The Big Lead

Regional MLB rivalry spills over to shared field: 'There's going to be some issues,' GM says

By J.P. Hoornstra

Aug 18, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Seth Brown (15) reacts as San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto (8) runs the bases after hitting a one-run home run and first base umpire Chris Segal (96) calls the play during the tenth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Aug 18, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Seth Brown (15) reacts as San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto (8) runs the bases after hitting a one-run home run and first base umpire Chris Segal (96) calls the play during the tenth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
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Athletics owner John Fisher was in such a hurry to get out of Oakland, the 2025 schedule was about to be released with his storied franchise effectively homeless.

West Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Francisco — and somewhat improbably, even Oakland — were reported as possibilities to host A's games in 2025 when the deadline to set the regular season schedule rolled around last year.

The A's ultimately relocated to West Sacramento, negotiating a deal to play out of Sutter Health Park while constructing a permanent home on the Las Vegas Strip.

Just one problem: the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team, the Sacramento River Cats, already called Sutter Health Park home. Now, the A's are facing the awkward reality of sharing the same home field with the top farm team of the Giants, their regional rivals since 1968.

"Obviously, there’s going to be some issues,” Giants general manager Zack Minasian told John Shea of the San Francisco Standard.

Shea reports that the A's are paying rent to the owner of the River Cats and Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé, in the form of revenue sharing. It has all the hallmarks of a "sweetheart deal" as Ranadivé "is doing all he can to cater to his good friend, A’s owner John Fisher, and MLB while hoping one day this favor will get him an expansion team in Sacramento — or even the A’s, if their plan to settle in Las Vegas somehow falls apart."

That effectively leaves the Giants' minor leaguers as second-class citizens in their own ballpark.

Minasian concedes it's a less-than-perfect situation from a player development standpoint but told Shea that the "issues" he envisions revolve around maintenance — keeping the playing surface, the clubhouses, and the rest of a facility in top shape while hosting twice as many games as a major league facility.

In a small way, the Giants are being inconvenienced by their own decision-making. For years, they refused to relax their territorial rights to Santa Clara County, where the A's had their sights set on moving (among other places) before ultimately landing on Las Vegas. It's possible the A's could have relocated within the Bay Area (or someplace else) and still wound up playing at Sutter Health Park in 2025 and beyond.

Giants-A's is hardly the most fervent, or longest-standing, rivalry in MLB. But the team in San Francisco certainly didn't make it easier for the team in Oakland to find a new home. Now, the A's are repaying the favor.

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