Sacramento River Cats

The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They are based in West Sacramento, California, and play their home games at Sutter Health Park, which opened in 2000 and was known as Raley Field through 2019.

Sacramento was previously represented in the Pacific Coast League by the Solons, 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 five PCL championships. Recently they won the league crown in 2019; previously they won back-to-back in 2007 and 2008. They went on to win the Triple-A National Championship Game in all three seasons. Sacramento also won the PCL title in 2003 and 2004.

History

Following the 1999 season, the Pacific Coast League's Vancouver Canadians were purchased by a group led by Art Savage, moved south to West 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.<ref>"River Cats owner dies suddenly at home." Template:Webarchive Sacramento River Cats. Retrieved on November 21, 2009.</ref>

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 the Oakland Athletics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the River Cats were organized into the Triple-A West.<ref name=JMayo2-12-2021>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sacramento ended the season in fourth place in the Western Division with a 52–65 record.<ref name=MILB2021>Template:Cite web</ref> No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.<ref name=MiLB7-14-2021>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=MiLB7-14-2021/> Sacramento finished the tournament tied for 20th place with a 4–6 record.<ref name=2021FinalStretch>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=PCLrename>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2022, owner Susan Savage sold a majority interest in the team to the Sacramento Kings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2024, it was announced that the major-league Oakland 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 to Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Season-by-season records

Key

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
Template:‡	Class champions (2000–present)
Template:†	League champions (2000–present)
§	Conference champions (2000–2020)
*	Division champions (2000–2022)

Season-by-season records

Season	League	Regular-season					Postseason			MLB affiliate	Template:Abbr
		Record	Win %	League	Division	Template:Abbr	Record	Win %	Result
2000 *	PCL	90–54	.625	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	2–3	Template:Sort		Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs. Salt Lake Buzz, 3–2<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2001 *	PCL	75–69	.521	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	2–3	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs. Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2002	PCL	66–78	.458	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2003 * § Template:†	PCL	92–52	.639	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	6–0	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Edmonton Trappers, 3–0 Won PCL championship vs. Nashville Sounds, 3–0<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004 * § Template:†	PCL	79–65	.549	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	6–1	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Portland Beavers, 3–1 Won PCL championship vs. Iowa Cubs, 3–0<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005 *	PCL	80–64	.556	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	2–3	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs. Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2006	PCL	78–66	.542	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2007 * § Template:† Template:‡	PCL	84–60	.583	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	7–2	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Salt Lake Bees, 3–2 Won PCL championship vs. New Orleans Zephyrs, 3–0 Won Triple-A championship vs. Richmond Braves<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008 * § Template:† Template:‡	PCL	83–61	.576	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	7–2	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Salt Lake Bees, 3–1 Won PCL championship vs. Oklahoma RedHawks, 3–1 Template:Nowrap	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009 * §	PCL	86–57	.601	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	3–4	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Tacoma Rainiers, 3–1 Lost PCL championship vs. Memphis Redbirds, 3–0	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010 *	PCL	79–65	.549	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	2–3	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs. Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2011 * §	PCL	88–56	.611	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	3–5	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Reno Aces, 3–2 Lost PCL championship vs. Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–0	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2012 *	PCL	86–58	.597	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	2–3	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Southern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs. Reno Aces, 3–2	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2013	PCL	79–65	.549	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014	PCL	79–65	.549	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Oakland Athletics	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015	PCL	71–73	.493	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	PCL	69–75	.479	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	PCL	64–77	.454	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2018	PCL	55–85	.393	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2019 * § Template:† Template:‡	PCL	73–67	.521	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	7–2	Template:Sort	Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs. Las Vegas Aviators, 3–2 Won PCL championship vs. Round Rock Express, 3–0 Won Triple-A championship vs. Columbus Clippers	San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	PCL	Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)<ref name=2020can>Template:Cite news</ref>								San Francisco Giants	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021	AAAW	52–65	.444	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	4–6	Template:Sort	Lost series vs. Salt Lake Bees, 4–1 Won series vs. Albuquerque Isotopes, 3–2 Placed 20th (tie) in the Triple-A Final Stretch<ref name=2021FinalStretch/>	San Francisco Giants	<ref name=MILB2021/>
2022	PCL	65–83	.439	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref name=BR2022>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	PCL	67–82	.450	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref name=BR2023>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	PCL	80–70	.533	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref name=BR2024>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	PCL	77–73	.513	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	San Francisco Giants	<ref name=BR2024>Template:Cite web</ref>
Totals	—	1,897–1,685	Template:Winpct	—	—	—	53–37	Template:Winpct	—	—	—

Attendance

File:Raley Field.JPG

Raley Field in 2007

File:Rivercats at Raley Field2.JPG

River Cats at Raley Field in 2007

File:SacramentoRiverCatsMay2007.jpg

River Cats players in 2007

After arriving at Raley Field in 2000, the River Cats led minor leagues in attendance for nine straight seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="SacBeeAttend">The Sacramento BeeTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore.</ref>

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<ref name="BPD2019">Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	n/a	n/a
2021	256,714	4,043<ref name="cube2022">Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	372,769	4,970<ref name="reichard2022">Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	388,246	5,177<ref name="reichard2023">Template:Cite web</ref>

Playoff history

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 the Richmond Braves in that year's Bricktown Showdown by a score of 7–1. In 2008 they defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 4–1.

Players

See: Category:Sacramento River Cats players

Controversy

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 the Sacramento and West Sacramento city councils, as well as in a Sacramento Bee op-ed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following day, the team apologized and announced that they would be cancelling the identity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mentions of the alternate identity were subsequently removed from the team's social media accounts, website, and online store.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website
• Statistics from Baseball-Reference