in the division for just about the entire season, even after starting the year 1-6. As of Tuesday morning, the A’s had a 27-26 record and a 1.5-game lead in the division.
A’s eye Vegas, city eyes expansion
While the front office has its eye on building a team for Vegas, Sacramento fans are reaping the benefits now, though the team’s $95 million payroll ranks near the bottom of the 30 MLB teams, more than $300 million short of the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers ledger.
Just before the 2025 season, the A’s front office began signing promising players to multiyear extensions, starting with outfielder Lawrence Butler, who signed for seven years, with a club option for 2032, and designated hitter Brent Rooker, who is signed through 2030. Other players signed to long-term deals include All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson, with a seven-year extension, and outfielder/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, also for seven years.
One player the A’s would love to lock up long-term is the 2025 Rookie of the Year, Nick Kurtz, who continues to spark the team in 2026. After the Giants series, Kurtz completed the equivalent of a full 162-game season, and the numbers show him to be one of the best young left-handed hitters in league history, with a .284 batting average, 44 home runs (36 last year), 115 RBI and 107 walks.
Fans have also been able to watch the hot start from catcher Shea Langeliers, the debut of top prospect Henry Bolte (the same night they saw a win over St. Louis and a Kurtz grand slam) and breakout star Carlos Cortes, who spent seven years in the minors, finally signing a minor league contract with the A’s before last season.
A two-team town
Meanwhile, the River Cats, the Giants’ top minor league affiliate, are playing their full 75-game schedule at Sutter Health Park with the yearly goal of keeping San Francisco supplied with a river of prospects. But this year they’re doing something different — at least since they last made the playoffs during their Triple-A championship year in 2019 — winning.
While surging to a lead in the Pacific Coast League West Division, the River Cats are putting together their own season of 13 homestand-related promotions, called “Festival of Baseball,” in an attempt to rebound from the 22% decline in attendance they suffered last year while sharing Sutter Health Park with the A’s.
The A’s, meanwhile, won’t be repeating last year’s regular 81-game home schedule in Sacramento. Groundskeepers will take the opportunity from June 8-14 to refresh the playing surface when the A’s head to another minor league park in their new city for a heavily promoted six games at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nevada, against the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies.
The fortunes of any baseball season could change in a heartbeat. The A’s, after a tepid first year in town, are finding a rhythm with the fans of their temporary home.
Steve Martarano is a Sacramento-based freelance journalist.