The Fresno Raisin Eaters were a minor league baseball team which played in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1906. The

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...

, a charter member of the PCL which began play in 1903, moved to Tacoma in 1904, where the team won the PCL pennant playing as the Tacoma Tigers. The team returned to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

during the 1905 season, then moved to

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

for the 1906 season. A crowd of 2,500 (considered large by the standards of the day) greeted the Raisin Eaters for their home opener against the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

, which

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

won, 1-0. That was the high-water mark of the season, as fan support eroded as a result of the team's poor play. The Raisin Eaters finished dead last in the six-team league, with a record of 64-117 (.353). The one-year wonders dropped out of the PCL after that year, returned to Sacramento, and re-entered the League in 1909 as the Sacramento Solons once more. Although Fresno would field teams in the California State League and the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

in subsequent years (most notably the

Fresno Cardinals Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It cover ...

) and the

Fresno Giants The Fresno Giants were a minor league baseball team that played in the California League from 1941 to 1988. The team was based in Fresno, California. First teams The city of Fresno had professional baseball as far back as 1898 when it had a team ...

, the Pacific Coast League would not return to Fresno for another 92 years, when the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

were admitted to the league in 1998. During the 2006 season, the Grizzlies honored the 100th anniversary of their short-lived PCL predecessors in Fresno by wearing Raisin Eaters jerseys on the field during each Wednesday home game.

References

*O'Neal, Bill. ''The Pacific Coast League 1903-1988.'' Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. . *Snelling, Dennis. ''The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957'' McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 1995. . {{refend Baseball teams established in 1906 Sports clubs disestablished in 1906 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Sports in Fresno, California Professional baseball teams in California Defunct baseball teams in California Baseball in Fresno, California 1906 establishments in California 1906 disestablishments in California Baseball teams disestablished in 1906