Good morning afternoon, Athletics Nation!
The Oakland A’s initially hoped to use Stockton for their alternate site camp last summer during the coronavirus pandemic, but they settled on San Jose instead due to factors including spikes in case rates. This year they’ll get their chance in Stockton after all.
The A’s will use Banner Island Ballpark as their alternate training site in 2021, the team announced Saturday. The park is home to the Low-A Ports, who have been an A’s minor league affiliate since 2005.
Stockton’s park is only 66 miles from the Coliseum, which is slightly farther away than Excite Ballpark in San Jose but still close enough to make it a convenient location geographically.