MESA – On September 26, the Athletics played their final game in Oakland. A crowd of 46,889 filled the Oakland Coliseum and watched their beloved A’s defeat the Texas Rangers, a bittersweet ending capping off 57 years of Oakland A’s baseball.
“The last home game in Oakland, having the sold-out crowd … for us to be able to win that last game and have that special moment on the field postgame is something every player will never forget,” catcher Shea Langeliers said.
The A’s are playing all their home games 90 miles north in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park until 2028, when a stadium in Las Vegas is projected to be completed. It has been an adjustment. In nine home games this season, the team is 2-7.
During their time in Oakland, the A’s were one of baseball’s greatest franchises, winning four World Series titles and six American League pennants.
Some of the franchise’s most iconic moments came in the 1980s and ‘90s, when it was led by Oakland native Rickey Henderson, who set the all-time stolen bases record in 1991, and the polarizing duo of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, better known as the “Bash Brothers” for their ability to hit home runs and their famous celebration of bashing each other’s forearms after hitting them.
Those two were the favorites of A’s fan Travis Orr, who said, “Rickey Henderson stealing bases” came next.
“Yeah, it was just a great time to be an A’s fan.”
With so much decorated history left behind in Oakland, many A’s fans have expressed sorrow and frustration with the team and city due to decades of failed negotiations and proposed stadium sites.
“It’s pretty upsetting,” A’s fan Travis Ruelas said. “That the city, the county, (A’s owner) John Fisher, they couldn’t come together and figure it out.”
In West Sacramento, Sutter Health Park is also the home ballpark of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The seating capacity of the ballpark is 14,000, a stark contrast from the Oakland Coliseum, which can seat up to 63,000 fans.
Although the Oakland Coliseum was among MLB’s largest ballparks, the A’s ranked last in the American League in average attendance for four consecutive seasons, from 2021 to 2024. The average attendance per game during these four seasons never eclipsed 12,000.
“I’m excited to finally have, you know, fans in the stands, just having energy in the ballpark,” outfielder Lawrence Butler said.
Excitement defines the buzz in West Sacramento and neighboring Sacramento. Sutter Health Park is located only a mile from Golden 1 Center, the arena of the region’s other professional sports team, the Sacramento Kings. The majority owner of the Kings is Vivek Ranadive, who is also the majority owner of the River Cats, a role he assumed in 2022 after purchasing a majority interest in the minor league franchise.
In January, A’s outfielder Brent Rooker attended a Sacramento Kings game alongside his manager Mark Kotsay and teammates Lawrence Butler, JJ Bleday and JP Sears. The atmosphere of the crowd and the buzz of the city left a lasting impression on Rooker.
“The city was very welcoming to us, clearly very excited that we’re coming,” Rooker said. “Made our time there and our experience very fun, very worth it. The Kings game was awesome.”
Although the A’s are closing a long chapter in their franchise’s history, the mission on the field remains the same.
“Our job, at the end of the day is to go out and play baseball and that’s what we’re focused on,” Langeliers said. “Just bring the best version of ourselves to the field every day and be the best team we can.”
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A’s third base coach Eric Martins prepares for an infield drill during a spring training practice at Hohokam Stadium. (Photo by Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News) -
Final renovations were a priority at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, the home of the Athletics and Sacramento River Cats, before the MLB season opened.(Photo by Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News) -
A’s slugger Brent Rooker was rewarded with a five-year contract extension during the 2025 offseason. (Photo by Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News)
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