Cats Rewind: Baseball returns to River City

The Las Vegas temperature reached 106 degrees that late July evening in 2000. As the River Cats took the field for pregame warm-ups, pitcher Barry Zito stayed behind in street clothes sitting on a clubhouse bench and autographing baseball cards.

The A's were finalizing his move to the parent club. The River Cats, who reached the midpoint of their inaugural Pacific Coast League season in first place in the South Division, would never have Zito in uniform again.

That July night, Sacramento-area fans got a glimpse into the true inner workings of Minor League Baseball and the future of the River Cats. With an untouchable noon-to-six breaking ball, Zito was special. Which meant his stay in Sacramento was destined to be short-lived.

Two seasons after his promotion to Oakland, the left-hander with a flair for the guitar and a fancy for silk pillows earned the 2002 American League Cy Young Award with a 23-5 record and 2.78 ERA. He became the first River Cats player to make an impact at the majors.

However, Zito wasn't the primary focus of the A's that season.

Adam Piatt torched the Double-A Texas League the year before, hitting .345 with 39 home runs and 135 runs batted in for Midland. He became the first player in 72 years to win the Triple Crown and in 1999 was named Texas League MVP and Minor League Player of the Year by Topps, Baseball Weekly and Baseball America.

The A's couldn't wait to get Piatt to Oakland, and Sacramento baseball fans were eager to see the hitting prodigy pass through Raley Field during the team's inaugural season.

Because construction on Raley Field wasn't completed on time, the River Cats opened the 2000 season playing their first 37 games on the road. When word reached spring training of the extended road trip plan, many Cats-to-be weren't looking forward to living out of a suitcase for a month.

When Sacramento Bee reporter Jim Van Vliet informed Piatt of the plan, he joked, "Send me to Double-A." A's General Manager Billy Beane didn't take it as a joke. He called Piatt into his office and suggested he rethink his comment. With the final touches at Raley Field complete, minor league baseball returned to Sacramento. The wait was worth it.

When the River Cats opened the gates that May 15 evening, 14,111 fans poured into the stadium. That day in Oakland, 6,836 attended the A's-Kansas City Royals game, prompting Bee columnist Mark Kreidler to write: "Triple-A baseball will work here, probably in a way that the big, expensive, corporate-soaked major league never could."

Said River Cats catcher A.J. Hinch: "I can't imagine there's a better park in the country at the Triple-A level."

Three weeks into the season, Raley Field was treated to the first streaker. A fan, wearing only his baseball cap, ran onto the field in the bottom of the eighth inning, snagged the resin bag at the pitcher's mound and high-tailed it down the right-field line. He stopped to exchange his loot for a baseball with Calgary Cannons right-fielder Mike Gulan, jumped the fence, got dressed and ran out of the ballpark. He was never caught.

The 2000 season ended with Manager Bob Geren's club (90-54) winning the first of seven South Division titles led by PCL Most Valuable Player shortstop Jose Ortiz (.351 average, 24 home runs, 108 runs batted in), third baseman Mark Bellhorn (.266, 17 doubles, 11 triples, 24 HRs), center-fielder Bo Porter (.272, 14 HR, 39 stolen bases) and pitchers Ariel Prieto (8-4, 3.27), Jon Ratliff (8-4, 3.44) and Zito.

In 254 at-bats with Sacramento, Piatt hit .283 with eight home runs. Called up to the big club for the third time on July 23, he stayed for the remainder of the season. He wasn't expected back. Unfortunately, that would not be the last time Sacramento would see Piatt.

The River Cats, who lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Salt Lake Bees in five games, broke the all-time PCL attendance record and led all minor leagues in attendance.

The accomplishment cost Executive Vice President Warren Smith and then Senior Vice President of sales and marketing Tom Glick a head of hair. They lost a bet that the team's home attendance figures would not reach 750,000. That season, the River Cats led all of minor-league baseball with 861,808 fans, an average of 12,517 fans per game.

River Cats Chief Executive Officer Art Savage was named Sporting News Minor League Executive of the Year. A well-deserved honor for the man who brought baseball back to a city starved for the game. His cunning business savvy set a standard for all minor league franchises to follow.