First A's Series of 2025 Has Been Revealed

Jason Burke | Jul 11, 2024

Jul 11, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; A general view of T-Mobile Park before the 2023 MLB All Star Game. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Athletics are set to drop the Oakland from their name heading into next season as they travel 81 miles north to Sacramento to live with their new roommate, the Sacramento River Cats. California rent prices are no joke.

Because of this move to a Triple-A ballpark, there will be a lot that needs to get done in the coming months to ensure that the A's temporary home is considered "big league" at the beginning of the 2025 season. There are plans to build a new home clubhouse, as well as adding in some space for press boxes and such. The biggest addition will be to the playing surface, where Sutter Health Park is set to install turf to a field that doesn't have a roof.

That should go perfectly well. In fact, the San Francisco Chronicle talked to a representative from the Player's Association about some of the health concerns associated with playing outside in 100+ degree weather, as well as that surface being hotter than playing on grass.

The Chronicle also let it drop that the A's will open up on the road for the first time since 2022, but that was because the schedule was adjusted to account for the owner's lockout ahead of the season. They also opened up the 2019 and 2012 seasons away from the Coliseum, playing two games against the Seattle Mariners in Japan each time. They were technically the home team both times.

The last time the A's opened up on the road in the United States was back in 2009 when they played the Angels for three in Anaheim.

Next year they'll be up against a familiar foe in the Seattle Mariners, a team that, behind Félix Hernández seemed to spoil Opening Day for the A's each and every year for a decade. In actuality it was just from the years 2010-2013, but when A's fans saw that they'd face Cleveland for the opener in 2014, there was a huge sigh of relief. They lost 2-0.

The real juicy bits to the 2025 schedule will be which team will be the first to travel to Sacramento to face the A's in their new home, and when the big market teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Phillies all head to Sutter Health Park. Will MLB make their marquee teams play on the lava field, or try to protect them by having them fly out earlier in the year? The Dodgers will have to wait until 2026 to make the trek north since they visit Oakland later this season.

We have a few more weeks until the full schedule is expected to be unveiled.

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