Sacramento A’s opening day pitcher Luis Severino goes to the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto on Fri Mar 27, 2026 (AP News photo)

A’s Second Season in Sacramento: “It is what it is”

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The Athletics open their 2026 season on March 27 in Toronto against the American League Champions, the Blue Jays, on a five-game road trip to open the new season, three in Toronto and two in Atlanta, then return home on April 3 for their first home game of the new season against the Houston Astros.

The city of Sacramento during its first season (2025) was not what the team expected. The team drew 768,464 fans at their 2025 Sacramento debut, the lowest in MLB, averaging 9,487 fans per game at Sutter Health Park. Note: LA Dodgers Stadium parking lot regularly accommodates 18,000 cars.

Seems like the A’s never took Sacramento seriously, scheduled to play there for only three years, like leasing a car, for 2025-26-27, and then move to the very hot confines of Las Vegas, Nevada. The A’s never joined the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce (English or Spanish).

The people of Sacramento are “lukewarm” about this team. The media coverage of the Athletics writes about a team that has not obviously embraced the area, and they often report on that lack of enthusiasm. Some expected A’s fans to travel from Oakland and other Bay Area cities/areas to see the A’s play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento..

Some A’s fans might have left the Bay Area for Sacramento, seeking a cheaper cost of living, but there are not enough of those fans to fill seats in Sacramento. A’s team performance on the field was about what I expected, an exciting offense and…that’s it. Not a serious contender.

When your ace in the starting rotation is Luis Severino (I like Luis he is a good guy), they are totally exposed at their level of pitching, which is not at the level of a serious contender. Players have complained about the facilities in Sacramento, but they get paid to wear a major-league uniform and play in a minor-league park.

The largest minority group in the Sacramento area is Hispanic, representing roughly 24–30% of the population. Within the City of Sacramento specifically, Hispanic residents are the largest minority. In 2025, A’s reduced the Spanish radio broadcast to one broadcaster, pure tokenism, so the team can say: “yes, we have a Spanish broadcast”, disrespect to a sport whose some of their biggest stars are Hispanic and over 30% of all players in MLB are Latinos.

Spanish is the second language of baseball and in the US overall. But for the A’s, they might as well be playing in West Virginia, the smallest Latino population in the US. There is little local excitement, and ticket sales for the 2026 season were immediately met with flash sales, such as “No Fees” promotions for April and May, highlighting a lack of demand.

So, in simple language, it is a bleak situation The very common phrase “it is what it is” signifies acceptance of an unchangeable, difficult situation, used commonly in business, politics, and sports, and sometimes bad news in medical reports, since the 1990’s, and in the case of the 2026 version of the Athletics, It is what it is.

SF Gate recent headline: The A’s pitiful attendance now hurting Sacramento’s other baseball team.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

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