San Jose Bees

History

Before the Bees arrived, San Jose had already hosted other minor league teams, notably the San Jose Red Sox, who played from 1947 to 1958. The Bees themselves entered the California League in 1962, initially serving as an affiliate of the newly formed Los Angeles Angels. Over the next decade and a half, their parent club changed: they were linked to the Kansas City Royals from 1970 to 1974, then the Cleveland Indians from 1975 to 1976. Future Royals stars like George Brett, Amos Otis, and Dennis Leonard all suited up in San Jose during this period.

The Sacramento Solons later took over the San Jose affiliate for two seasons, rebranding the team as the San Jose Missions and moving it to the Pacific Coast League, where it was affiliated with the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. In 1982, the club became the San Jose Expos, tied to the Montreal Expos, but that partnership lasted only one year. Afterward, the team reclaimed the Bees name and went independent.

Operating without a major league parent, the Bees could sign players from Nippon Professional Baseball. The Seibu Lions loaned them several players, including Norio Tanabe and Kimiyasu Kudo. The 1986 Bees also featured five former Major Leaguers—Steve Howe, Mike Norris, Ken Reitz, Todd Cruz, and Daryl Sconiers—who had been effectively blacklisted by MLB due to struggles with drugs and alcohol. This unusual mix of disgraced veterans and Japanese imports drew coverage from outlets like The Times, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Games

Between innings, the San Jose Bees kept fans busy with games like kids' air guitar, a base-running race for children, and tossing baseballs at a truck's headlights for prizes. The outfield walls were covered with ads, echoing the look of ballparks from the 1920s and 1930s. A basic scoreboard showed runs, balls, strikes, and outs; in 2005, it got lights to show the count instead of numbers.

Another board, manually updated with hanging number cards, listed scores from other California League games. In 2006, a $500,000 video screen replaced the old scoreboard, and the manual board was retired. Krazy George, a famous Bay Area superfan, was a regular at these games.

San Jose Giants (1988–present)

The San Jose Giants have been a powerhouse in the California League since their founding. In 1987, a group headed by Winston H. Cox purchased the team, and the following year, they began their partnership with the San Francisco Giants, which remains the longest-running affiliation in the league today. The club has claimed league titles in 1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2021, and 2025. The 2001 championship was shared with the Lake Elsinore Storm after the September 11 attacks forced the series to be canceled.

In both 2005 and 2007, the Giants fell behind 0-2 in the best-of-five series before rallying at home to win three straight games against the Storm, taking the title 3-2. They have also secured the Northern Division crown eight times and made numerous playoff appearances. During the 1990s, no other Class A minor league team posted a better record. Fan support has grown steadily, with attendance rising in 14 of the last 17 years.

The 2008 season drew 183,788 fans, the second-highest total in team history. Over the years, the organization has developed more than 190 major league players, including stars like Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sánchez, Matt Cain, Noah Lowry, Russ Ortiz, Bill Mueller, Rod Beck, Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, Pablo Sandoval, Madison Bumgarner, and Adam Duvall. Following MLB’s 2021 minor league restructuring, the Giants were placed in the Low-A West at the Low-A level. In 2022, that circuit was renamed the California League and reclassified as Single-A.