Formation and early history The Pacific Coast League was formed on December 29, 1902, when officials from the California State League (1899–1902) met in
San Francisco for the purpose of expanding the league beyond
California. Six franchises were granted. These were the
Los Angeles Angels,
Oakland Oaks,
Portland Beavers,
Sacramento Senators,
San Francisco Seals, and
Seattle Indians. A dispute over territories owned by the
Pacific Northwest League, in which the PCL had placed franchises, and the PCL's allowing blacklisted players to compete led to the
National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL) labeling the PCL an outlaw league. The mild climate of the West Coast, especially California, allowed the league to play longer seasons, sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December. During the 1905 season the San Francisco Seals set the all-time PCL record by playing 230 games. Teams regularly played between 170 and 200 games in a season until the late 1950s. This allowed players, who were often career minor leaguers, to hone their skills, earn an extra month or two of pay, and reduce the need to find off-season work. These longer seasons gave owners the opportunity to generate more revenue. Another outcome was that a number of the all-time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL. prepare to travel to the ballpark on Opening Day 1903 to face the
Sacramento Senators. The inaugural 1903 season, which consisted of over 200 scheduled games for each team, began on March 26. The Los Angeles Angels finished the season in first place with a 133–78 (.630) record, making them the first
league champions. In 1904, NAPBL president
Patrick T. Powers brokered terms with the PCL, clearing it of its outlaw status and designating it as a Class A league. In 1909, the league classification was raised to Double-A. In 1919, with the earlier addition of the
Salt Lake City Bees and
Vernon Tigers, league membership reached eight teams for the first time. While the league had experienced little commercial success up to this point, the 1920s were a turning point which saw increased attendance and teams fielding star players. However, the
American League and
National League were uninterested in allowing it to join their ranks. but who compiled a record PCL total of 295 wins against 178 losses. (It should be mentioned, however, that Shellenback's long career in the PCL was largely due to his use of the spitball, banned in the major leagues in 1920, not the competitive salaries offered by PCL clubs.) Many former major league players came to the PCL to finish their careers after their time in the majors had ended. In 1952, the PCL became the only minor league in history to be given the "Open" classification, a grade above the Triple-A level. This limited the rights of major league clubs to draft players from the PCL, and was considered an act toward the circuit becoming a third major league. In 2019, the team previously known as the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox relocated to
San Antonio, Texas and continued play in the PCL as the
San Antonio Missions, assuming the identity of a team which had previously competed in the Double-A
Texas League. This move was accompanied by realignment in the American Conference. Nashville and Memphis moved to the Northern Division, and Oklahoma City and San Antonio moved to the Southern Division. After the 2019 season, the
New Orleans Baby Cakes relocated to
Wichita, Kansas where they became known as the
Wichita Wind Surge; the Wind Surge, though, would never play a PCL game due to the cancellation of the 2020 season and Minor League Baseball's subsequent reorganization.
Takeover by Major League Baseball The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Pacific Coast League was reduced to 10 teams and temporarily renamed the "Triple-A West" for the 2021 season. In that reorganization, Memphis, Nashville, Omaha and Iowa were laterally transferred to the
International League, but Wichita was demoted to the Double-A
Texas League without ever playing a PCL game and San Antonio was returned to that league and level after a single season, and Fresno was demoted three full levels to the now-Low-A
California League. The only team added to the PCL was the formerly-independent
Sugar Land Skeeters; the other two teams to fill the Triple-A level went to the IL. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the Triple-A West was renamed the Pacific Coast League effective with the 2022 season. ==Structure and season==