Sacramento River Cats (Minor League Teams)

The Pacific Coast League’s Sacramento River Cats began life north of the border as the Vancouver Canadians, but don’t get this franchise confused with the Canadians club that currently plays in the Northwest League. The 1978 version of the Vancouver team played at the Triple-A level and moved to West Sacramento in time for the 2000 PCL season. The franchise has been affiliated with the Oakland Athletics since 1999 and has held prior associations with the Angels, White Sox, Pirates and Brewers.

Ballpark

The River Cats play the home games on their schedule at Raley Field, which opened early in the 2000 Pacific Coast League season. The park can accommodate as many as 14,014 fans and provides an impressive view of Sacramento’s skyline from its position on the banks of the Sacramento River.

Back-to-Back Triple-A Champions

Since moving to Sac-Town, the River Cats have given the area’s baseball fans plenty to cheer about. The club won PCL titles in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008, and added to those honors in 2007 and 2008 by winning the Triple-A championship over the Richmond Braves and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, respectively. Throughout the River Cats franchise’s history, the team has won seven league titles, seven conference titles and 17 division crowns.

Sacramento River Cats Roster

A number of Major League Baseball stars spent time on the River Cats roster on their way to the bigs. These players include Andrew Bailey, Dallas Braden, Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Andre Ethier, Carlos Gonzalez, Gio Gonzalez, Aaron Harang, Nick Swisher and Barry Zito. Longtime MLB star Manny Ramirez spent 17 games on the River Cats roster in 2012 in his bid to return to the majors.

Spring Training

During Spring Training, members of the River Cats share Phoenix Municipal Stadium with other players from the Oakland Athletics system. The park opened in 1964 and has an official capacity of 8,775. The park went through a major upgrade in 2003, making modern changes to the dugout and concourse. The park was the longtime home of the Phoenix Giants and Firebirds of the Pacific Coast League.

The Ballpark Guide hasn’t visited the Sacramento River Cats yet, but hopes to in the near future. If you’re excited to read a fan guide to Raley Field, check out the many ways you can support The Ballpark Guide on future baseball road trips.