SACRAMENTO — On Wednesday, July 23rd, the MLB’s Athletics, formerly known as the Oakland Athletics, lost their fourth straight game, and were swept by the Texas Rangers, bringing their record to a season worst 42-62. They sat at last place in the AL West by eight games, and showed no signs of life in their first year playing in Sacramento, while they await a 2028 move to Las Vegas.
The date is now Monday, October 6th just over one week removed from the end of the MLB regular season.
After July 23rd’s game, the A’s completely turned things around, going 34-24 in their last 58 games, and finishing at 76-86; their best record since 2021. Most importantly, for the first time in a long time, the general feel around this team and the fanbase is positive.
Who were the key players that led the A’s to a late season turnaround? What were some of the fun moments that the fanbase will hold onto? How is the relationship between the Athletics franchise and the people of Sacramento after one year?
Let’s take a look into a very memorable 2025 season for the A’s.
Likely the biggest highlight for the A’s in the second half of the season, and the biggest reason for hope going forward, was the star power of this roster.
I wrote an article on July 15th about the A’s performance at the All-Star break, and two of the names I discussed were A’s rookies Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson. These two had undeniably great rookie years and should be A’s stars for some time to come.
“The Big Amish” Kurtz set the league ablaze this past season at the first base position and at the plate, and is the betting favorite by a mile to win the AL Rookie of the Year (ROTY). In 117 games played, he notched 122 hits, 86 RBI, and a team high 36 home runs, while batting .290. He gave A’s fans something to be excited about when they struggled early on, and kept up the effort throughout the season. He also had one all time MLB moment for a rookie that will be discussed later.
Kurtz’ teammate Wilson is, funny enough, projected to finish in second place for the AL ROTY voting. The All-Star shortstop played in 125 games last season, registered 125 hits, 63 RBI, 13HR and led the team with a .311 batting average, and .355 on base percentage. He was the A’s first All Star starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014.
Other young talent for the A’s included catcher Shea Langeliers, right fielder Lawrence Butler and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom. All three are under the age of 27, and all three had at least 133 hits and 21 home runs. Butler also recorded the A’s first 20 HR 20 stolen base season since Coco Crisp in 2013.
Rounding out the A’s star players is Brent Rooker, the veteran designated hitter, who put up 164 hits, 89 RBI, along with 30 HR. He became the first Athletic since Miguel Tejada in 2002 to be top 10 in the AL in batting average, home runs, and RBI in the same year.
On the mound, the A’s struggled to find the same promise or stability, but were led by starters Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino. The duo combined for 19 wins on the season, and had 138 and 124 strikeouts respectively.
The A’s core shined this year, and is certain to only improve each year that the group stays together.
For the Athletics, this season had its fair share of memorable moments. None however, were as memorable as what happened on July 25th against the Houston Astros.
Nick Kurtz batted 6-6 that night, with five extra base hits, including 4 HR, which got him 8 RBI and 19 total bases.
Not only did the rookie become the first one ever to hit four home runs in a game, but he tied Shawn Green’s 19 total bases as the most in a game by anyone, since at least 1900. This was just the 20th four home run game in the history of the MLB.
Alongside some other moments in Kurtz’ historic rookie season, him solidifying it with a performance like this all but locked him in for the AL rookie of the year award, and also etched his name into the record books, something he will inevitably do throughout his career.
One other big moment for the Athletics this season was the trade deadline.
On July 31st, the morning of the deadline, Around 8:00 a.m. it was announced that the Athletics and San Diego Padres had agreed to a deal, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Athletics sent Closing Pitcher (CP) Mason Miller and Left Handed Pitcher (LHP) J.P. Sears to San Diego, in exchange for Shortstop (SS) Leodalis De Vries, Right Handed Pitcher (RHP) Braden Nett, RHP Henry Báez and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez.
The A’s decided to sell at this deadline, getting rid of two very good pitchers to an aggressive Padres team, for the number three ranked MLB prospect in 18-year-old shortstop De Vries, alongside the Padres’ 3rd, 13th, and 17th ranked prospects, all pitchers.
The team acquiring young talent for once instead of trading it was a pleasant surprise to A’s fans and the baseball world, and showed that A’s management is serious about continuing to build this young team.
Early on in the season, when the A’s were performing at their worst, I talked about how the Sacramento excitement was already dying down. With the team only being there for three years, and the A’s not looking like they would compete, there was no more reason for fans to attend games.
But in sports, winning trumps all. As the A’s started winning, and the young talent kept improving, the excitement started growing back, along with the anticipation for next season.
Another criticism was that the team didn’t embrace the city at all, going by the A’s, and not Sacramento A’s. While the name change isn’t coming, the A’s have announced a “Sacramento” gold alternate jersey that they will wear.
Things are looking up for the A’s going into next season, as up as they have been in a while. With young superstars like Kurtz and Wilson, and established veterans like Rooker leading the way, the team is destined to improve again next year, and try to make a push for a winning record, or dare I say, even more.
This talent level paired with the team finally embracing their Sacramento home could lead to a truly remarkable 2026 season inside Sutter Health Park. For now, the MLB playoffs continue.