Listed below are the morning’s high tales on Friday, August 29, 2025…
- Minor league baseball has a wealthy historical past in California, going again greater than a century. However minor league baseball is altering. Like different skilled sports activities, it has turn into a big-money recreation, attracting homeowners trying to money in on rising group values. One Central Valley metropolis is witnessing what that big-money recreation seems like firsthand, as its longtime group performs its previous couple of house video games, earlier than transferring to Southern California.
Modesto Nuts Wrap Up Final Season In The Central Valley
Minor league baseball has undergone main adjustments over the past 5 years. Main League Baseball took over and reorganized the minors in 2021, slicing ties with dozens of groups that had been affiliated with large league golf equipment. On the time, Main League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred cited a number of causes for the choice — the necessity to repair older, rundown ballparks, enhancing coaching amenities for gamers, decreasing the journey burden for groups and the truth that there are too many gamers which are drafted and signed who don’t have a practical shot to make it to the majors. He mentioned in quite a lot of instances, minor league groups wouldn’t conform to these adjustments.
On the identical time, Diamond Baseball Holdings, a non-public fairness agency, jumped into the minor league possession recreation. They partnered with Main League Baseball to advise them on a brand new technique for the minor leagues. That led to the acquisition of a number of minor league golf equipment. Now, Diamond Baseball owns greater than 40 minor league groups, together with a number of in California.
In late 2024, Diamond Baseball Holdings introduced the acquisition of the Modesto Nuts, the Seattle Mariners Single-A affiliate. The group will probably be transferring to San Bernardino.
Modesto has a protracted and storied historical past of minor league baseball, courting again to the 1940’s. The information has been devastating for longtime Modesto followers. “I’ve a daughter. She’s now 9. And the very first thing she informed me when the group was leaving is – they’re taking my second house from me,” mentioned 15-year season ticketholder Robert Kanbara. Fellow season ticketholder Donald Nall mentioned he’s undecided how he’s going to switch going to video games at John Thurman Discipline. “That is my comfortable place. I come and simply love being on the ball area,” he mentioned. Followers we spoke with talked in regards to the entry to gamers and kid-friendly atmosphere. However many have additionally made lifelong pals at Nuts’ video games.
