| Sacramento River Cats | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (2000–present) | ||||
| League | Pacific Coast League (2000–present) | ||||
| Division | West Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | San Francisco Giants (2015–present) | ||||
| Previous teams | Oakland Athletics (2000–2014) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| Class titles(3) |
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| League titles(5) |
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| Conference titles(7) |
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| Division titles(12) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Sacramento River Cats (2000–present) | ||||
| Colors | Black, brick red, gold | ||||
| Mascot | Dinger | ||||
| Ballpark | Sutter Health Park (2000–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | Vivek Ranadivé | ||||
| General manager | Chip Maxson | ||||
| Manager | Dave Brundage[1] | ||||
| Website | milb.com/sacramento | ||||
TheSacramento River Cats are aMinor League Baseball team of thePacific Coast League (PCL) and are theTriple-A affiliate of theSan Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of theOakland Athletics for 15 seasons.[2] They are based inWest Sacramento, California, and play their home games atSutter Health Park, which opened in 2000 and was known as Raley Field through 2019.
Sacramento was previously represented in the Pacific Coast League by theSolons, a charter member of the league which was founded in 1903. Three different versions of the Solons played in California's capital city in 1903, 1905, from 1909 to 1914, from 1918 to 1960, and from 1974 to 1976. The River Cats have played in the PCL since 2000, including the 2021 season in which it was known as the Triple-A West, and are the only charter city to still host a PCL team.
The River Cats have won fivePCL championships. Recently they won the league crown in 2019; previously they won back-to-back in 2007 and 2008. They went on to win theTriple-A National Championship Game in all three seasons. Sacramento also won the PCL title in 2003 and 2004.
Following the 1999 season, thePacific Coast League'sVancouver Canadians were purchased by a group led byArt Savage, moved south toWest Sacramento, and renamed the River Cats for the 2000 season. Savage was the majority owner of the team until his death at age 58 in November 2009. His widow, Susan Savage, became majority owner after her husband's death.[3]
In 2016,Mike Piazza became the first and only former River Cats player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, after earning an 83% vote by the committee. Piazza played three games in Sacramento as part of a 2007 rehab assignment before rejoining theOakland Athletics.[4][5][6][7]
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the River Cats were organized into theTriple-A West.[8] They also entered into a new 10-year Professional Development License agreement to remain the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants through 2030.[9] Sacramento ended the season in fourth place in the Western Division with a 52–65 record.[10] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.[11] However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.[11] Sacramento finished the tournament tied for 20th place with a 4–6 record.[12] In 2022, the Triple-A West became known as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[13]
In August 2022, owner Susan Savage sold a majority interest in the team to theSacramento Kings.[14]
In April 2024, it was announced that the major-leagueOakland Athletics will be moving to Sacramento to play their home games at Sutter Health Park in 2025 and remain there until 2027 before officially moving their franchise toLas Vegas.[15] The River Cats announced that, tentatively, they will remain as well, playing at Sutter Health Park on days when the Athletics are not playing there.[16]
| League | The team's final position in the league standings |
|---|---|
| Division | The team's final position in the divisional standings |
| GB | Games behind the team that finished in first place in the division that season |
| ‡ | Class champions (2000–present) |
| † | League champions (2000–present) |
| § | Conference champions (2000–2020) |
| * | Division champions (2000–2022) |
| Season | League | Regular-season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 2000 * | PCL | 90–54 | .625 | 2nd | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Salt Lake Buzz, 3–2[17] | Oakland Athletics | [18] |
| 2001 * | PCL | 75–69 | .521 | 5th | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2[19] | Oakland Athletics | [20] |
| 2002 | PCL | 66–78 | .458 | 14th | 3rd | 19 | — | — | — | Oakland Athletics | [21] |
| 2003 * § † | PCL | 92–52 | .639 | 1st | 1st | — | 6–0 | 1.000 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Edmonton Trappers, 3–0 WonPCL championship vs.Nashville Sounds, 3–0[22] | Oakland Athletics | [23] |
| 2004 * § † | PCL | 79–65 | .549 | 5th | 1st | — | 6–1 | .857 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Portland Beavers, 3–1 WonPCL championship vs.Iowa Cubs, 3–0[24] | Oakland Athletics | [25] |
| 2005 * | PCL | 80–64 | .556 | 2nd (tie) | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2 | Oakland Athletics | [26] |
| 2006 | PCL | 78–66 | .542 | 4th | 2nd | 13 | — | — | — | Oakland Athletics | [27] |
