Early years The Quakes franchise began in 1966 in
Lodi, California as the
Lodi Crushers after a team of investors from the city pooled together $2,500 a few years earlier. Until 1984, the team played at
Lawrence Park (now
Tony Zupo Field) for home games. Several times in its early history, the team was sold from one group of collaborating town residents to another. Since 1966, the franchise has been affiliated with several major league teams, notably the
Los Angeles Dodgers in the late 1970s and the
Chicago Cubs in the early 1980s. While in Lodi, the team won several
California League Championships, including 1973, 1977 and 1981. After the season, the Quakes once again changed affiliations, joining the Dodgers' system. Television actor
Mark Harmon (
St. Elsewhere,
NCIS) was one of the team's owners until he sold his interest in the team to local businessman Scott Ostlund. Since 2009, the team has been owned and operated by Brett Sports and Entertainment, headed by former Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer
George Brett and his brother Bobby Brett. In conjunction with
Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Quakes were organized into the
Low-A West at the Low-A classification. 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 a
Single-A circuit.
Relocation and reboot of franchise The current Quakes organization plans to move to a
new 6,000 seat stadium in the
Ontario Ranch section of
Ontario and change their name to the
Ontario Tower Buzzers in 2026. However, the City of Rancho Cucamonga has stated that a new Minor League Baseball affiliate will play at LoanMart Field under the name Quakes, funded by the current Quakes organization. On December 12, 2024, it was announced the Quakes would continue in 2026 and beyond, with the team switching affiliates with the
Inland Empire 66ers, assuming an affiliation with the
Los Angeles Angels, at that time. The move would consist of the current Quakes franchise relocating to Ontario, the current 66ers franchise assuming the location and identity of the Quakes, and a relocated
Modesto Nuts team assuming the 66ers location and identity. In effect, it makes the move a
de facto relocation of the Modesto Nuts franchise, rather than the Quakes franchise. The team was sold to
Diamond Baseball Holdings, which will own all three teams, as well as two other teams in the eight-team California League. ==Branding, media==