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36-656: The Grizzlies were established in 1998 as members of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (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 in 2021, but this was renamed the California League in 2022. Professional baseball first came to Fresno in 1898 when it had a team in the original California League . The team dropped out of

72-504: A Single-A circuit. 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. The main character of the 2023 sitcom Not Dead Yet , Nell Serrano,

108-512: 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 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

144-476: A Triple-A player as an injury replacement is a common occurrence. The term " AAAA player ," pronounced "four-A" or "quadruple-A," refers to a player who is consistently successful when playing for Triple-A teams, but is not successful at the major league level. The term is usually used derisively and has itself been criticized as flawed. Major league team executives and managers disagree whether AAAA players exist. Teams at this level are divided into two leagues:

180-476: A nine-inning game. For the 2019 season, the number of mound visits was reduced to five, and pitchers were required to face a minimum of three consecutive batters unless the side is retired or the pitcher becomes injured and is unable to continue playing. Rodney Linares Rodney Linares (born August 7, 1977) is a Dominican–American coach for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball . He managed

216-518: A runner on first, than it is to take three of four from the Portland Beavers . Both young players and veterans play for Triple-A teams: There are the young prospects speeding through the organization on the fastest treadmill, the guys who used to be young prospects who are in danger of topping out in Triple-A, the 30-somethings trying to get back to the majors after an injury or a rough patch, and

252-405: A team of National League -affiliated Triple-A All-Stars. Traditionally, the game was held on the day after the mid-summer Major League Baseball All-Star Game . Such games mark a symbolic halfway-point in the season, despite occurring later than the actual halfway-point of most seasons. Both Triple-A leagues shared a common All-Star break, with no regular-season games scheduled for two days before

288-488: 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 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

324-928: Is a fan of the Fresno Grizzlies. The seventh episode of season one, Not Out of the Game Yet, involves her writing the obituary for the Grizzlies former color commentator. All games are broadcast on the Fresno Grizzlies website, with Stephen Rice handling the play-by-play. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Colorado Rockies 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 1, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  California League → Colorado Rockies minor league players Triple-A (baseball) Triple-A (officially Class AAA ) has been

360-537: The Colorado Rockies and Grand Junction Rockies , and Jim Coufos, a prior investor in the High Desert Mavericks , 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. The team unveiled new logos, colors, and uniforms for the 2019 season. While retaining the Grizzlies name and grizzly bear imagery,

396-636: The Dominican national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic . Linares played as an infielder at the Rookie-level of minor league baseball in 1997 and 1998. Born in Brooklyn, New York , he threw and batted right-handed , stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg). He became a coach and instructor for the Houston Astros at the age of 21 in 1999, and spent two decades in

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432-748: The Fresno Cardinals (1941–1956), Fresno Sun Sox (1957), Fresno Giants (1958–1987), and Fresno Suns (1988). When Major League Baseball awarded an expansion team (the Arizona Diamondbacks ) to Phoenix, Arizona , that would begin playing in 1998, the Phoenix Firebirds of the Pacific Coast League (the San Francisco Giants ' Triple-A affiliate) were forced to move. The Firebirds moved to Tucson, Arizona and changed their name to

468-613: The Junior World Series (1932–34, 1936–62, 1970–71, 1973–74), Triple-A World Series (1983, 1998–2000), and Triple-A Classic (1988–91). For the 2021 season, in place of the National Championship Game, Minor League Baseball extended the Triple-A regular season to October 3, with league champions determined based on regular-season records through the original end date of the season (September 19 for Triple-A East, and September 21 for Triple-A West). The final 10 games of

504-632: The Tucson Sidewinders while changing their affiliation to the Diamondbacks. That prompted the Tucson Toros 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 , before moving to Chukchansi Park. During

540-551: The All-Star Game itself. Some additional events, such as the All-Star Fan Fest and Triple-A Home Run Derby , were held each year during this break in the regular season. While the 2021 schedule originally included a three-day All-Star break of July 12–14, this was removed after Opening Day was pushed back one month. Team schedules for the 2021 season were subsequently issued without an All-Star break. Beginning in 2006,

576-663: The Astro organization as a batting coach and minor league manager . He is the son of Dominican baseball player Julio Linares , a member of the Houston organization since 1973 as a coach, manager, special assignments scout and key official for the club's operations in the Dominican Republic. Julio also spent three years (1994–96) as a coach for the MLB Astros. After becoming a manager in the Astro organization in 2007, Rodney Linares oversaw

612-560: The Grizzlies mascot , 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

648-758: The International League and the Pacific Coast League. The International League fields teams primarily in the Eastern United States, while the Pacific Coast League fields teams mostly in the Western United States. Each of the 30 major league teams has an affiliation with one Triple-A team in the United States. The Triple-A All-Star Game was a single game held between the two affiliated Triple-A leagues—the International League and

