
Baseball is a game of numbers. These figures can be added, subtracted, divided, multiplied, bent, twisted and turned in any number of ways to tell a story about a player, a team or, in this case, a league. Here's a look at California League, by the numbers:
0 | Number of losses Pedro Martinez incurred in 10 games with the Bakersfield Dodgers in 1991 -- He was 8-0 |
0 | The number of names for Visalia's stadium in Recreation Park |
0 | The number of Class A teams that won more games than the San Jose Giants during the 1990s |
.286 | The Cal League average in 2005 -- highest in the Minors by .08 points |
.357 | The Cal League's overall on-base percentage in 2005 -- highest in the Minors |
.451 | The Cal League's overall slugging percentage in 2005 -- highest in the Minors |
0.59 | The number of stolen bases per game by Cal League teams in 2005 -- the lowest in the Minors |
0.77 | The number of seasons Ken Griffey, Jr. spent in San Bernardino -- he hit .338-11-42 with 32 stolen bases in 58 games for the Spirit in 1988; he also played 17 games for Vermont that year |
1 | The number of other leagues whose teams are all in one state -- the Florida State League |
1 | The number of Minor League stadiums that hold fewer fans than Visalia's stadium at Recreation Park (1649), according to the Oaks' website |
1 | The number of Cal League owners that were Rhodes Scholars in 1975 -- Lancaster's new majority investor Peter Carfagna |
1 | The number of 2006 Cal League managers that didn't play in the Major Leagues (Bakersfield's Carlos Subero) |
1.02 | Average number of home runs hit by each team in Cal League games last year -- the second most in the Minors (PCL - 1.05) |
3 | The number of cities in the current Cal League that were part of the charter group in 1941 -- Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Stockton |
3 | Members of Major League Baseball's 500 Home Run Club that have played in the Cal League -- Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr. |
3 | Number of years Lake Elsinore sales and marketing administrator Kristyn Andrews spent learning Egyptian Hieroglyphics, according to the Storm's website |
3 | Number of Cal League teams in MiLB.com top 100 Minor League teams of all-time |
4 | Number of Brett Brothers -- Bobby, George, Ken and John -- who moved the Riverside Red Wave to Adelanto in 1991, forming the High Desert Mavericks |
4 | The number of South Division cities that opened new ballparks between 1991 and 1996 -- High Desert, Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore, Lancaster and San Bernardino/Inland Empire |
5 | The number of finalists in the Modesto Nuts "Dream Job" contest who will participate in a tryout to become the team's 2006 public address announcer |
6 | The number of suggestions out of over 200, in 1992, for Rancho Cucamonga's baseball team to be named the Quakes |
7 | The number of Major League MVPs that have played in Modesto -- Reggie Jackson, Joe Morgan, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada |
8 | Number of at-bats Quakes manager Bobby Mitchell had for the 1981 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers |
9 | Number of Hall of Famers that have been in the Cal League -- Don Drysdale, Joe Morgan, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Don Sutton, George Brett, Sparky Anderson, Kirby Puckett and Dennis Eckersley |
10 | Number of years, of the last 11, that the San Jose Giants have posted a top-ten season attendance mark for their franchise |
10 | Number of CAL titles won by Stockton -- the most of any active team in the league |
10 | Number of seasons Sean McCall has served as the broadcaster of the Lake Elsinore Storm |
10.1 | The number of hits per game by Cal League teams in 2005 -- the most in the Minors |
11 | Number of items listed as "permitted" on Modesto's website, one of which is "brooms" |
11 | Number of no-hitters in Stockton Ports history |
12 | Number of seasons Mike Saeger has served as the broadcaster of the Inland Empire 66ers/San Bernardino Stampede |
12.8 | The number of rebounds San Jose Giants owner Rich Kelley averaged for the New Oreans Jazz in 1979, tiying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second in the NBA |
14 | The number of seasons, out of the past 17, that San Jose has increased its annual attendance |
15 | Number of items listed as "prohibited" on Modesto's website, one of which is "sticks or clubs" |
