Several

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

teams have been based in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

and played in 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 Leagu ...

Salinas Spurs

The Salinas Spurs were a

team that played from 1982 to 1987 and again from 1989 to 1992. Located in

, they were affiliated with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

from 1982 to 1983, the

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

from 1984 to 1987, and in 1989 they had a partial working agreement with the

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

. That season, they had seven Japanese players play for them. They did not play as the Salinas Spurs in 1988, because they moved to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

to become the Riverside Red Wave. Baseball returned to Salinas after the Fresno Suns moved there for the 1989 season and became the Spurs. Their last affiliation (a partial one) was with the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in their final season in 1992, when they had half the roster of Japanese players with agreements with Japanese professional baseball leagues.

Notable alumni

Andy Allanson Andrew Neal Allanson (born December 22, 1961) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1995. Andy was signed as a second-round pick in the 1983 amateur draft, b ...

Thad Bosley Thaddis Bosley Jr. (born September 17, 1956) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. Playing career Bosley was called up to the Angels after hitting .326 in 69 games for the Salt Lake City Gulls of the Pacific Coast ...

(1976) *

Tom Brunansky Thomas Andrew Brunansky (born August 20, 1960), nicknamed "Bruno", is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981 to 1994 for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brew ...

(1979) MLB All-Star * Dave Burba (1987) *

Phil Cavarretta Philip Joseph Cavarretta (July 19, 1916 – December 18, 2010) was an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, and manager. He was known to friends and family as "Phil" and was also called "Philibuck", a nickname bestowed by Cubs ...

(1964, MGR) 4x MLB All-Star; 1945 NL Most Valuable Player *

Mark Clear Mark Alan Clear (born May 27, 1956) is an American former two-time All Star Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels (1979–80, 1990), Boston Red Sox (1981–85), and Milwaukee Brewers (1986–88). He batted and ...

(1977-1978) 2x MLB All-Star * Dave Collins (1974) * Julio Cruz (1976) *

Todd Cruz Todd Ruben Cruz (November 23, 1955 – September 2, 2008), was an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Calif ...

(1991) *

Leon Durham Leon "Bull" Durham (born July 31, 1957) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham was a longtime minor league hitting coach, and most recently served as the assistant hitting coa ...

(1990) 2x MLB All-Star *

Dave Engle Ralph David Engle (born November 30, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball utility player who played for the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers of the American League and the Montreal Expos of the National League from 1981 to ...

(1978) MLB All-Star * David Hardy (1987) *

Bud Harrelson Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson (June 6, 1944 – January 11, 2024) was an American professional baseball shortstop, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers fro ...

(1963-1964) 2x MLB All-Star *

Billy Hatcher William Augustus Hatcher (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first base coach. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phil ...

(1982) *

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, Howe d ...

(1990) MLB All-Star; 1980 NL Rookie of the Year * Darrin Jackson (1983) *

Mack Jones Mack Fletcher Jones (November 6, 1938 – June 8, 2004), nicknamed "Mack The Knife", was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1961–1967), Cincinnati Reds (1968), and Montreal Expos (19 ...

(1958) *

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager (baseball), manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing ...

(1977-1978) MLB MGR: 3x MLB Manager of the Year (2008, 2011, 2015); MGR: 2016

World Series Champion The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. First played in 1903, the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of base ...

– Chicago Cubs *

Rance Mulliniks Steven Rance Mulliniks (born January 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Playing career Drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks made his major league debut in for the California Angels, batting .269 in 78 games. He saw limi ...

(1975) * Jeff Nelson (1987) MLB All-Star *

Gary Pettis Gary George Pettis (born April 3, 1958) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and third base coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 to 1992 for the California Angels, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and Sa ...

(1980) 5 x Gold Glove * Dennis Rasmussen (1980) *

Buck Rodgers Robert Leroy "Buck" Rodgers (born August 16, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Los Angeles / California Angels for nine seasons during ...

