As we come up on the midway mark of the 2025 MLB season, one of the more bizarre storylines in recent memory is still going strong. Much to the chagrin of fans in Oakland, last season was the last the Athletics would spend in the Bay Area, but the As are still in the first year of what will be a three-year wait for their Las Vegas stadium to be ready.
In the meantime, the As, who are donning Las Vegas patches on their sleeves, are playing their home games in Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, the home ballpark of the Sacramento River Cats (the San Francisco Giants’ AAA affiliate). Despite playing its home fixtures in Sutter Health Park through the 2027 season, the franchise has been insistent on its preference to be referred to as simply the “Athletics,” rather than “Sacramento Athletics” or the “Las Vegas Athletics.
This has led to multiple instances of fun-poking from announcers over the course of the season, including the Texas Rangers’ broadcast team dubbing the franchise the “Homeless Athletics.”
From the looks of things, the jokes aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Wednesday, the Athletics faced off against the Detroit Tigers in Comerica Park in Detroit, and the Tigers’ broadcast team decided to have some fun with the situation as well.
Jason Benetti, the Tigers’ play-by-play broadcaster, opened the broadcast with a tongue-in-cheek intro to Detroit’s opponent: “Today against the Athletics, wherever they’re from… Philadelphia, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Sacramento…”
“Can’t say the other one,” his partner, Andy Dirks, quipped.
“Oakland,” Benetti responded
“He said it!” Dirks said.
“We’ll see if I come back after the break,” Benetti said, chuckling as the broadcast switched to a commercial break.
“Can’t say the other one…”
“OAKLAND”
“He just said it!!!”
John Fisher & his executive team have completely killed this once proud franchise. The entire league continues to remind all of baseball what an embarrassment they’ve become. pic.twitter.com/ySuWXXlJUV
— Last Dive Bar 🏟 (@LastDiveBar) June 26, 2025
You might think that after over 80 games, fans and broadcasters would be used to the Athletics’ unique situation. Unfortunately for the franchise, all signs point toward the ballclub having to endure two and a half more seasons of these sorts of jabs.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.