{"id":332785,"date":"2026-05-26T12:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/332785\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:44:09","slug":"fans-embrace-sacramento-as-as-athletics-lean-into-second-season-at-sutter-health-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/332785\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans embrace \u2018Sacramento A\u2019s\u2019 as Athletics lean into second season at Sutter Health Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version: <\/p>\n

Fans have embraced the Athletics as the team leans into its short-term Sacramento stay before leaving for Las Vegas. <\/p>\n

The team added \u201cSacramento\u201d to its jerseys worn for home games after leaving the city\u2019s name off its branding last season. The jerseys, and giveaways, have been popular. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 26-year history.<\/p>\n

It was the first \u201cSacramento Saturday\u201d 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 \u201cSacramento\u201d displayed across the chest. Many fans wore the jerseys instantly, matching the uniform tops A\u2019s players also wore that day.<\/p>\n

There are changes afoot through about a third of the second season of this unprecedented \u2014 yes, historic \u2014 arrangement, featuring an MLB team sharing a minor league ballpark for multiple seasons with a minor league club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are definitely two things going on this year,\u201d said Jim Webb, a Sacramentan and longtime A\u2019s fan who attended his first game in Oakland during the first A\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne,\u201d Webb said, \u201cthey have a better product \u2014 they were basically out of contention by June last year. This year, they\u2019re a No. 1 team, and they\u2019re also embracing Sacramento a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A'sSacramento-themed merchandise sold at Sutter Health Park in 2026. (Steve Martarano)<\/p>\n

Another hot start<\/p>\n

There\u2019s almost daily baseball at Sutter Health Park, as the A\u2019s 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\u2019 last season here if MLB owners and players can\u2019t agree on a new labor agreement, which could result in a lockout next season.<\/p>\n

Amid the early-season buzz, elected and business leaders are expected this week to confirm a rumor that has followed the A\u2019s inland stint: The region is developing a formal bid for a Major League Baseball expansion franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s finished well out of playoff contention, drawing a less-than-expected average shy of 10,000 fans per game.<\/p>\n

As Webb noted, the vibe has seemed to tilt. Though MLB still doesn\u2019t recognize the city as its official name, \u201cSacramento\u201d is now being splashed across jerseys, sweatshirts, jackets and hats, and during every Sacramento Saturday giveaway game the A\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s record crowd in Sacramento during the Sunday afternoon wind-blown rubber match finale, the A\u2019s, 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.<\/p>\n

\"A'sA\u2019s players at the sold out May 17, 2026, game against the San Francisco Giants at Sutter Health Park. (Steve Martarano)<\/p>\n

Sacramento Saturdays and giveaways<\/p>\n

Mike Sicilia of Sacramento said he\u2019s primarily a Giants fan and a longtime River Cats partial season ticket holder who has attended several A\u2019s games at Sutter Health Park both seasons, including the early-April jersey giveaway. He said the Sacramento Saturday jersey giveaways have been a hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve only been to two A\u2019s games (this year), but the atmosphere has been electric,\u201d Sicilia said. \u201cNo more \u2018sell the team\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, entertaining it has been. Unlike 2025, when the A\u2019s were 20-15 on May 5 before going 3-24 from May 6 to June 5, effectively killing any playoff hopes, the A\u2019s 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\u2019s had a 27-26 record and a 1.5-game lead in the division.<\/p>\n

\"Crowd\"Athletics home opener on April 3, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

A\u2019s eye Vegas, city eyes expansion<\/p>\n

While the front office has its eye on building a team for Vegas, Sacramento fans are reaping the benefits now, though the team\u2019s $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.<\/p>\n

Just before the 2025 season, the A\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

One player the A\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"A'sNick Kurtz, the 2025 American League Rookie of the Year, holds Los Angeles Angels All-Star and three-time MVP Mike Trout on at first base during an Aug. 17, 2025, game at Sutter Health Park. (Steve Martarano)<\/p>\n

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\u2019s before last season.<\/p>\n

\"A'sThe A\u2019s Jacob Wilson throws out Cleveland\u2019s Petey Halpin on May 3, 2026. (Steve Martarano)<\/p>\n

A two-team town<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the River Cats, the Giants\u2019 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\u2019re doing something different \u2014 at least since they last made the playoffs during their Triple-A championship year in 2019 \u2014 winning.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cFestival of Baseball,\u201d in an attempt to rebound from the 22% decline in attendance they suffered last year while sharing Sutter Health Park with the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The A\u2019s, meanwhile, won\u2019t be repeating last year\u2019s regular 81-game home schedule in Sacramento. Groundskeepers will take the opportunity from June 8-14 to refresh the playing surface when the A\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The fortunes of any baseball season could change in a heartbeat. The A\u2019s, after a tepid first year in town, are finding a rhythm with the fans of their temporary home.<\/p>\n

\"A'sDylan Nester, part of the A\u2019s promotional team known as The Herd, displays his wares before the sold-out May 17, 2026, game against the San Francisco Giants at Sutter Health Park. (Steve Martarano)<\/p>\n

Steve Martarano is a Sacramento-based freelance journalist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: Fans have embraced the Athletics as the team leans into its short-term Sacramento stay before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-332785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}