San Bernardino Spirit

History

The team now known as the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino traces its roots to the Salinas Spurs, who relocated to San Bernardino and purchased the San Bernardino Spirit name from the departing Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The Elmore Sports Group acquired the franchise shortly after. Initially, the club played at Fiscalini Field until 1996, when it moved to San Bernardino Stadium, nicknamed "The Ranch" to match the team's new identity as the San Bernardino Stampede.

The venue was later renamed San Manuel Stadium through a sponsorship with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and their casino. In 2003, a naming contest was held, and season ticket holder Phil Westbook's proposal for a team representing the Inland Empire ultimately led to the current name: the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino. In September 2006, the team announced a renewed affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers starting in 2007, which lasted through the 2010 season.

In September 2010, the 66ers agreed to a two-year affiliation to be the Los Angeles Angels' High-A affiliate. For a time, games were broadcast on KVCR-FM, a National Public Radio affiliate, but in 2008 the team switched to commercial talk station KCAA. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the 66ers were organized into the Low-A West at the Low-A classification, retaining their affiliation with the Angels.

In 2022, the Low-A West name was replaced with the California League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to 2021, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit. On March 27, 2024, the club announced Diamond Baseball Holdings had purchased the team. On December 15, following the sale of the Modesto Nuts franchise to Diamond Holdings, it was announced the 66ers would become the Class-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners beginning in 2026.

The move consisted of the 66ers assuming the place of the Nuts in a de facto relocation of the Modesto team, which ceased operations following a failure to pay for improvements to Modesto's stadium; the previous incarnation of the 66ers moved to Rancho Cucamonga, assuming the identity of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes; and that team relocated to a new stadium in Ontario, California, becoming the Ontario Tower Buzzers.