In November of 2023, MLB approved the Oakland Athletics move to Las Vegas. The state of Nevada was to provide $380 million in construction funding, and John Fisher, the team’s owner, would cover the remainder of the costs of the $1.5 billion stadium to be constructed on the Las Vegas Strip.
With the vote, and the decision that 2024 would be the club’s last in Oakland, it was the end of an era that began in 1968, when the team moved from Philadelphia to the East Bay. To rub salt into the wounds of longtime fans, MLB agreed to waive its $300 million relocation fee.
When the Athletics’ lease at the Oakland Coliseum expired at the end of the 2024 season, the team moved to the home of the Triple-A River Cats in Sacramento, which will serve as their shared home for at least three years until their new park is built.
While in their temporary home at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, the team elected to forego a city name on their uniforms, going by just “A’s” and “Athletics.” But, they did add a “Las Vegas” patch on their sleeves as an indicator and reminder of where they will end up eventually (and to get them about $8.5 million).
After playing 28 games at Sutter Health this season, the Athletics decided to give their future fans a taste of what is to come. The team is playing six games at the aptly named Las Vegas Park this week, home of the Triple-A Aviators. They played three games against the Milwaukee Brewers and will play three against the Colorado Rockies.
When the team elected to move to Las Vegas, there was much talk about the heat and the elevation. Moving from the Bay Area, with a ballpark that actually sits more than 20 feet below sea level to a city where the average elevation is more than 2,000 feet; and to a city where the average temperature during the baseball season is 90 degrees in May, 102 in June, 107 in July, 104 in August, and 96 in September, is less than ideal. To compete with both elements, the Athletics are building a stadium with a fixed, covered roof composed of overlapping shells that some say looks like an armadillo.
Unfortunately for Brewers, Rockies, and Athletics pitchers, none of those accommodations are present at Las Vegas Park. So on Monday night, 8,519 fans were treated to a twelve-inning game in which 29 runs were scored on 34 hits, with eleven home runs. One consolation: it was only 87 degrees at first pitch. Each team used seven pitchers to get through the slog. And just to give everyone an idea what was in store, catcher Shea Langeliers hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning 483-feet, making it the longest home run in baseball this season.
Tuesday night was a much more placid affair, with just twelve runs scored on 18 hits, but of those 18 hits, six were home runs. And the game-time temperature was a balmy 94 degrees. It took only six pitchers (three from each side) to get through the game.
Maybe everyone started to get used to the elements, because on Wednesday night only seven runs were scored, but there were still 20 hits, five of which left the yard. The right-handed hitting Carlos Cortes, he of 96 career games, drove one of those 461-feet to right-center field in the seventh inning. It still took ten pitchers to get through 8.5 innings (the Athletics won 4-3, so didn’t bat in the bottom half of the ninth) in 102 degree heat.
The Rockies, a team used to playing at altitude and putting up gaudy numbers, are in Sin City for the weekend, so who’s to say what those games will look like.
As of right now, the Athletics don’t have any games scheduled in Las Vegas in 2027 (if there is a season), so after Sunday’s tilt with Colorado, the fans will not see the team again until they move into their new park in 2028. I am sure there are many pitchers, pitching coaches, and managers who are just fine with the respite.