| 2007 * § † ‡ | PCL | 84–60 | .583 | 2nd | 1st | — | 7–2 | .778 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Salt Lake Bees, 3–2 WonPCL championship vs.New Orleans Zephyrs, 3–0 WonTriple-A championship vs.Richmond Braves[28] | Oakland Athletics | [29] |
| 2008 * § † ‡ | PCL | 83–61 | .576 | 3rd | 1st | — | 7–2 | .778 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Salt Lake Bees, 3–1 WonPCL championship vs.Oklahoma RedHawks, 3–1 WonTriple-A championship vs.Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees[30] | Oakland Athletics | [31] |
| 2009 * § | PCL | 86–57 | .601 | 1st | 1st | — | 3–4 | .429 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Tacoma Rainiers, 3–1 LostPCL championship vs.Memphis Redbirds, 3–0 | Oakland Athletics | [32] |
| 2010 * | PCL | 79–65 | .549 | 4th | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2 | Oakland Athletics | [33] |
| 2011 * § | PCL | 88–56 | .611 | 1st | 1st | — | 3–5 | .375 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Reno Aces, 3–2 LostPCL championship vs.Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–0 | Oakland Athletics | [34] |
| 2012 * | PCL | 86–58 | .597 | 1st | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Reno Aces, 3–2 | Oakland Athletics | [35] |
| 2013 | PCL | 79–65 | .549 | 3rd | 2nd | 2 | — | — | — | Oakland Athletics | [36] |
| 2014 | PCL | 79–65 | .549 | 4th | 2nd | 2 | — | — | — | Oakland Athletics | [37] |
| 2015 | PCL | 71–73 | .493 | 9th | 2nd | 13+1⁄2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [38] |
| 2016 | PCL | 69–75 | .479 | 12th | 4th | 12+1⁄2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [39] |
| 2017 | PCL | 64–77 | .454 | 14th | 4th | 15+1⁄2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [40] |
| 2018 | PCL | 55–85 | .393 | 15th | 4th | 27+1⁄2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [41] |
| 2019 * § † ‡ | PCL | 73–67 | .521 | 7th | 1st | — | 7–2 | .778 | Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Las Vegas Aviators, 3–2 WonPCL championship vs.Round Rock Express, 3–0 WonTriple-A championship vs.Columbus Clippers | San Francisco Giants | [42] |
| 2020 | PCL | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[43] | San Francisco Giants | [44] | |||||||
| 2021 | AAAW | 52–65 | .444 | 7th | 4th | 19+1⁄2 | 4–6 | .400 | Lost series vs.Salt Lake Bees, 4–1 Won series vs.Albuquerque Isotopes, 3–2 Placed 20th (tie) in the Triple-A Final Stretch[12] | San Francisco Giants | [10] |
| 2022 | PCL | 65–83 | .439 | 9th | 5th | 20 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [45] |
| 2023 | PCL | 67–82 | .450 | 8th | 5th | 20+1⁄2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [46] |
| 2024 | PCL | 80–70 | .533 | 3rd | 2nd | 2 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [47] |
| 2025 | PCL | 77–73 | .513 | 5th (tie) | 3rd | 9 | — | — | — | San Francisco Giants | [47] |
| Totals | — | 1,897–1,685 | .530 | — | — | — | 53–37 | .589 | — | — | — |
After arriving at Raley Field in 2000, the River Cats led minor leagues in attendance for nine straight seasons.[48]
In 2015, the team drew 672,354 fans in 72 home games, leading the minor league in total attendance. In 2015, they also drew the second highest attendance per game in the minors with an average of 9,338 fans per game.[49]
For the 2017 season, the team drew 562,237 fans in 70 home games, placing them third in overall attendance for the Pacific Coast League.
| Year | Total Attendance | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 861,808 | 11,969 |
| 2001 | 901,214 | 12,516 |
| 2002 | 817,317 | 11,351 |
| 2003 | 766,326 | 10,643 |
| 2004 | 751,156 | 10,432 |
| 2005 | 755,750 | 10,496 |
| 2006 | 728,227 | 10,256 |
| 2007 | 710,235 | 10,003 |
| 2008 | 700,168 | 9,724 |
| 2009 | 657,095 | 9,126 |
| 2010 | 657,910 | 9,138 |
| 2011 | 600,306 | 8,455 |
| 2012 | 586,090 | 8,140 |
| 2013 | 607,329 | 8,435 |
| 2014 | 607,839 | 8,561 |
| 2015 | 672,354 | 9,338 |
| 2016 | 609,666 | 8,587 |
| 2017 | 562,237 | 8,032 |
| 2018 | 538,785 | 7,808 |
| 2019 | 549,440 | 7,849[50] |
| 2020 | n/a | n/a |
| 2021 | 256,714 | 4,043[51] |
| 2022 | 372,769 | 4,970[52] |
| 2023 | 388,246 | 5,177[53] |
The River Cats have won 12 division titles, including back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001, three years in a row from 2003 to 2005, and six consecutive titles from 2007 to 2012. In 2019, the River Cats snapped a six-year playoff drought by winning the Pacific Northern Division.
The team has won four league championships: 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008. In 2007, they defeated theRichmond Braves in that year'sBricktown Showdown by a score of 7–1. In 2008 they defeated theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 4–1.
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
|
On April 10, 2025, the River Cats unveiled a new alternate identity, the Sacramento Gold Diggers, featuring uniforms to be worn for five games in the 2025 season.[54] As part of the launch, the team posted a video on social media depicting women with dollar signs over their eyes. The launch video was criticized as sexist by members of theSacramento and West Sacramento city councils, as well as in aSacramento Bee op-ed.[55] The following day, the team apologized and announced that they would be cancelling the identity.[56] Mentions of the alternate identity were subsequently removed from the team's social media accounts, website, and online store.[57]
