Athletics' Las Vegas Debut Ends in Unpredictable Fashion

The Athletics' Las Vegas debut felt a lot like West Sacramento with extra glitz. The team's inaugural but unofficial unveiling became, perhaps predictably, a theater of the absurd. Popups went up into the air and disappeared into the night. Ground balls popped off the ground without warning and bounded over infielders' heads. The A's traded a minor league home stadium in West Sacramento, California, for a minor league home stadium in the wind-swept desert and produced Major League Baseball as it was never intended. It was definitely a spectacle. The A's spared no hype in introducing themselves to the city they expect to join for Opening Day 2028. There was a Backstreet Boy (Nick Carter) throwing out the first pitch and a fighter jet flyover and a tube in the visiting dugout that spewed green smoke into the air. They brought boxing ring announcer Bruce Buffer out to the pitcher's mound to announce the starting lineup, and it's safe to say you've never heard someone take longer to belt out the names of nine hitters and a starting pitcher. Once the game started, no ground ball was routine, and no fly ball was lazy. Infielders had two jobs: 1) Try to predict the ball's unpredictable path, and 2) watch their teeth. When I asked A's shortstop Alika Williams to describe the difference between pavement and the infield at Las Vegas Stadium, he gave it almost no thought before saying, 'Not much.' ERAs swelled like poison toads -- there were 11 homers and 29 runs. Brewers starter Kyle Harrison, one of the best starters in baseball, gave up eight earned runs in 2⅓ innings; his ERA went from 1.57 to 2.72. A's backup catcher Jonah Heim tied the score at 14 with two outs in the ninth on a ball that left his bat at 95 mph at a preposterous 48-degree launch angle. It was, in the best way possible, a travesty to the game. Baseball in this ballpark needs to call a cab. Brewers left-handed hitters were laughing during batting practice as they watched easy swings produce fly balls that landed halfway up the berm beyond right field. 'You know going in it's an offensive ballpark,' A's manager Mark Kotsay said, and it was unclear whether he was aware of the double meaning. The A's are playing six games in Las Vegas this week, and they're selling 2028 hard, sending players -- and Stomper, always Stomper -- out to volunteer at a local food bank and make appearances at summer camps and libraries. At 3:30 p.m. Monday, a local TV reporter walked around holding a Vegas A's giveaway T-shirt, with VEGAS and No. 28 on the back. He did his live shot while navigating his way around 60 boxes of those T-shirts that sat on the concourse just inside the main gate. There were plastic wristbands blinking green and gold on every seat. 'This feels like a trial run, in a way,' A's rookie outfielder Henry Bolte said. 'It's a promising thing to look forward to.' A's owner John Fisher, who maintained a private persona while the team was in Oakland (partly out of preference in the years before the move was announced, partly out of necessity since), was on the field before the game shaking hands and slapping backs. He watched the game with team executives and investors from the last suite down the left-field line. He sang the national anthem -- even yelling 'Knights' at the appropriate time like a true Las Vegan -- and ate a hot dog and drank a beer. When amusement became farce and 'Oh What a Night' was the between inning music, Fisher stood and sang long after the music ended. He was the happiest man in the ballpark. Fisher's enthusiasm is rooted in the team's commitment to the city and its fans. The A's are playing six games in Las Vegas this week, and they're selling 2028 hard, sending players -- and Stomper, always Stomper -- out to volunteer at a local food bank and make appearances at summer camps and libraries. The team's owner, John Fisher, was on the field before the game shaking hands and slapping backs. He watched the game with team executives and investors from the last suite down the left-field line. He sang the national anthem -- even yelling 'Knights' at the appropriate time like a true Las Vegan -- and ate a hot dog and drank a beer. When amusement became farce and 'Oh What a Night' was the between inning music, Fisher stood and sang long after the music ended. He was the happiest man in the ballpark. Fisher's enthusiasm is rooted in the team's commitment to the city and its fans.