In May 2000, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch celebrated his 26th birthday by playing in the 1st game at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
WEST SACRAMENTO, CA — It was May 15, 2000.
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, then a Triple-A player in the Oakland Athletics' organization, celebrated his 26th birthday by playing in the first game at Sutter Health Park, then called Raley Field, near the Sacramento River.
Hinch started as the catcher for the Sacramento River Cats.
"It's been a long time," Hinch said Monday, Aug. 25, before the Tigers' opener of a three-game series against the Athletics. "This was the model ballpark when it was built, and it still has aged really well.
"It's fun to be back for me, personally, because it brings back a lot of memories."
From 2025-27, the Athletics — the former Oakland Athletics — will play three seasons at Sutter Health Park before moving to their new home in Las Vegas.
The Athletics' new stadium in Las Vegas projects to cost $1.75 billion. Construction got underway in May 2025.
For these three years, the Athletics are sharing Sutter Health Park with the River Cats, now the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The ballpark holds a capacity of 14,014 fans.
"When you're on your way down from the big leagues to Triple-A, I probably wasn't as appreciative of getting to play here as I was for that team," said Hinch, now a 51-year-old in his 12th season as an MLB manager, including the last five seasons with the Tigers. "We had a lot of talent. We won 90 games.
"I ended up having a lot of close friends that stayed with me for this whole lifetime in baseball."
Back in May 2000, the Athletics-affiliated River Cats played their first game at Raley Field after spending 37 games on the road because the construction on the ballpark wasn't completed on time.
There were three future Houston Astros managers in the starting lineup for the River Cats: Hinch at catcher, Bo Porter in center field and Joe Espada at second base. The trio collected one hit apiece in the first game at Raley Field.
For the Astros, Porter managed 300 games from 2013-14, Hinch managed 810 games from 2015-19 and Espada has managed 292 games since 2024.
"It's fun to look back and appreciate the time I got to spend in Sacramento," Hinch said.
As a player, Hinch competed in 350 games across seven MLB seasons with the Athletics (1998-2000), Kansas City Royals (2001-02), Tigers (2003) and Philadelphia Phillies (2004). He also hit .281 with a .762 OPS in his Triple-A career, spanning 425 games.
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Brant Hurter injures lower back in Triple-A
The Tigers optioned left-handed reliever Brant Hurter on Aug. 17 to Triple-A Toledo, but the 26-year-old still hasn't pitched in a game for the Mud Hens.
He is injured.
After the Tigers demoted him, Hurter suffered low back soreness in his first bullpen session. He will be placed on the seven-day injured list in the minor leagues.
Hurter won't be shut down, but it's unclear when he will return to the Mud Hens.
"He was going down to get a little bit of work, and during his first bullpen session, he had some back issues," Hinch said. "It's not alarming. I think he's going to be back up and running really quickly."
For the Tigers, Hurter registered a 2.45 ERA with 27 walks and 62 strikeouts across 58⅔ innings in 38 games. His walk rate plummeted from an elite 3.4% in 2024 to a below-average 10.5% in 2025, which is why the Tigers optioned him.
Waiting on Parker Meadows
Center fielder Parker Meadows hasn't played for the Tigers since July 27. The 25-year-old remains sidelined with a right quad strain, but he continues to await clearance to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.
Meadows needs to pass his full-speed running test. That could happen within the next day.
"We have him doing an important running test while we're out here," Hinch said. "We'd like to get him out as fast as possible, but also as responsible as possible.
"Once he gets up to full speed, I think he's close to like 90% right now in terms of his overall speed. His next step is to let it go and feel good about it, and then I think he can go out."
The Tigers hope Meadows will begin a rehab assignment at some point during their upcoming three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, from Friday, Aug. 29, through Sunday, Aug. 31.
It's unclear when Meadows will join to the Tigers.
"I'm hoping that maybe when we're in Kansas City, he's out and playing," Hinch said, "but that's definitely in pencil until he passes the running test, which could happen as soon as this series (against the Athletics)."
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers manager A.J. Hinch returns to West Sacramento
Category: Baseball
