The San Francisco Giants had a new item available in their official team store at Oracle Park for their weekend series against the Oakland Athletics.
On Friday evening, the team sold a white T-shirt with “Highway 80 Series” printed across the chest, along with a depiction of the Bay Bridge and the two teams’ logos.
In many ways, the departure from the “Bay Bridge Series” represented an odd, new phase of the rivalry between Northern California’s two Major League Baseball teams, now that the A’s play their home games in West Sacramento rather than Oakland, as they had for the previous 57 years.
Not to mention that the correct name for the freeway connecting Sacramento and San Francisco via the Bay Bridge is Interstate 80, not “Highway 80.”
This weekend, the MLB is kicking off its inaugural “Rivalry Weekend,” with each team playing its designated geographic rival.
In the case of the Giants and A’s, this formally codifies a decades-long rivalry between the two Bay Area teams, culminating in 1989 with the A’s four-game sweep of the Giants in an earthquake-shortened World Series.
Those days are long past. The A’s players and coaches no longer get to sleep in their own beds during San Francisco road games, as they did when the team played in Oakland. Instead, the team is staying in a hotel, giving the impression of a more traditional road trip after visiting Los Angeles for three games against the Dodgers earlier in the week.
“It’s different,” A’s general manager David Forst said in the visiting dugout ahead of Friday night’s game. “I believe the A’s and Giants will have the same rivalry for a while. There will undoubtedly be generations of fans who see the A’s and Giants and think of them similarly, but they are not the same.
“We’re not directly across the bay. Our guys flew in from Los Angeles, stayed in a hotel last night, and consider this part of a road trip, so it’s a little different.”
A’s new home remains a ‘hot topic’
Forst spoke with reporters before the first game of the three-game series, possibly to spare manager Mark Kotsay from answering questions about the team’s unusual circumstances of temporarily relocating to a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento ahead of their planned move to a new ballpark in Las Vegas, which has yet to officially break ground.
The A’s players have largely avoided criticizing their new situation in West Sacramento, with the exception of ace starting pitcher Luis Severino, who has stated that he has had difficulty adjusting to the new digs at Sutter Health Park, where the clubhouse is a 400-foot walk to left field rather than a few steps behind the dugouts, as is customary in the big leagues.
Catcher Shea Langeliers admitted that answering questions about playing in West Sacramento has been more bothersome than actually playing there.
“It’s the hot topic,” Langeliers explained. “Because nobody’s ever done it before, so we get asked a lot about it.”
There is also a noticeable difference in the A’s performance at home versus away. The team entered Friday’s game with a 14-9 record on the road, giving them the highest winning percentage in MLB this season. Their 8-13 record at Sutter Health Park is the second-worst home winning percentage.
“Look, (players’) opinions will always be influenced by what happens on the field. “We obviously haven’t played as well at home as we have on the road,” Forst admitted. “So, until we start playing really well there, I think they’ll feel more at ease on the road.
“That being said, the building we built on the left is fantastic. I believe they all agree on one thing: they feel at ease in that building. They’re still adjusting to the walk in and out of the dugout to left field, but I believe it’s just a matter of settling in and playing better baseball at home before it feels like home to them.”
The A’s, who had a 22-22 overall record entering Friday night, have noted that their sample size of home games has been small, consisting of only 21 of 81 total home games per season. They expect their play to return to the level they’ve shown on the road as the season progresses and they adjust to the different circumstances of playing at Sutter Health Park.
“I would say as much as you can, yeah,” Langeliers said when asked if the ballpark is becoming the team’s true home. “It just feels like two different atmospheres when at home compared to being on the road, if that makes sense.”
Getting the A’s ace comfortable
Regarding Severino, the A’s highest-paid player in franchise history, who will earn $25 million this season, Forst said work is being done to figure out how to make him comfortable.
“That’s a very specific issue: a starting pitcher who prefers to be in the clubhouse during home innings. Mark and I discussed letting Sevi walk straight out to the clubhouse after a half inning.
I’m not sure if he wants to do that. But I don’t see why he couldn’t, if it’s his preferred route and makes him feel more comfortable. We could potentially offer that to him. “We’ll see the next time he pitches at home.”
Severino is scheduled to start in San Francisco on Saturday and will most likely pitch the following week at Sutter Health Park, where the team will host the Los Angeles Angels for four games before welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies the next weekend.
Oracle Park is known for being tough on hitters due to the cool San Francisco temperatures, especially at night with a start time of 6:05 p.m. Severino entered the game 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three road starts, compared to 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in six home starts.
When asked about the situation, Kotsay initially played coy, saying, “We’ve talked. We have talked a lot. “Our conversations are wonderful.”
Kotsay added, “But, yes, we’re looking into different ways to assist him. But he’s also a professional. He understands the situation. He is not using that as an excuse. He’s simply telling you the truth.
Hey, this is different, and it may take some time for me to adjust, correct? So there is definitely a conversation about finding solutions.