(1975, MGR) 1987 NL Manager of the Year * Ken Schrom (1977) MLB All-Star *

Dick Selma Richard Jay Selma (November 4, 1943 – August 29, 2001) was a professional baseball player who was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1974. He played for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Californ ...

(1963) * Mac Suzuki (1992) *

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

(1987) *

Dickie Thon Richard William Thon (born June 20, 1958) is a Puerto Rican-American former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Range ...

(1977) MLB All-Star * Gary Varsho (1983) *

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

(1987) 11x Gold Glove; 3x MLB All-Star *

Mike Witt Michael Atwater Witt (born July 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1981 and 1993, and threw the 11th perfect game in MLB history in 1984. Early life Mike Witt was ...

(1979) 2 x MLB All-Star

Year-by-year record

Salinas Angels

The Salinas Angels were a

baseball team based in

, USA that played from 1976 to 1980. They played their home games at

Salinas Municipal Stadium Salinas Municipal Stadium was a baseball park located in Salinas, California, United States. Opened in 1949, the stadium was the home field for the Salinas Colts, Salinas Packers, Salinas Indians, Salinas Spurs and Salinas Peppers. When it first ...

. The team made the California League playoffs in 1976 and 1977, reaching (and losing) the league finals in each of those seasons. Each season, the team had a new manager. The team's managers, by year:

Del Crandall Delmar Wesley Crandall (March 5, 1930May 5, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Crandall played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves wh ...

(1976),

Moose Stubing Lawrence George "Moose" Stubing (March 31, 1938 – January 19, 2018) was an American professional baseball scout, minor league manager and Major League Baseball third-base coach. Stubing attended high school in White Plains, New York, before ...

(1977),

Chuck Cottier Charles Keith Cottier (January 8, 1936 – February 1, 2021) was an American second baseman, manager, coach, and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Born in Delta, Colorado, Cottier graduated from Grand Junction High School, where he lette ...

(1978), Chris Cannizzaro (1979) and Tom Zimmer (1980). Notable players include major league All-Stars

, Ken Schrom,

and

Salinas Packers

There were two incarnations of the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team known as the Salinas Packers. The first existed from 1954 to 1958, and was affiliated with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 1955 and the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

from 1956 to 1958. The second incarnation existed from 1973 to 1975, and was affiliated with the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. They played their home games at

Municipal Stadium Municipal Stadium may refer to: Europe and Asia * Beirut Municipal Stadium, Lebanon * Herzliya Municipal Stadium, Israel * Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (1957), Japan * Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala or Municipal Stadium, Pakistan * Kfarjoz Municipal Sta ...

in the second incarnation. Both incarnations were located in

and played in the

. In 1957, they won the California League title. One of their players,

John Balaz John Lawrence Balaz (born November 24, 1950) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. Balaz was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 10, 1974, with the California Angels. Career California Angels Balaz attended ...

, was named MVP in 1973. In 1976, they were renamed the

Salinas Angels Salinas may refer to: People *Salinas (surname) Places Americas Latin America * Salinas (ancient lake), in the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia * Salinas, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil * Playa Grande, Costa ...

Year-by-year record

Salinas Indians

The Salinas Indians were a

baseball team based in

, USA that played in 1965. They were managed by

and were affiliated with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. Their home stadium was

. Multiple major leaguers played for the team, including Frank Baker, Gary Boyd, Larry Foster, Gomer Hodge, Ray Miller,

Dave Nelson David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

Sam Parrilla Samuel Parrilla Monges (June 12, 1943 – February 9, 1994) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball left fielder and pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, in . He played in Minor League Base ...

Richie Scheinblum Richard Alan Scheinblum (November 5, 1942 – May 10, 2021), nicknamed "Shane", Whiting, Robert. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 82-83. was an American professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player. In 1971, he won the A ...

and Oscar Zamora.BR Minors
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links