Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryan Brasier recently appeared on Baseball Isn’t Boring, and had some choice words about the A’s decision to play in Sacramento for the next three to four years.
Brasier says (sarcastically), “How sick is it going to be to play Major League Baseball games in Sacramento and the Yankees spring training facility?” The host of the show then talks about the weather being a big factor–specifically the rain–in Florida before Brasier brings attention back to the A’s situation.
“I just, I don’t understand how, and more the A’s, like, you have a–I’m not gonna say perfectly good stadium–but you have a stadium. I know nobody shows up, but I’d rather play in a stadium with nobody than…Sacramento.
“Where the clubhouse is–you have to walk from the first base dugout, through the left field fence, to get to the visiting clubhouse. I think that is just complete B.S.” Brasier wrapped up talking about the A’s and Rays by saying, “It’s going to be miserable playing there.”
Luckily for Brasier, the Dodgers only make one visit to Sacramento in the next three years, and that’ll come in 2026. Depending on how the ’25 season shakes out and how the players feel about that situation, there could be a new plan in place if the heat ends up being too much throughout the 2025 campaign.
Former Oakland Athletic and a member of the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Ross Stripling, talked about playing in a minor-league park that season and how it was sometimes an advantage for the Jays because opposing teams really didn’t want to be there.
So while it’s obviously not the best situation for the players, the more that the A’s are able to buy in with their own situation, the more of a homefield advantage playing at Sutter Health Park could become.
What’s certainly clear is that if there are a number of players that have publicly said they’re not excited about playing in Sacramento, then there’s likely to be a huge swath of the league that’s against the move privately as well.