684-577: The Las Vegas Ballpark. The winner of this game were the Norfolk Tides. As a part of professional baseball's pace of play initiatives implemented in 2015, 20-second pitch clocks entered use at Triple-A stadiums in 2015. In 2018, the time was shortened to 15 seconds when no runners are on base. Other significant changes implemented in 2018 included beginning extra innings with a runner on second base and limiting teams to six mound visits during

720-502: The Pacific Coast League, effective with the 2022 season. While all current and the majority of past Triple-A teams have been located in the United States, Triple-A teams have also been based in: The main purpose of Triple-A teams is to prepare players for the major leagues. In 2010, ESPN wrote: Winning is nice, but secondary. It's much more important for a young prospect like outfielder Xavier Paul to get regular at-bats against lefties, or work on dropping down sacrifice bunts with

756-452: The Pacific Coast League. Each league fielded a team composed of the top players in their respective leagues as voted on by fans, the media, and each club's field manager and general manager . The event took place every year since 1988 when the first Triple-A All-Star Game was played in Buffalo, New York . Prior to 1998, a team of American League -affiliated Triple-A All-Stars faced off against

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792-702: The Year award that year. In 2015, Fresno became an affiliate of the Houston Astros . That season, they won the Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game by defeating the Columbus Clippers , 7–0, in El Paso, Texas . 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

828-606: The Year award in 2008 for their "Mascot Showdown" featuring Parker and the Phillie Phanatic . The team's opening day catcher in 2010, Buster Posey , would be the San Francisco Giants ' starting catcher for the World Series six months later (the Giants' starting catcher for most of their World Championship season , Bengie Molina , would start for their opponents, the Texas Rangers ), resulting in his National League Rookie of

864-597: The annual Triple-A National Championship Game was held to serve as a single championship game between the champions of the International League and Pacific Coast League to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball. It was originally held annually at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City , and known as the Bricktown Showdown. Starting in 2011, the game was held in a different Triple-A city each year. Previous postseason interleague championships include

900-505: The classification. Prior to 1946, the top level of Minor League Baseball was Double-A , which had been established in 1912. The Triple-A classification was created before the 1946 season, and began with all three leagues then in Double-A moving up to the new level: This structure persisted for the next 75 years with only a few changes: The IL, PCL, and Mexican League continued as Triple-A leagues until Major League Baseball reorganized

936-596: The development of such players as Jose Altuve , Alex Bregman , Carlos Correa , J. D. Martinez and George Springer . In 2018, he managed the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies to an 82–57, first-place finish in the Pacific Coast League 's Pacific Northern Division; he led the Grizzlies into the second round of the PCL playoffs, where they fell to the Memphis Redbirds . Between 2012 and 2016, his teams qualified for

972-470: The guys just playing a few more seasons because someone still wants them and they still want to. Most, if not all, of the players on an MLB team's expanded roster who are not currently on the team's active roster are assigned to the team's Triple-A club. Expanded rosters consist of 40 players, while active rosters generally consist of 26 players as of the 2021 season. Most Triple-A teams are located geographically close to their MLB parent club, as activating

1008-913: The highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). There are 30 teams, one per each Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, with 20 in the IL and 10 in the PCL. Triple-A teams are generally located in smaller cities who do not have major sports league teams such as Syracuse , Toledo , Reno and Omaha as well as larger metropolitan areas without MLB teams that may also have teams in other major sports leagues , such as Austin , Jacksonville , Columbus , Buffalo , and Indianapolis . Four Triple-A teams play in

1044-612: 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 for one season before moving to 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

1080-399: The minor leagues prior to the 2021 season. At that time, the IL and PCL were temporarily renamed Triple-A East and Triple-A West , respectively. The Mexican League continues to operate, independently. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, they announced on March 16, 2022, that the leagues would once again be called the International League and

1116-581: 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. In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Grizzlies were transferred to the Low-A West as the Low-A classification affiliate of the Colorado Rockies . They won the 2021 Northern Division title with

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1152-887: The playoffs in five straight seasons, and Linares won the Class A-Advanced California League 's Manager of the Year Award in 2013 and the Double-A Texas League 's Manager of the Year Award in 2015. His minor-league managerial record over 12 seasons (2007–18) is 762–697 (.522); he has also helmed clubs in the Arizona Fall League and the Dominican Winter League . He makes his winter home in San Pedro de Macorís . The Rays hired Linares as their third base coach in November 2018. In November 2022, he

1188-523: The same metro areas as their parent clubs. All current Triple-A teams are located in the United States; before 2008, some Triple-A leagues also fielded teams in Canada , and from 1967 to 2020 the Mexican League was classified as Triple-A. Reasons for the relocation of these teams were solely because of costs and attendance. Other than the current two Triple-A leagues, only three other leagues have ever held

1224-608: The season, played after those dates, were deemed the "Final Stretch", with the team posting the best winning percentage during that period (the Durham Bulls , who went 9–1) winning a cash prize. Since the 2022 season, the Triple-A National Championship Game has been played between the champions of the International League and the Pacific Coast League. In 2023, the Triple-A Championship game was played at

1260-521: 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 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 before being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of

1296-548: 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 . 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 star Billy Zabka in May 2008. Parker,

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