River Cats move to Oakland, while A’s in Sacramento?

41 comments

1. Sounds logical

2. If the River Cats weren't the Giants' AAA affiliate, then the Giants would probably have fought tooth and nail to prevent the River Cats to play in Oakland. But, the question is whether or not the Giants would sign off on a move, even though it might make logistical sense. The question is whether or not Oakland would renovate the Coliseum for AAA baseball as opposed a major league team.

3. No minor league team wants to lease the Oakland Coliseum for a summer of games… Their small minor league stadiums are difficult to fill, why would they wish to play in a large major league stadium? Mainly for the same reason a corner convenience store won't lease a closed Kmart or a closed Sears… When will the city of Oakland realize they let the Warriors, Raiders, and A's leave town because they were a bad landlord?

4. No thank you

5. Closest I've ever seen a AAA and MLB team is Boston. Polar Park in Worcester, MA is 44 miles from Fenway Park in Boston….and millions in tolls.
   The River Cats are connected to the Giants for MLB, not the A's….not sure if that's a problem too?
   NO to Cal Expo….that place has enough traffic. Where would I put the MLB stadium? Southwest of Sacramento? Dixon? Davis?
   No reason to move the River Cats anywhere. 2 teams can share a stadium. Yankees/Mets did it back in the mid 70's.

6. Im not supporting any Giants teams. Go Ballers!

7. The twins have the saints just down the road

8. Can't the Ballers now play at the Coliseum?

9. Also, don't forget that Seattle has two minor league affiliates within an hour of Safeco Field – Tacoma (AAA) and Everett (A). All things being equal, if the Giants' AAA affiliate wants to be closer to San Francisco, that might make logistical sense for the club,.

10. Tariffs could sky rocket the cost of a new stadium.

11. Hmm, if I lived in Sacramento I'd take the RiverCats.

12. send the Rays to McCoy in Pawtucket.

13. I mean, the roots have an agreement to play there already. I suppose its possible but not an obstical free move.

14. I mean, the roots have an agreement to play there already. I suppose its possible but not an obstical free move.

15. The giants (once A's) farm team? …. that's a fast pass… especially being how Oak handed sf territorial rights in So. Bay & then sf goes & screws them yrs later on that > sorry… I'd be in for a full on Boycott should that happen.

16. Never buying anything from Temu, which interrupted your fine post 9 times in 14 minutes…

17. On a different but related note, is there any idea what happens to the Aviators when/if the A's finally come to Vegas? I know some markets can have an MLB and AAA team but I don't see Vegas being one of them.

18. MLB has become a SH*T Show With All This……..Minor League Team Possibly Playing In a Major League Park/Major League Team Playing In a Minor League Park

19. Naw.

20. At this point, it's all just mental self pleasuring.

21. The Dodgers and Angels shared Dodger Stadium from 1962-1965

22. There is no way I’d support the River Cats in Oakland. For one, we’d be supporting Vivek, and that’s a solid NO. Second, how ridiculous would it be for a minor league team to play in a Major League stadium, while the A’s are playing in a minor league stadium? And does the AASEG own the coliseum? That’s another cluster F. I’d rather see the Ballers play in the Coliseum.

23. I don’t think business would stop it…In 2021, three MLB teams either moved or signed their Triple-A teams to be Bay Area-level close to their affiliates: The Boston Red Sox had their Triple-A team move from Pawtucket, RI to Worcester, MA (44 miles away); The Houston Astros changed their affiliation to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (22 miles away); and the Minnesota Twins changed their affiliation to the St. Paul Saints (11 miles away). And if you go back a bit earlier, in 2009, the Atlanta Braves moved their Triple-A team from Richmond, VA to Lawrenceville, GA (35 miles away).

    That’s four MLB teams in the last 15 years actively deciding that a Triple-A affiliate was more helpful to be close than harmful to the business.

    But if this were to happen, it’s years away, since it really depends on the A’s staying in Sac, which won’t really be known for years. And I doubt it happens for one more practical reason: Building minor league stadiums are not much easier than big league stadiums, and it would be incredibly expensive with little land to build on. Plus, there’s expected to be another huge minor league shuffle coming in 2031, especially if baseball can get its expansion plans together.

    A better question: Will new River Cats owner Vivek Ranadive, who bought the team in 2022, after the current affiliation agreement, want to re-affiliate with the Athletics, even if the Athletics move to Las Vegas? After having the A’s in town, he might see a bigger advantage to affiliating with the Athletics…and if you’re going to talk about metro areas that probably could not support a big league and a Triple-A team, you have to talk about Las Vegas, who has a slightly smaller metro areas by population than Sacramento. In that scenario, maybe the Giants have to change affiliations, and find a way to put their Triple-A team in…San Jose (though the stadium cost problem and land problem also exists in the South Bay).

24. Minor league baseball at the Coliseum will hurt the Ballers.

25. I'd love the Santa Rosa (Russian) River Cats, but we're way too small for a Triple-A team. Sonoma County doesn't even have 500k people. We could definitely host a Single-A or Pioneer League team, though. I think a Triple-A team would also take away too much of the Giants revenue since taking the Larkspur Ferry straight into Oracle Park is such a quintessentially North Bay activity.

26. I would love this but seems like speculation only atp

27. What are the rules for tailgate party's? I hope none….

28. Remember folks the Giants are complicit in the A’s moving from the area. They did not allow them to build in San Jose citing territorial rights. They also, we’re part of all 30 owners voting unanimously for A’s moving to Las Vegas. Now they want to bring their minor league team into a big league stadium. Fisher was also part owner of Giants before taking control of A’s. It almost makes me think that MLB owners hate Oakland. They can deny it but their actions speak louder. Not me. I am done with a lot of pro sports.

29. I don't think Oakland is too close for a MLB Teams AAA team to live. I think those are two different experiences and people are not shopping the two against each other. there are also other MLB Team whose AAA teams are just as close if not closer. Minnesota, Houston, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta,

30. AAA and MLB in the same market works in Atlanta. Of course there are separate ballparks.

31. As a Sac resident, I would definitely do a “swap”. This way Oakland gets some form of baseball that is a tier above the Ballers

32. That makes zero sense to me. Unless you are going to try to make the River Cats a major league team I don't see the point.

33. I thought the stadium was in horrendous shape? Why is anyone playing there? There is animals running around the stadium. Literally. Plus wholes in the stadium where seating is and steps falling apart. Lets stop

34. Hell no…do not bail out Vivek or the Giants. They helped created this mess. Let them twist in the wind. It isn't worth the money or the embarrassment of Oakland ending up being home to the Giants AAA team.

35. I think there is a 5% chance of this happening

36. I'm wondering if Vivek Ranadive is wanting/willing to sell off the Kings & River Cats in order to buy the A's if the Vegas deal falls apart. Financing a stadium in Sacramento will be a tall order though.

37. That would be an insult to the City of Sacramento and it's supporters. The A's need to just go away. Far far away

38. I still don’t understand why they’re not playing at the Triple A park in Vegas, the Aviators are their actual Triple A team! At least when the Blue Jays weren’t allowed back into Canada during COVID restrictions, they played at their Triple A park in Buffalo.

39. The Twins and the Saints are a AAA and MLB team combo in twin cities and it works just fine for both of them!

40. The Mets and Yankees shared Shea Field while the Yankee stadium was being remodeled in 1975. This is a non argument.

41. What 😂😂 Lol