The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of 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 L ...

and the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

affiliate of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. They are located in

Fresno, California 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 ...

, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in downtown Fresno. They previously played at Fresno State's Pete Beiden Field from 1998 to 2001. The Grizzlies were established in 1998 as members of the Triple-A

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

(PCL). They won the PCL championship in 2015, making it the only league title in franchise history. Fresno was transferred to the Low-A West league in 2021, but this was renamed the California League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022.

History

Prior professional baseball in Fresno

Professional baseball first came to Fresno in 1898 when it had a team in the original

. The team dropped out of the league after that year but returned in 1905. In 1906, the Tacoma Tigers of the Pacific Coast League moved to Fresno, playing as the

Fresno Raisin Eaters The Fresno Raisin Eaters were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League in 1906. The Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL which began play in 1903, moved to Tacoma in 1904, where the team won the PCL pennant ...

for one season before moving to

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

for the 1907 season. In the intervening years before the arrival of the Grizzlies, Fresno fielded teams in the California State League in 1910 and 1913, and in the current California League from 1941 through 1988, including 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 and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

(1941–1956), Fresno Sun Sox (1957), Fresno Giants (1958–1987), and Fresno Suns (1988).

San Francisco Giants (1998–2014)

When

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

awarded an expansion team (the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

) to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, that would begin playing in 1998, the Phoenix Firebirds of the

(the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

' Triple-A affiliate) were forced to move. The Firebirds moved to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

and changed their name to the Tucson Sidewinders while changing their affiliation to the Diamondbacks. That prompted the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

to move to Fresno, giving Fresno its first PCL team since 1906. The Toros were renamed the Grizzlies and became the Giants' new Triple-A affiliate. From 1998 through 2001, the Grizzlies played at Pete Beiden Field at

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

, before moving to Chukchansi Park. During the team's 11-year history in Fresno, it has had several different owners. In October 2005, the team was sold again, this time to Fresno Baseball Club LLC, headquartered in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

. The team hosted such promotions as K-Fed Night and Second Chance Night in 2006; '' The Price Is Right'' Night in 2007; and Totally Rad 80s Night featuring ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

'' star Billy Zabka in May 2008. Parker, the Grizzlies

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

, was named Best Mascot of 2007 by GameOps, beating out all other major and minor league mascots. The Grizzlies former mascot, Wild Thing, "retired" in 2006 after eight years as the team's mascot. Chukchansi Park is also home to the Drag Kings, the Grizzlies' dancing grounds crew who were given an honorable mention by GameOps as Best Entertainment act. The Grizzlies won the Minor League Baseball Promotion of the Year award in 2008 for their "Mascot Showdown" featuring Parker and the

Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green flightless bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at C ...

. The team's opening day catcher in 2010,

Buster Posey Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III (born March 27, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Posey spent his entire twelve-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the San Francisco Giants, from 2009 until his retirement a ...

, would be the

' starting catcher for the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

six months later (the Giants' starting catcher for most of their World Championship season,

Bengie Molina Benjamin José Molina (born July 20, 1974), nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher. He played for the Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1998–2005), Toronto Blue Jays (2006), San Francisco Giants ( ...

, would start for their opponents, the Texas Rangers), resulting in his

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

award that year.

Houston Astros (2015–2018)

In 2015, Fresno became an affiliate of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

. That season, they won the

Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast Lea ...

by defeating the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as cli ...

, 7–0, in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

. Following the 2017 season, Grizzlies manager Tony DeFrancesco announced he would not return to the Houston Astros organization for the 2018 season. DeFrancesco led Fresno to a winning record in each of his three seasons at the helm, his clubs compiling a record of 234–194 (.547) from 2015 to 2017. The run marked the first time in franchise history (since 1998) the Grizzlies completed three consecutive winning seasons. On January 19, 2018,

Rodney Linares Rodney Linares (born August 7, 1977) is a Dominican–American coach for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. Linares played as an infielder at the Rookie-level of minor league baseball in 1997 and 1998. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he t ...

was named the 10th manager in Grizzlies history. The team was sold to Fresno Sports and Events, a group led by Ray and Michael Baker, part owners of the

and

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

, and Jim Coufos, a prior investor in the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

, in a transaction that was made official on February 27, 2018. The Astros declined to renew their player-development contract with Fresno beyond the 2018 season.

Washington Nationals (2019–2020)

The team unveiled new logos, colors, and uniforms for the 2019 season. While retaining the Grizzlies name and

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

imagery, the team switched to a red, black, beige, and brown color scheme with logos and uniforms that resemble the flag of California. Fresno also gained a new major league affiliate for 2019. The Grizzlies and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

agreed to a player development contract for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

before being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season, the Washington Nationals opted to discontinue their affiliation with the Grizzlies, leaving them in need of a new affiliate.

Colorado Rockies (2021–present)

In conjunction with

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Grizzlies were transferred the Low-A West as the Low-A classification affiliate of the

. They won the 2021 Northern Division title with a 74–41 record. In the best-of-five league championship series, Fresno was defeated by the San Jose Giants, 3–0. Zac Veen was selected as the league's Top MLB Prospect, and

Robinson Cancel Robinson Cancel Castro (born May 4, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He made his Major League Baseball debut for the Milwaukee Brewers on September 3, 1999. He would not appear at the major league level again until J ...

won its Manager of the Year Award. In 2022, the Low-A West became known as the California League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a

circuit.

Season-by-season records

Popular culture

The 2012 family film '' Parental Guidance'' features Billy Crystal as the radio voice of the Fresno Grizzlies. The Grizzlies gained national attention in summer 2015 for playing a game as The Fresno Tacos, which was done to celebrate the city of Fresno's annual ''Taco Truck Throwdown'' and came complete with a specially designed tacos uniform.

Radio

All games are broadcast on

KRDU KRDU (1130 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Dinuba, California, and serving the Fresno-Visalia radio market. It airs a religious radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KRDU is regarded as America's first commercial Christi ...

, with Doug Greenwald handling the play-by-play.

Roster

Notable alumni

Yordan Álvarez Yordan Ruben Álvarez (born June 27, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Astros. Nicknamed "Air Yordan", Álv ...

, MLB designated hitter/outfielder * Brandon Belt, MLB first baseman *

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a high school sophomore at Albuquerque Academy in 2010, Bregman became the ...

, MLB third baseman/shortstop * Madison Bumgarner, MLB starting pitcher * Pat Burrell, MLB outfielder *

Matt Cain Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984), nicknamed "The Horse", "Big Daddy", "Big Sugar" and "Cainer", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the San Francisco Giants ...

, MLB starting pitcher *

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, who selected him first overall in ...

, MLB shortstop *

Brandon Crawford Brandon Michael Crawford (born January 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford played college baseball for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). H ...

, MLB shortstop * Adam Duvall, MLB outfielder * Teoscar Hernandez, MLB outfielder * Tim Lincecum, MLB starting pitcher * Joe Nathan, MLB closer *

Joe Panik Joseph Matthew Panik (born October 30, 1990) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, and Miami Marlins. Panik was an Al ...

, MLB second baseman * Yusmeiro Petit, MLB pitcher *

, MLB catcher *

Sergio Romo Sergio Francisco Romo (born March 4, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Mi ...

, MLB closer *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

, MLB closer

References

External links

Official website
{{California sports Baseball teams established in 1998 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Professional baseball teams in California Houston Astros minor league affiliates San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Washington Nationals minor league affiliates California League teams