1973 — The “Alert Orange Baseball” is used for the first time in major league history. The unique baseball, an invention of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley, is used in an exhibition game between Oakland and the Cleveland Indians. Finley contends the ball, painted the color of a construction worker’s hat, will be easier for both players and fans to see.

Replacement grass will be nearby and at the ready when the Sutter Health Park sod begins to deteriorate this spring with regular play from both the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team and the newcomer Athletics. Given the unique circumstances of a major league club sharing its ballpark with a minor league affiliate from another franchise — the Sacramento River Cats — contingency plans are in place to maintain the grass quality. Murray Cook, Major League Baseball's field consultant and President of BrightView Sports Turf, said both longtime head groundskeepers from the Giants and A's have been part of efforts to keep the playing surface in top form.

Baseball fans attend Cactus League spring training for a multitude of reasons. For the Berk family, attending A's spring training games is a family reunion. The Berks plan a weekend every year to have a reunion during spring training.

Baseball fans attend Cactus League spring training for a multitude of reasons. For the Berk family, attending A's spring training games is a family reunion. The Berks plan a weekend every year to have a reunion during spring training.

This past week, A's second baseman Zack Gelof was hit by a pitch on his right hand in a game against the Cleveland Guardians. The club was originally uncertain whether or not he'd be ready for Opening Day. Earlier today, it was announced by the team that Gelof will undergo surgery to repair a hamate fracture. With the loss of Gelof to the A's Opening Day roster, the A's are now going to have No. 7 prospect and former first rounder Max Muncy make his MLB debut.

Zack Gelof reportedly will begin the 2025 MLB season on the injured list and Athletics' No. 7 prospect Max Muncy will make the ballclub's Opening Day roster.

For nearly eight hours, the 12-year MLB second baseman and Skyline alumni shook hands, greeted old friends and took pictures with young fans at Raimondi Park – home of the Oakland Ballers – where Oakland's top teams competed in the inaugural Bip Roberts Classic. Oakland's best baseball schools such as Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland Tech and Oakland High competed in the showcase along with Berkeley High, St. Mary's-Berkeley, Mt. Diablo, Moreau Catholic and El Cerrito.

Royals will take on the Mariners and Athletics

Interesting can be both good and bad

The Billy Beane days are over for the A's, and major league baseball wants them to be more competitive in player salaries. Their offense has multiple deeper sleepers and two risk/reward players who must prove that last year wasn't a fluke. Deep Sleeper: Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics Oakland Athletics First Baseman Tyler Soderstrom / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Soderstrom is getting a lot of respect in the early draft season. I don't know if it's due to him possibly earning catcher eligibility or Roster Resource listing him as the Athletics starting first baseman with a middle-of-the-order opportunity. He has plenty of power while falling short in major league experience. I liked his bat in 2024

The No. 3 Arkansas baseball team (16-2, 0-1 SEC) dropped their Southeastern Conference opener Friday with a 10-6 loss to the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels (15-2, 1-0 SEC) at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi. Ole Miss right fielder Mitchell Sanford drove in four runs on three hits for the Rebels, who plated 10 runs on 14 hits as a team.

“Five words,” Aaron Miles, second-year manager of the Pioneer League Oakland Ballers, told us. Whether it was us, the 10 media members, social media influencers and local politicians invited to take part in the independent team's second annual open tryout over the weekend at Raimondi Park, or the guys with metal spikes and baseball pants, we were all varying degrees of long shots for a roster much closer to full form that it was a year ago. Two months out from the start of their second season, the Ballers are on their most stable footing yet, co-founder Paul Freedman tells me behind the batting cage. Freedman left his job running an education startup to follow his passion as an Oakland baseball fan for days like today.

Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler is extra motivated to make the 2025 MLB All-Star Game in his hometown of Atlanta.

The Arizona Diamondbacks emerged victorious over the Oakland Athletics, 7-5, in the concluding game of the Big League Weekend Spring Training series at Las Vegas Ballpark. The two-game series drew a total attendance of 16,838, with 8,130 fans witnessing the finale. The Athletics initially took a commanding 4-0 lead after three innings, highlighted by catcher Jhonny Pereda's performance.

The Athletics have shared updated renderings of their proposed $1.75 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

Outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with the Athletics, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Thursday night, the latest big-money deal for a team suddenly spending as it prepares to play three seasons in a minor league ballpark. Butler earned $627,000 last season under a split contract that paid at a rate of the $740,000 minimum while in the major leagues and $121,826 while in the minors.

When Matt Dooley began filming a documentary chronicling the 57-year history of the A's in Oakland and the fans that supported them, he did so without knowing how it would end. “In 2023, we didn't know which way it was going to go,” Dooley said in a phone interview this week. The original title was “For the Love of the Game,” with apologies to the 1999 fictional baseball film starring Kevin Costner as an aging pitcher. When it premieres at the Chabot Theater Saturday night (there are no tickets remaining for a free showing) in Castro Valley, the end result is “The Last Game.”

March 7 (UPI) -- Right fielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension with the Oakland Athletics. Sources told MLB.com , The Athletic and ESPN about the pact Thursday night. The agreement, yet to be confirmed by the Athletics, is pending a physical. Advertisement

Baseball fans in Las Vegas won't have to wait until 2028 to see the Oakland Athletics in action. The Athletics will be playing at the Las Vegas Ballpark this weekend as part of Big League Weekend. The Athletics will go head-to-head with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday and Sunday. Both games are scheduled to start just after 1 p.m., and tickets are still available.

Former Seattle Mariners first baseman Justin Turner leveled heavy criticism against ownership of the team for their unwillingness to spend money to add offensive talent this offseason.