The Athletics’ temporary ballpark in Sacramento, California, will include natural grass, not artificial turf, a pivot that should ease concerns about playing on a synthetic surface in a city of extreme heat.

The A’s, who recently concluded their final season in Oakland, will spend at least the next three years sharing Sutter Health Park with the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, before their anticipated move to Las Vegas in 2028.

Major League Baseball initially planned to install synthetic turf at the facility in large part because it would provide a more durable surface for a stadium that would host two teams. But the MLB Players’ Association raised concerns about how that surface would exacerbate the heat during the summer months, even with a hydration component touted by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in July. Sacramento experienced its hottest 20-day stretch on record earlier this summer, with temperatures averaging 103.8 degrees from June 23 to July 12.

A final assessment from MLB’s field consultant, Murray Cook, stated that natural grass is indeed viable at Sutter Health Park.

“Since the beginning of this process, we have worked collaboratively with the MLBPA to incorporate feedback from major and minor league players regarding the facilities, amenities, and playing conditions in Sacramento,” a league spokesperson said in a statement. “Based on feedback from players, as well as guidance from MLB’s long-time field expert, MLB, the A’s and Sutter Health Park have decided to maintain a natural grass field.

“Our shared, primary concern is ensuring the best and safest playing surface for the A’s, River Cats and visiting players. In light of the players’ clear preference for natural grass, and after weighing with the MLBPA the potential risks and benefits of maintaining natural grass versus replacing the playing surface with synthetic turf, all the parties are aligned in moving forward with a natural grass field for Opening Day 2025.”

MLB will also renovate Sutter Health Park’s clubhouses, dugouts, bullpens and batter’s eye ahead of the 2025 season. The A’s have the option to remain in Sacramento for an extra season if construction of their fixed-roof ballpark in Las Vegas is delayed.

NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning game in the League Championship Series rose 12 minutes to 3:16 this year along with an increase in scoring, though the overall postseason figure has fallen by two minutes to 3:00 in the second year of the pitch clock.

The LCS average was 3:40 in 2021, then fell to 3:26 in the first season of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device and 3:04 last year when the pitch clock was instituted.

Runs per game in the LCS averaged 11.3, up from 8.8 in 2023 and 7.9 in 2022 and 9.9 in 2021.

The postseason average for nine-inning games through the LCS is down from 3:22 in 2022 and 3:37 in 2021. Scoring of 8.2 runs per game was 8.0 last year, 7.9 in 2022 and 8.7 in 2021.

Division Series games averaged 3:00, down from 3:06 last year, 3:22 in 2022 and 3:33 in 2021. The Wild Card Series averaged 2:44, falling from 2:50 last year, 3:19 in 2022 and 3:44 for the wild card games in 2021.

Last year’s postseason average finished at 3:02, down from 3:23 in 2022 and 3:37 in 2021. The World Series last year averaged 3:01, the fastest since 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

This season’s regular-season average of 2:36 declined four minutes from 2023 and 28 minutes from 2022. It had not been this low since 1984’s 2:35.

MLB shortened the pitch clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18 ahead of the 2024 season while keeping it at 15 seconds without runners on base.

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