Minor league baseball teams in California are Fresno Grizzlies, Modesto Nuts, San Jose Giants, Stockton Ports, Inland Empire 66ers, and others.
The California League is an eight-team minor league that competes in California. They played at Class A-Advanced until the minor leagues were reorganized by Major Baseball League in 2021.
The league temporarily played under the name Low-A West in 2021 before continuing to play under its original name Single-A in 2022.
The Low-A West was renamed the California League and classed as a Single-A league beginning with the 2022 season when MLB acquired the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues.
There are 14 Minor League Baseball leagues, and they are divided into one of five classes: Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A, and Rookie.
Fresno Grizzlies
Fresno Grizzlies are the Single-A affiliate of Colorado Rockies. Fresno franchise was founded in 1998 as a Triple-A Pacific Coast League member.
They have one league PCL championship title in franchise history. In 2021, Fresno was moved to the Low-A-West division, however in 2022, this division changed its name to the California League.
In 1898, when Fresno had a team in the first California League, professional baseball made its debut in the city. However, the team left the league, but they later rejoined in 1905.
The San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Houston Astros are just a few of the teams with which the team has been associated during its 11-year period of time in Fresno.
Following their affiliation with the Astros in 2015, Fresno defeated the Columbus Clippers for the Triple-A Baseball National Championship.
Modesto Nuts
Modesto Nuts are another California minor league baseball team, playing as the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners since 2017.
The Nuts changed its name after the team's affiliation with Oakland Athletics ended in 2005. They were formerly known as the Modesto Athletics, Modesto Reds, and Modesto Colts.
They have been recognized as the California League Organization of the Year for 2010 and 2011 while setting records for five straight seasons. In their history, the Modesto Nuts have clinched three division championships and nine league championships.
The Nuts won the California League title in 2017 by sweeping both the Division Series and the League Series and going on a nine-game winning streak that began with the final three regular-season games.
Modesto Nuts actually gets its name from the variety of nuts that are cultivated in the area, including pistachios, almonds, and walnuts.
San Jose Giants
The San Jose Giants, Class-A Advance in the California League, is one of the most successful teams since its establishment in 1988.
Additionally, the Giants, who play their home games at Excite Ballpark, had the best record of any class A minor league team in the 1990s. Throughout its history, they have hosted a number of minor-league baseball clubs.
San Jose Giants has also won the Northern Division championship eight times and advanced multiple times to the California League playoffs. The Giants also had the most wins of any Class A minor league team throughout the 1990s.
The San Jose Giants produced more than 190 players who now play in the Major Leagues, including Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, Brian Horwitz,
Stockton Ports
The Stockton Ports are the Oakland Athletics' Single-A affiliate. They are based in Stockton, California, and get their name from the city's seaport.
The home games of Stockton Ports are held at Banner Island Ballpark, which debuted in 2005 and has a capacity of over 5,000 people.
The Ports are a California League franchise that was founded in 1941, and they have won the league title 11 times. The Stockton team finished the season 41-12 and won the California League pennant.
The Stockton Flyers joined the California League as a founding member in 1941. The team's name has changed multiple times throughout the years, including Stockton Mudville Nine, Stockton Mariners, and once more Stockton Ports.
Baseball historians Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright listed the 1947 Ports as one of the top 100 minor league teams of all time during Minor League Baseball's centennial celebration in 2001.
Inland Empire 66ers
The San Bernardino Inland Empire 66ers of the Minor League Baseball CA are the Los Angeles Angels' Single-A affiliate.
The 66ers play their home games at San Manuel Stadium which is situated in San Bernardino, California. The San Bernardino Stars were the team's original name when it was founded in 1941.
It had a number of name changes over the years before deciding on the current one in 2007. The team was named after the legendary U.S. Route 66 that passed through San Bernardino.
Additionally, throughout the course of its history, the franchise has had ties to the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners.
The 66ers and the Los Angeles Angels signed a two-year affiliation deal in September 2010 to become the MLB team's "High A" ball affiliate in the minor leagues.
Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm is a single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the California League's Minor League Baseball. The team was founded in 1994 and played their home game Lake Elsinore Diamond.
Since its founding, they have gone by many names. Previously known as the Palm Springs Angels and then the Storm, they were the Angels' "high-A" affiliates through the end of the 2000 season.
Some former Storm players later joined the 2002 World Series champion Angels. When the Storm defeated the Lancaster JetHawks by a score of 30-0, they set a league record for the most lopsided victory.
Nate Freiman played with the Storm in 2011, setting single-season club records with 22 home runs and 111 RBIs.
The Storm won the California League South Division Finals on September 7, 2019, defeating the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 11-2, and went on to the sixth California League Championship Series.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are the Los Angeles Dodgers Single-A affiliate and a California League Minor League Baseball team.
The team was established in 1966 as members of the California League in Lodi, California. Before moving to Rancho Cucamonga in 1993, the team had a number of name and ownership changes.
The Quakes have won three California League championships in 1994, 2015, and 2018. They defeated the Modesto A's in four games to claim their first California League title in 1994.
Since 1966, the franchise has maintained ties to a number of major league organizations, most notably the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Beginning with the 2001 season, the team switched affiliations with the Lake Elsinore Storm after spending the previous eight seasons in Rancho Cucamonga as a San Diego Padres affiliate.
The Quakes were associated with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the following ten seasons. During its final season of affiliation with the Angeles, the team made the California League championship in 2010.
Visalia Rawhide
Visalia Rawhide ranks amongst the oldest California minor league baseball teams. Rawhide is a Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The franchise has gone by nine different names, most of which have been variants of its major-league affiliations, most notably Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays, and Diamondbacks.
Along with San Jose and Modesto, Visalia is one of the four oldest cities in the Cal League. The Visalia Rawhide and the Arizona Diamondbacks have been affiliated since 2007.
Tipper, a Holstein bull, is the mascot of the Visalia Rawhide, which debuted on October 15, 2008. Tipper is the official representative of the tens of thousands of Holstein cows in Tulare County, the nation's leading dairy-producing region.