16 | Number of managers in the 16-year existence of the High Desert Mavericks |
16 | Number of Major League seasons played by new Modesto manager Chad Kreuter |
19 | Number of consecutive seasons that San Jose has been an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants -- the longest working agreement in the Cal League |
19.4 | The percentage of San Jose Giants players that have gone on to play in the Major Leagues |
21 | The number of years the Cal League was classified as a C league before becoming a Class A league in 1962 |
24 | Number of years in office for current Cal League president Joe Gagliardi |
26 | Number of games won consecutively by the 1947 Stockton Ports -- a Cal League record |
28 | Years since Visalia has won the Cal League championship -- twice as long as the next longest drought in the league |
28 | Distance, in feet, from the front row of seats behind the Visalia backstop to home plate |
28 | Number of years Rancho GM North Johnson has been working in Minor League Baseball |
29 | Number of years Bakersfield GM Chris Bitters has been alive |
30 | The number of minutes past 7 p.m. that Bakersfield starts their night games in order to compensate for the fact that their stadium was built facing the setting sun |
30 | Number of consecutive complete games thrown by the Ports' Robert Thorpe in 1954 |
32 | The Number of years older, on average, the North Division stadiums are than the South -- 12 years old vs. 44 years old |
36 | Maximum length, in feet, of broomsticks that are allowed in Modesto's John Thurman Stadium |
41 | Percent of the total population of all ten Cal League cities represented by San Jose, which has 945,000 people |
52 | The number of times the population of High Desert's hometown of Adelanto (18,130) could fit inside San Jose's (945,000) |
60 | Number of groundskeepers in the running for the Class A Sports Turf Manager of the Year Award won by Bakersfield's Chris Ralston in 2005 |
63 | The number of Rancho Cucamonga Quakes that have gone on to play in the Major Leagues since their inception in 1993 |
70 | Rank, among MiLB.com's top 100 Minor League teams of all-time, of the 1978 Visalia Oaks, who went 97-42 and were led by Joe Charboneau's .350 average |
79 | Rank, among MiLB.com's top 100 Minor League teams of all-time, of the 1955 Fresno Cardinals, who went 104-43 |
84 | Height, in inches, of San Jose Giants owner Rich Kelley, who played 11 seasons in the NBA |
95 | The number of bases Rickey Henderson stole in 134 games for Modesto in 1977 |
98 | Rank, among MiLB.com's top 100 Minor League teams of all-time, of the 1947 Stockton Ports, who went 95-45 and at one point won 26 straight games |
100 | Number of dollars per share paid by Bakersfield businesspersons and fans in 1956 to purchase the team for $28,500 and keep it in the city |
103 | Number of RBIs Gary Sheffield had for Stockton in 1983 -- most in the league |
108 | Number of years since Ernest Thayer penned the poem, "Casey at the Bat, a Ballad of the Republic," which some claim was inspired by a game Thayer watched in Stockton |
203 | The number of home runs hit by High Desert in 2005, breaking the Cal League record set in 1971 by Visalia |
211 | Number of Modesto Nuts that have gone on to play in the Major Leagues since 1960 |
354 | Number of feet to the centerfield fence at Bakersfield's Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark -- the shallowest in the Minors |
2,500 | Number of feet above sea level at Lancaster's Clear Channel Stadium |
3,000 | Number of feet above sea level at High Desert's Mavericks Stadium |
4,500 | The average capacity of the 10 Cal League stadiums |
15,126.13 | Dollar value of Taco Bell tacos Modesto would have given away in 2005 if they'd done the "10 Runs to Fun" promotion they're running this year --every fan in attendance gets a free taco if the Nuts score 10 or more runs |
80,000 | Number of dollars it cost to build San Jose's Municipal Stadium in 1942 |
600,000 | Number of dollars per year the city of Lake Elsinore loses operating The Diamond |
2,366,425 | Age, in years, of Rancho Cucamonga's mascot, Tremor, according to the Quakes' website |
3,930,000 | Cost to build High Desert's Mavericks Stadium in 1991 |
22,000,000 | Number of dollars spent to build The Diamond in Lake Elsinore in 1994 |
23,900,000 | Number of dollars to build Stockton's Banner Island Ballpark in 2005 |