‘It’s fantastic!’: After 20 months of quiet, Sacramento River Cats finally host a game
It was about a year ago, after another empty week without baseball, with more questions than answers, that Chip Maxson called for a meeting.
The River Cats general manager gathered a few staffers and headed to centerfield at 400 Ballpark Drive in West Sacramento. Maxson offered beers and some chatter to boost some dour expressions, his own included. He was a boss without a product. He oversaw a venue without compare that was eerily silent for months, the pandemic putting sports and much of everyday life on hold.
To burn off steam, Maxson often would jog the outfield during the long, lost summer of 2020, across the warning track, optimistic about a return to baseball, yet powerless to accelerate the process.
“We sat out there, spaced apart, and just talked, thinking, ‘We should be having a game,’” Maxson recalled this week, pointing to the outfield. “It was different. It was surreal. And then we were able to start over.”
Twenty months and more than 600 days since last hosting a game at Sutter Health Park on Sept. 11, 2019, the River Cats gleefully welcomed back fans Thursday for the home-opening series against the Reno Aces. Maxson exhibited all the joy of a boy showing off his new glove to pals at the sandlot.
Beer gardens were open. Food sold fast. The team shop bustled. Business was good.
“Just fantastic,” Maxson said. “Minor league baseball took a hit. It was the first to shut down and the last to return. The old ball player in me, I had to stop guessing when we might come back and know that we will get through this, Early on last year, we had hope. You’re holding onto a glimmer of hope, and then you realize there won’t be a season. To be back is just amazing. To see all of our staffers, like family, it was like a holiday moment.”
The River Cats have always embraced the customer-first theme. The guest services folks who greet customers at the gate, on the concourse or in the aisles were a sea of familiar faces. They could be your uncle, grandmother or older brother.
The crowds are picking up but still small by River Cats standards, with Thursday’s opening drawing a “COVID sellout of 3,407,” the River Cats public relations department announced.
Crowds twice that large, or even in excess of 10,000, are expected next month. On June 15, California will be fully open for business, and that includes sporting events. That comes across as music to the ears of Maxson, who is in his ninth year with the River Cats front office. A year ago, he was pained as he laid off two-thirds of his staff, some of them tearful calls, “because we know these people, like family.”
In the stands Friday, fans young and old soaked in the scene. Lori Davis of Placer County brought her two young sons to Friday’s game. Each had River Cats gear on, some of it freshly purchased. She had plenty to say. The sons not so much as they stuffed their faces with hot dogs and soda.
“Just wonderful, and so fun, and thank goodness because it’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to get out and do something fun like this,” Davis said. “I’m happy because my boys are happy, and because I love baseball.”
Last season stalled great momentum for Maxson and the River Cats. The club celebrated its 20th season in the region in 2019 with its 12th division championship, fifth Pacific Coast League banner and record third Triple-A National Championship. Maxson was named the 2019 PCL executive of the year, and then it all hit a wall.
In the off year, the River Cats maintained their mantra of being a “friend to the community” in working with food banks and hosting blood drives. Maxson credits the ownership of Susan Savage and son Jeff Savage for keeping the River Cats relevant without the benefit of games. Susan’s husband, Art Savage, was the driving force in getting the River Cats to West Sacramento. The late club owner was named the PCL Executive of the Year in 2001.
It’s no wonder Maxson wears his championship ring — nearly as big as a child’s fist — with such pride.
“Oh yes!” he said.
Johnny be good, and A’s to West Sac?
Johnny Doskow, the River Cats’ longtime radio and TV voice, said he was bouncing off the concourse walls in anticipation of Thursday’s home opener. For a man who lives to chat baseball, 2020 was a trying year.
“It was so frustrating, shutting up for so long,” Doskow said with a hearty laugh. “It was strange. It’s so nice to get back to my love.”
In his off year, Doskow spent time with his true loves, wife Deb and their 15-year-old daughter Emily. Still, this is a man who needs baseball. Imagine a singer or entertainer without a product, without an audience.
“After last summer, my wife was ready for me to get back to baseball,” Doskow said. “It feels phenomenal to be back. I walked the concourse 40 minutes before Thursday’s game, to get a feel, and it was so nice to see families and their faces. It’s been a long time coming. You appreciate it so much more having baseball after not having it.”
Doskow and Maxson said they anticipate large gatherings this summer, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights with games followed by fireworks. What’s more, the River Cats are solidly in place. This winter the club signed a 10-year contract extension to remain the Triple-A feeder for the Giants.
Any suggestion that the A’s, given the green light to explore relocation options, might soon move into Sutter Health Park and shove the River Cats aside is a stretch. What isn’t a stretch is the allure of the game.
“It’s still a three-hour getaway, a sport with so much history and so many memories, where you can come to the park and have a conversation with the guy next to you,” Maxson said. “We all missed out.”