A's players on what makes a ballpark "big league ready"

Jason Burke | Apr 4, 2024

Jun 4, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) delivers a / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a lot of talk about the Oakland A's potentially playing in a minor-league facility for the next three or more years as their proposed ballpark in Las Vegas is built, and as of right now it looks like Sacramento will end up as the solution to all of the A's interim ballpark woes. One consistent talking point during the A's ballpark search has been that if they were to choose a minor-league park, it would have to be "big-league ready."

So on Wednesday, before the A's left on their first road trip of the season (and an announcement on Sacramento expected as soon as they were wheels up), I asked a couple of players in the A's clubhouse before the game what "big-league ready" meant to them.

The common answer was that it was about space. As in, there needed to be space to roam around and not be crammed in like sardines in every room they walked into. One key note here is that Sutter Health Park in Sacramento has the clubhouses located behind the centerfield wall, which will certainly be a talking point in the coming months once the A's officially announce their plans for next season.

A's starter Ken Waldichuk spoke specifically of Sutter Health Park in Sacramento and that disconnect between the dugout and the clubhouse was one of the things he mentioned that would need to be fixed to make the park ready for MLB. "I think step one would be that the locker room would have to connect to the dugout. You know, I played [in Sacramento], like three games I believe before I got called up. The locker room is in centerfield. So I would say that would probably be the number one thing."

Waldichuk also mentioned a bigger weight room than is the norm at minor league parks, as well as better facilities in general. "Nothing crazy."

Fellow starter Paul Blackburn also provided some further input, "I think amenities is the first thing. It's kind of hard to explain. Space is obviously a big one. Whether it's clubhouse space, weight room space, batting cage space, just space in general. And then just having access for multiple guys to get in cold tubs, hot tubs. Multiple guys to be in the weight room where it's not like we're bumping into people."

He also touched on Waldichuk's point on the detached clubhouse and dugouts, pointing out that the players are constantly heading back to the clubhouse to grab things. "If a guy is like 'hey man i need some batting gloves' and he's in the hole, I can't just run across the field to get him some batting gloves. There's little stuff like that."

Neither player seems to think that major changes need to be made, aside from a way to connect the clubhouse to the dugout. If the A's officially end up playing in Sacramento next season, how they find more room to let guys spread out a bit will be the biggest issue.