Sacramento won at Round Rock Express (Astros), 7-5
sweeping their Championship Series, 3-0
There are a lot of different “for the first time since....” engendered by the Sacramento RiverCats sweeping their way to the PCL Championship.
- It was the first PCL championship for the RiverCats since 2008 (a team which included Todd Linden on his way down and Donnie Murphy on his way up, though both were 28 at the time)
- the first AAA championship for the Giants since 1977 (Johnnie LeMaster, Bob Knepper, and Greg Minton all passed through on their way to the ‘Stick)
- the first Giants affiliate championship since the 2015 DSL team (Sandro Fabian and Melvin Adon)
- the first Giants affiliate championship on American soil since the 2013 AZL team (Christian Arroyo and Ryder Jones)
- and for completionist sake, the first full season Giants affiliate to win a championship since the 2010 San Jose Giants (where Brandon Belt started his blitz to the majors while Charlie Culberson and Ehire Adrianza continued much longer climbs)
It is, in other words, a thing most intensely to be celebrated!