A's Sacramento Move Also Impacts the San Francisco Giants

Jason Burke | Jul 13, 2024

Sep 7, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; A thermometer reads over 100 degrees during the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With temperatures soaring in the Bay Area for the past week, the weather has been a hot topic of discussion. Those triple-digit temperatures in Sacramento have also led many to question just how the Oakland A's temporary stay in the state capitol will even work, given that Sutter Health Park will also be donning turf in place of grass to help withstand the wear and tear of hosting over 150 games next year.

Plenty has been said on the big-league side of things, because there will be teams like the Yankees and Red Sox coming in every year to play in a minor-league ballpark. That's plenty true and should be the focus of the narrative surrounding this entire fiasco.

But there is also the San Francisco Giants' side of things. On the one hand, they're helping to rid themselves of the A's in Oakland, and in their minds opening up the market even further for them to rule over. On the other hand, Sacramento is where their Triple-A affiliate, the River Cats, will be sharing a field with the A's.

The trouble here being that those minor leaguers are going to be put through the same health risks as the big leaguers, but won't be receiving nearly the same level of pay. In most cases, they'll still be years away from a big cash-in via free agency. In Triple-A, those players are making roughly $36,000 per year, per Baseball America. There's a big difference between that, and the MLB minimum salary of $760,000 for next year.

How many players will struggle in the summer months to focus on their approach at the plate that will get them to the next level while the outside temperature sits at 115, and the turf adds another 20? Having to handle a 100 mile per hour fastball in that heat is less about the fundamentals of the game, and more about survival.

Yes, baseball is played in a number of hot places as social media loves to remind anyone that talks about the heat issues in Sacramento. The difference is that there will be no dome to enclose the field and pump air conditioning, while they will also be adding turf. It's the combination of those two that has people concerned about the steps being taken to prepare for next season.

It's getting more and more difficult to see this being a plan that survives for the three planned seasons, with the option for a fourth year depending on how the proposed ballpark in Las Vegas is coming along.

The A's heading to Sacramento will not be a good look for MLB. Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays played games in a minor-league park during the 2020 season, but that was because there was that little global pandemic going around that made it so they couldn't play in Toronto. The A's decision to play in a minor-league park was made not out of necessity, but to escape the consequences of owner John Fisher's actions that has led to numerous gatherings protesting his ownership and countless "Sell the team!" chants the past two years.

With ownership looking for an escape route, Giants minor leaguers will be included in the group that is suffering the consequences of Fisher's actions.