@murksiderock @Mantis Toboggan M.D.
In their first season after moving from Oakland, the Athletics made it clear that their time in Sacramento was not a permanent residency with a planned move to Las Vegas.
On Sunday, after seeing how their current home city responded to their first season in their interim home, the A’s unveiled gold alternate jerseys with “Sacramento” across the front that they plan to wear “throughout the 2026 season,” according to a team statement.
“Sacramento has welcomed the Athletics with incredible passion and support,” said Marc Badain, who was named team president in March, replacing Dave Kaval four years after resigning as president of the Las Vegas Raiders, along with two other high-ranking executives, because of what owner Mark Davis called “accounting irregularities.”
“The new ‘Sacramento’ jersey is our way of recognizing that support and saying thank you to the fans, businesses, and community leaders who helped bring Major League Baseball to town. It’s been an unforgettable first season in West Sacramento, and this uniform is another way to celebrate the passion we’ve already felt throughout the community.”
The passion Badain referenced wasn’t evident during the A’s first season in Sacramento. The team’s average attendance was shy of 9,500 per game heading into Sunday, the lowest in Major League Baseball and over 4,000 short of the seating capacity in Sutter Health Park, the home they share with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
The A’s relocated to Sacramento partly due to necessity.
Owner John Fisher wanted to leave Oakland as soon as possible, and building a ballpark in Las Vegas will take years. Fisher also sought a way to continue generating local television revenue. NBC Sports California, which also airs Sacramento Kings NBA games, agreed to keep airing A’s games if the team moved to Sacramento and played in a ballpark owned by Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.
It seemed like a good plan, in theory. Sacramento is about an hour and a half away from Oakland, so a decent number of A’s fans live there, and diehard fans might make the trip from time to time. Additionally, many Sacramento residents are eager to prove they can support major sports franchises just as they do with the Kings.
However, the A’s want to ensure that Las Vegas is front and center, so they decided against branding themselves as the Sacramento team. The team is known as “Athletics” if you look at the standings and “ATH” on major-league scoreboards.
Despite a roster with several interesting young players that seems to be on the upswing, the A’s didn’t captivate California’s capital city. It remains to be seen whether a new alternate jersey will result in more fans heading through the turnstiles.