WEST SACRAMENTO — Monday night is the A's home opener — the first since the team's move to West Sacramento — and big league ball is front and center. 

But did you know West Sacramento has a booming little league scene? The A's arrival is expected to propel the league even further. 

One thing's for sure: local little leaguers now have plenty to look up to with baseball's best athletes coming right to their backyard. 

"We have over 500 players in the league and it's been growing every year," said Ryan Cassidy, vice president of West Sacramento Little League. "It's really popular." 

The game teaches lessons in life: discipline, character and confidence. 

"It's hard and so it's good to learn as a team and grow in that way," Cassidy said. 

And for these little leaguers, the A's moving to town puts a spotlight on the players they aspire to be. 

"It's not only the A's they are able to see [but] all the visiting teams that come in and [they can] see their favorite players from across the league," Cassidy said. "It's a fun and exciting opportunity they are going to remember for the rest of their lives." 

"In West Sac, to have them here in our city, the excitement for the kids has really built up," said Matthew Hodge of the West Sacramento Little League. 

In rounding these bases, Hodge said baseball builds community "by helping them grow up and learn those skills through life, along with having fun and pretending to be their favorite player on TV." 

And it might just plant a seed. 

"If you ask them, we've got a lot of future major league ball players out here," Cassidy said of the players in the West Sacramento Little League. 

Having the A's as a next-door neighbor paints the perfect picture that success starts small — where the league is little, but the dreams are big. 

They say the excitement for the A's will help grow their league even more. The goal is for the little league to partner with the team as much as possible so the kids can get out to Sutter Health Park to enjoy a game.