Can A’s avoid 2025 repeat and bring playoffs to West Sacramento? They think so
The Athletics have gotten off to a promising start to their second season playing in West Sacramento. They entered Thursday’s game in first place in the American League West, are one of just three teams in the AL with a winning record, and have seen their playoff probability jump 46% since the first week of the regular season, according to Baseball Reference.
But given what they learned in 2025, the A’s know their start to 2026 means little.
On Wednesday they had an identical record to the first 29 games of last season (15-14), before later dropping 20 of 21 from May into early June in their worst stretch since the 1940s. It killed their chances at reaching the playoffs well before the All-Star break.
The team finished 76-86 and struggled to create momentum during their first campaign in their new market, where crowds well below the 13,800-capacity at Sutter Health Park were the norm throughout last summer. The A’s averaged 9,487 fans at home games.
Their record outside of the historically bad stretch was 75-66, a pace that would have put them squarely in the Wild Card race. They believe if they play at that level in 2026 — and avoid any historic losing spells — their talented core of offensive players and improved pitching could break a postseason drought that goes back to 2020.
“We don’t look at the future — and you learn from the past,” manager Mark Kotsay said before Wednesday’s win improved the A’s to 16-14. “(We’re) not really concerned about where we’re at in the standings’ perspective.”
To Kotsay’s point, first place is moot when the A’s have played just 19% of their schedule — a similar position to where they were last year when they they seemed poised to compete for a playoff spot before playing like the worst team in baseball for more than three weeks.
“They have experience in going through it,” Kotsay said of his players. “So anytime you have experience of going through something, I think you’re better for it. You learn through failure and obviously in that stretch we got a lot of it. And I think guys are better for it at this point. Any time you go through that, it’s not fun.”
Added starting pitcher Luis Severino: “I feel like last year when we lost 20 (of 21), we got way better.”
The A’s have told their season ticket holders they will host postseason games at Sutter Health Park if they make the playoffs. They couldn’t have done that in 2025 because they didn’t have logistics for media seating and broadcasting equipment squared away to MLB standards.
That meanings if the A’s reach the World Series (Baseball Reference gives them a 12.6% chance of winning the pennant as of Thursday), the sport’s biggest event could be played in West Sacramento’s minor league stadium, with temporary media seating likely to be built beyond the left field wall and in premium club areas.
It’s the longest of long shots, but getting there is only possible if the A’s reach the postseason. So far they look like a team that has a chance to be in the mix.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 2:03 PM.
