River Cats file to change affiliation
- Thread starter Warhawk
- Start date
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I'm distant, but I always thought it sucked how the A's were treated like second class citizens in NorCal despite (through my tenure there) winning far more often. Yet everybody would be a Giants fan. Then again I have a thing for underdogs.
Also note: I would think, if I were the Giants and I wanted to keep the A's from moving out and combining the East Bay and Sacto markets, I might just try to scuttle the effort by buying up the A's local influence, and then dumping it in Sacto itself to mute the desire for MLB.
Also note: I would think, if I were the Giants and I wanted to keep the A's from moving out and combining the East Bay and Sacto markets, I might just try to scuttle the effort by buying up the A's local influence, and then dumping it in Sacto itself to mute the desire for MLB.
The Hammer
All-Star
There is a major difference in ownership and playing style between the two that attract different fans. I was an A's fan growing up, big time, with the bash brothers and all. Now I'm a Giants fan, big time, and it's because of how they play. I appreciate the small things in the game. And lately, it's the Giants that have been winning more, obviously.
Bottom line: I believe the Giants deliver a higher quality baseball product. They are DAMN fun to root for. Underdogs too.
Not a big baseball fan. I am a Giants fan (since I was a kid) who also likes the "A's" as the other "local" team and the Cards (wife has family in Missouri so they are another team I support). However I can't name more than a few players on the Giants team (The Freak, Buster, Pence, etc.), and that is more than I could likely name on any other team. I enjoy going to River Cats games more than carting my behind to the Bay area for an MLB game; for convenience and price more than anything else (while I enjoy MLB games in person, it's too much trouble to go to the Bay Area for my 3rd/4th favorite sport). I enjoy going to a game much more than watching one on TV. I don't watch baseball on TV unless it is the Giants or A's in the PO, and even then it is more likely I will find something more interesting to do because baseball on TV frequently bores me.
I enjoy watching my son play more than any of the above.
That being said, I hope they change affiliation to the Giants. I would like the local team to be the affiliates of the team I am a fan of and it would definitely increase my interest in attending a few more River Cats games a year. Would not encourage me to go to more Giants games though. I just enjoy basketball and football much more than baseball, and I sure as heck can't afford to go to 49er games! After Kings games, I have been going to more Stockton Thunder games more than anything else. River Cats come in third for my attendance per year.
I enjoy watching my son play more than any of the above.
That being said, I hope they change affiliation to the Giants. I would like the local team to be the affiliates of the team I am a fan of and it would definitely increase my interest in attending a few more River Cats games a year. Would not encourage me to go to more Giants games though. I just enjoy basketball and football much more than baseball, and I sure as heck can't afford to go to 49er games! After Kings games, I have been going to more Stockton Thunder games more than anything else. River Cats come in third for my attendance per year.
Always been an A's fan. The RiverCats have been a wining team basically since their founding and they've always been affiliated with the A's. Meanwhile the Giants affiliate Freseno Grizzlies have been near the bottom of the standings almost every year. So... I'm not sure this really makes sense for the RiverCats, but I suppose I can't blame them for trying to take advantage of a much bigger major league fanbase. I hope they continue to draw well regardless because that's good for Sacramento, but at the same time there's an air of "you won't know what you had till it's gone" about the whole thing for me. People keep trying to knock the A's down a peg and they keep winning regardless. Every 2 or 3 years they ship off their star or borderline star players who they can't afford to re-sign for prospects and they keep winning regardless. Anaheim is buying stars, Texas is buying stars, Seattle is buying stars, but the A's are right up there every year competing with 1/3 the payroll in a concrete bunker and a team full of 23 and 24 year old no-names with something to prove. No it's not Giants baseball. And while I respect what they've got going over there on the other side of the Bay, I wouldn't have it any other way. They just need to get that new ballpark built in Oakland and resume their rightful place as 50/50 co-owners of the nor-cal market.
It sounds like there's a good chance Nashville becomes the new A's AAA affiliate. Not a bad fit really. Sure it's a lot further away but they have a brand new downtown ballpark and a I think the folks in Music City, USA might appreciate the quirky appeal of green collar baseball.
It sounds like there's a good chance Nashville becomes the new A's AAA affiliate. Not a bad fit really. Sure it's a lot further away but they have a brand new downtown ballpark and a I think the folks in Music City, USA might appreciate the quirky appeal of green collar baseball.
LPKingsFan
All-Star
I'm a Giants fan first and an A's fan second, but I've always appreciated that affiliation with Oakland seemed to serve Sacramento well. Who better to have as an affiliate than a club known to consistently ship off its stars for younger prospects? The laundry list of players who have come through Sacramento and gone on to succeed in the pros (whether in Oakland or traded for more youngsters) is quite long, and I'll miss that.
Of course, it will be nice to have the occasional Posey or Pence rehab start, but overall I expect the product on the field to suffer, which is too bad. My guess is that their spreadsheets told them it won't matter.
Of course, it will be nice to have the occasional Posey or Pence rehab start, but overall I expect the product on the field to suffer, which is too bad. My guess is that their spreadsheets told them it won't matter.
We were in the same hood and roughly the same class year and I felt like there were at least if not more A's fans during that 3 World Series stretch. And it's not like the Giants sucked.
I'll admit I liked both plus the Red Sox. These days I'm far too fairweather of a fan to really care. I check on the Sox every 2-3 weeks and watch the post season if the Sox or Giants are involved. I'd root for the A's if the other teams weren't in the playoffs but I don't think I'd watch many games. Kinda pulling for them with Lester this year though.
macadocious
Starter
A's have a better minor league system. You knew when you went to river cats games you were going to see 4-6 MLB ready players at any one time. I will miss that.
The Hammer
All-Star
Yeah but it's not like you're losing much with the Giants either. The Giants draft extremely well, and don't "buy their stars" either.
I think the important thing is just having the team affiliated with a local-ish team that you can follow the players on.
In Portland we had the Beavers who moved when the Timbers went to MLS and they couldn't locate a new stadium exclusively for baseball. The games were never well attended and I really think a lot of that had to do with the San Diego Padres affiliation. For years the affiliation had juggled around but it was never with a team anywhere remotely near Portland. People here tend to root for SF or Seattle teams if there is no Portland team.
In Portland we had the Beavers who moved when the Timbers went to MLS and they couldn't locate a new stadium exclusively for baseball. The games were never well attended and I really think a lot of that had to do with the San Diego Padres affiliation. For years the affiliation had juggled around but it was never with a team anywhere remotely near Portland. People here tend to root for SF or Seattle teams if there is no Portland team.
macadocious
Starter
Was this a decision by the A's or the River Cats? If it was the A's, I don't get it.
It was a decision by the River Cats.
