Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals
Its the second consecutive game to close out the regular season and now a slightly longer trip to watch the A’s than it was the last time I was in San Francisco and saw the club in Oakland.
Since I had already visited Oakland Coliseum, I had no previous intention of watching the A’s in West Sacramento for my journey for thirty. However, the work trip to the Bay Area and a short Amtrak ride made the visit to Sutter Health Park a possibility.
Amtrak
When the Athletics played in Oakland, it was only a BART train to get there from San Francisco. Now, it’s only an Amtrak ride. San Francisco will still be the most convenient airport in which to fly, then a BART train to Oakland, and then a two-hour ride to Sacramento. It’s pretty convenient if you do not have a car or do not plan to drive.
Seat Selection
Section 113 Row 14 (Behind home plate)
When you go to ballpark with a capacity of just over 14,000, seating become scarce. At the same time, the A’s aren’t exactly in demand. Hence, lower level seats behind home plate feel like a huge value.
As far as watching the game, the smaller size of a minor league ballpark offers a more intimate feel and a more engaging fan experience.
Ballpark Food of Choice
Footlong Hot Dog
I had to go with the tradition choice and it definitely did not disappoint. This particular one was from the Golden Spike Chophouse stand: mustard, sauerkraut, pepper, and (yes I add) ketchup.
To be honest, I put this as one of the better ballpark hot dogs. Definitely, it is far superior to hot dog I had in Oakland two years before.
Game Highlights
The coolest thing about the final game of the regular season is that all 15 games start at the same time regardless of time zone (3:05 PM Eastern Time/12:05 PM Pacific Time).
Prior to the game, the Athletics announced that next season the team will begin wearing ‘Sacramento’ alternate jerseys.
The Royals beat the A’s in the final game 9-2 but I did get to watch phenom Nick Kurtz hit his 36th home run of his rookie season.