The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. They are located in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquired Rancho Campo de los Franceses. The city is named after R ...

, and are named for the city's

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

. The team plays its home games at

Banner Island Ballpark Banner Island Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in Stockton, California, on the Stockton waterfront, which seats 5,200 people with 4,200 fixed seats. It is the home field of the Stockton Ports, a minor league affiliate of the Oakla ...

which opened in 2005 and seats over 5,000 people. The Ports were established in 1941 as members of the California League and have won the California League championship 11 times.

History

Baseball first came to Stockton in the 1860s. At the time, Stockton fielded a team in an earlier incarnation of the California League. In 1888, the Stockton team won the California League pennant with a record of 41–12. That same team also gained a bit of notoriety as a possible inspiration for " Casey at the Bat", a famous baseball poem by Ernest Thayer. Thayer was a journalist for the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' at the time and the games were hosted in a ballpark on Banner Island, a place once known as Mudville. The Stockton Flyers were established as a charter member of the California League in 1941. The league suspended operations in June 1942 due to World War II. The Flyers were rechristened as the Stockton Ports to recognize Stockton's status as an inland port city when the league resumed operations in 1946. That season, the Ports went on to win their first California League pennant. In 1947, the Ports won the California League title again without a major league affiliation (they had a limited working agreement with 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 level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

). After going 24–18 through June 4, they went on a 26-game winning streak and took first place, never to relinquish again in that season. The win streak is one of the longest in professional baseball and is still a California League record. The Ports finished that season with a record of 95–45 and 16 games ahead of the two teams tied for second place. During Minor League Baseball's centennial celebration in 2001, baseball historians Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright rated the 1947 Ports as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time, ranked at number 98. Owned by Stockton local Carl W. Thompson, Sr. (1971–1973), the Ports disbanded after the 1972 season, coming back as an affiliate of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

in 1978. The Ports won more games in the 1980s than any other team in Minor League Baseball. In an homage to the team in the Ernest Thayer poem, the Ports were renamed the Mudville Nine in 2000 and 2001, then returned to the Ports name in 2002. In 2005, the Ports moved to the newly built

and became affiliates of the

. The team won its 11th California League championship in 2008 with a 9–3 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks on September 14. In conjunction with

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 ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Ports were organized into the Low-A West. 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 Single-A circuit.

Major league affiliations

*1941: Los Angeles Angels, PCL *1946: Independent *1947–1948:

, PCL *1949:

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, AL *1950–1951: Independent *1952: St. Louis Browns, AL *1953–1954:

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, NL *1955:

, PCL *1956–1957:

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, AL *1958: St. Louis Cardinals, NL *1959–1971:

, AL *1972: California Angels, AL *1978:

, AL *1979–2000:

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, AL (1979–97)/NL (1998–2000) *2001–2002:

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, NL *2003–2004: Texas Rangers, AL *2005–present

, AL

Roster

Notable Ports alumni

; Baseball Hall of Fame alumni * Pat Gillick (1959) inducted 2011 * Mike Piazza (2007) inducted 2016 ;Notable alumni *

Joe Altobelli Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San Fr ...

(1969, MGR) Manager: 1983 World Champion – Baltimore Orioles *

Daric Barton Daric William Barton (born August 16, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics. Minor league career Barton was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the ...

(2005) *

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(1968) MLB All-Star; 1995 NL Manager of the Year; 1979 AL Most Valuable Player * Bo Belinsky (1959) * Paul Blair (1963) 2 x MLB All-Star; 8 x Gold Glove * Bruce Bochte (1972) MLB All-Star *

Skye Bolt Skye Michael Bolt (born January 15, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. The Oakland Athletics selected Bolt in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut with the ...

* Dallas Braden (2005) * Milton Bradley (2005) MLB All-Star * Travis Buck (2005) * Al Bumbry (1969) MLB All-Star; 1973 AL Rookie of the Year * Enos Cabell (1970) *

Trevor Cahill Trevor John Cahill (born March 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, ...

(2008) MLB All-Star *

Coco Crisp Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and MiLB team manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oakland ...

(2015) * Bobby Crosby (2005) 2004 AL Rookie of the Year * Vince DiMaggio (1948) 2 x MLB All-Star * Josh Donaldson 3 x MLB All-Star; 2015 AL Most Valuable Player *

Sean Doolittle Sean Robert Doolittle (born September 26, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Marine ...

(2008, 2012, 2015, 2017) MLB All-Star * Cal Eldred (1990) * Mike Epstein (1965; led the league in batting (.338) and home runs (30)) * Keith Foulke (2008) MLB All-Star * Zack Gelof * Sonny Gray (2017) MLB All-Star * Pumpsie Green (1955) *

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

(1968) 6 x MLB All-Star * Darryl Hamilton (1987) *

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athleti ...

(1978) MLB All-Star * Geoff Jenkins (1995) MLB All-Star * Davey Johnson (1962) 4 x MLB All-Star; 2 x MLB Manager of the Year; Manager: 1986 World Series Champion – New York Mets * Doug Jones (1979) MLB All-Star * Darold Knowles (1962) MLB All-Star *

Dave LaPoint David Jeffrey LaPoint (born July 29, 1959) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the manager of the Rockland Boulders, an American professional baseball team based in Pomona, New York and member of the Canadian American Association o ...

(1979) * Dave May (1963) MLB All-Star * Jim Morris (1987) Subject of Movie: The Rookie * Juan Nieves(1982) *

Jerry Remy Gerald Peter Remy (November 8, 1952 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster. Remy played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (197 ...

(1972) MLB All-Star * Merv Rettenmund (1965–1966) *

Addison Russell Addison Wayne Russell (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Base ...

(2013–2014) MLB All-Star *

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(1999) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played rig ...

(1987) 9 x MLB All Star; 1992 NL Batting Title * Kurt Suzuki (2005) MLB All-Star *

Dale Sveum Dale Curtis Sveum ( ; born November 23, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He most recently served as the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals. As a player, Sveum saw action in 12 major league seasons ...

(1983, 1989) *

Zack Thornton Zachary James Thornton (born May 19, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is currently the pitching coach for the UC Davis Aggies. Pitching for Oak Park High School, Thornton was All-State in California. At Ventura Co ...

* Brett Tomko (2010) *

Fernando Vina Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(1997) MLB All-Star *

Edison Volquez Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invent ...

(2004) MLB All-Star *

Joey Wagman Joseph Samuel Wagman (born July 25, 1991) is an American-Israeli right-handed professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He also plays for the Israel National Baseball Team. Wagman attended college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he w ...

* Brad Ziegler (2005) * Ben Zobrist (2015) 3 x MLB All-Star; 2016 World Series Most Valuable Player * Mudville Nine players

References

External links