Mayor touts Sacramento as ‘second choice’
WEST SACRAMENTO — Sutter Health Park was sold out Sunday, with an announced crowd of 14,014. Dusty Baker, who went to Del Campo High in the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks and lives in nearby Granite Bay, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the San Francisco Giants faced their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.
Though there weren’t any green and gold uniforms on the field, boosters of Sacramento could use Sunday’s scene as a template to persuade Major League Baseball to have the capital city host the Oakland Athletics in 2025, ’26 and ’27 while their proposed stadium in Las Vegas is under construction.
Consider Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg among the ardent boosters for the A’s relocating up I-80, but with one important qualification.
“It’s always important for me to say — and say it with real conviction — that I hope the A’s stay in Oakland,” Steinberg said in an interview with the Chronicle in the Sutter Health press box before Sunday’s game. “I’ve been very consistent about that from the very, very beginning.”
Steinberg then proceeded to extol Sacramento’s virtues for becoming at least a temporary landing spot for the A’s.
“I hope people will see it today, but it isn’t just today. It’s built into the DNA of this city and this region,” said Steinberg, who then listed several major-league players with ties to the region, including Baker, Derrek Lee, Fernando Viña, Larry Bowa, Buck Martinez and Greg Vaughn. “There is so much history.
“Sacramento would embrace Major League Baseball.”
An extension of the A’s lease at the Coliseum, which ends this year, has been mentioned as a temporary option for the team. Salt Lake City also has received interest from A’s management.
Steinberg said he has been in touch with Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao about the possibility of the A’s moving to Sacramento. He said he’s particularly sensitive to Oakland’s plight because the Sacramento Kings had plans to move to Seattle in 2013.
As the State Senate President Pro Tem at that time, Steinberg helped convince the NBA that the Kings should remain in Sacramento and that a downtown arena could get built. Golden 1 Center opened in 2016.
“My favorite two weeks of my seven-plus-year mayorship were the two weeks the Kings were in the playoffs against the Warriors” last year, Steinberg said.
“I felt what was special about this place that I’ve called home for nearly 40 years. It’s just a loyal community. It’s loyal to its people, it’s loyal to its teams.”
Steinberg was asked if Sacramento does get the A’s on a limited basis, would he consider it an audition for the area to get an MLB expansion team at some point?
“It absolutely would be an audition — and we would pass it with flying colors,” he said. “If MLB has plans for long-term expansion, they ought to be looking at cities and regions that are hungry and that have proven — not only with minor-league baseball but with other sports — that they’re sports-crazy.”
Steinberg, 64, referenced the region’s support for the Kings, who had gone 16 seasons without a playoff appearance before reaching the postseason last year.
If the A’s were to move to Sacramento for the short term, that certainly would affect the River Cats. Steinberg, who grew up in Millbrae as a Giants fan and remains a backer of the Orange and Black to this day, said his affection for the Giants wouldn’t factor into any decision regarding the A’s.
“I put my city first and I wouldn’t have an issue with it,” he said. “What I would have an issue with is Sacramento in some way being part of preventing Oakland from keeping the A’s. That’s a moral-values thing to me.
“I talk about this reluctantly, but the Oakland situation (with Las Vegas) is so far down the road.”
Steinberg then stressed once more that he believes Oakland should be the first choice for the A’s, with somewhere else in California the second choice.
“And among the best choices in California,” he said, “second to Oakland, is Sacramento.”