Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Founded in 1966 ; Rancho Cucamonga, California ;
Minor league affiliations
Class	Single-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A-Advanced (1966–2020)
League	California League (1966–present)
Conference	South Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Los Angeles Dodgers (2011–present)
Previous teams	(see list)
Minor league titles
League titles (3)	1994; 2015; 2018;
Division titles (10)	1994; 1997; 1998; 2010; 2011; 2015; 2018; 2019; 2021; 2023;
First-half titles (1)	2023;
Team data
Name	Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (1993–present)
Previous names	(see list)
Mascots	Tremor and Aftershock
Ballpark	LoanMart Field (1993–present)
Previous parks	Fiscalini Field; Lawrence Park;
Owner(s)/; Operator(s)	Diamond Baseball Holdings
General manager	Grant Riddle
Manager	John Shoemaker
Website	milb.com/rancho-cucamonga

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field.

The franchise was founded in Lodi, California, in 1966 as members of the California League, with its home ballpark as Tony Zupo Field. The team then went through several new names and ownership changes before arriving in Rancho Cucamonga in 1993. In the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the California League disbanded and was replaced by the Low-A-West, but this was renamed the California League in 2022.

The Quakes have three California League championships (1994, 2015, and 2018).

History

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.^[2]

After 1984, the Chicago Cubs pulled out of Lodi, and the franchise's owner Michelle Sprague was unable to find a major league affiliate. She deactivated the team for a year, selling the team to a group including former L.A. Dodger Ken McMullen. After spending time in Ventura, under new ownership (a group of investors including Roy Englebrecht, actor Mark Harmon, and former Quakes' majority owner Hank Stickney), the team moved to San Bernardino in 1987 and became the San Bernardino Spirit. Ken Griffey Jr. was among the players that came through Fiscalini Field on their way to the big leagues.^[2]

Move to Rancho Cucamonga

The team plays their games at LoanMart Field, and has since 1993

In the early 1990s, Stickney was informed by the city of Rancho Cucamonga that they would be breaking ground on a new stadium. Selling the rights to the name "The San Bernardino Spirit" to a different franchise, the main staff of Stickney's team moved outside the construction zone where the ballpark would be built. Construction started on November 14, 1991. Named "The Quake" after a vote, the stadium was nicknamed the "Epicenter". The team moved into the stadium on April 1, 1993. The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes played their first game at the stadium on April 8 against the High Desert Mavericks, winning 7–3. The Quakes won their first California League championship in 1994, defeating the Modesto A's in four games.^[2]

The Quakes continue to play their home games at the stadium, now renamed LoanMart Field. The stadium held up to 7000 fans in its first few years of existence, but renovations in 2014 and 2015 reduced its capacity to just over 4900 total fans. During the late 1990s and 2000s, the Quakes broke several league attendance records.^[2]

After being an affiliate of the San Diego Padres for the first eight years in Rancho Cucamonga, the team swapped affiliations with the Lake Elsinore Storm, beginning the 2001 season. For the next ten seasons, the Quakes were affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 2010, its final year of affiliation with the Angels, the team advanced to the California League championship round, losing in extra innings in the fifth and deciding game to the San Jose Giants.^[3] After the season, the Quakes once again changed affiliations, joining the Dodgers' system.^[4]

The 2018 Quakes in their dugout at LoanMart Field

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.^[5]^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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 in 2026.^[9] 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.^[10]

On December 12, 2024, it was announced the Quakes would officially continue to play 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 now 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.^[11]

Branding, media

The mascot of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes is Tremor, the "Rallysaurus".

Joe Castellano was the team's first play-by-play announcer; he later moved on to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, and now works for XM Satellite Radio on the MLB Home Plate channel. The Quakes are currently in their second year with their current broadcast partner, IE NewsTalk 1290 with Mike Lindskog calling the play-by-play. NewsTalk 1290 is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.. It airs a talk radio format for the Inland Empire region of Southern California including Riverside and San Bernardino..^{[citation needed]}

Past team names

Lodi Crushers (1966–1969)
Lodi Padres (1970–1971)
Lodi Orions (1972)
Lodi Lions (1973)
Lodi Orioles (1974–1975)
Lodi Dodgers (1976–1983)
Lodi Crushers (1984)
Ventura County Gulls (1986)
San Bernardino Spirit (1987–1992)

Past major league affiliations

Chicago Cubs (1966–1968, 1984)
Oakland Athletics (1969)
San Diego Padres (1970–1971)
Baltimore Orioles (1972–1975)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1976–1983, 1995)
Toronto Blue Jays (1986)
Seattle Mariners (1988–1992)
San Diego Padres (1993–2000)
Los Angeles Angels (2001–2010)

Notable Quakes alumni

Roster

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes roster
v
t
e
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers -- Dailoui Abad -- Octavio Becerra -- Alvaro Benua 52 Felix Cabrera -- Justin Chambers 30 Marco Corcho 8 Cam Day 10 Gabe Emmett 10 Dilan Figueredo 21 Luke Fox -- Connor Godwin 54 Joseilyn Gonzalez -- Jorge Gonzalez 40 Roque Gutierrez 18 Hyun-seok Jang 48 Sean Linan 49 Alex Makarewich 97 Robinson Ortiz 25 Sterling Patrick 56 Noah Ruen 16 Samuel Sanchez 43 Pedro Santillan 17 Eriq Swan 47 Callum Wallace 37 Reynaldo Yean 45 Christian Zazueta		Catchers 44 Victor Rodrigues 51 Carlos Rojas Infielders 27 Cameron Decker 13 Wilman Diaz 15 Eduardo Guerrero 23 Elijah Hainline 33 Oswaldo Osorio 97 Joe Vetrano 16 Logan Wagner Outfielders 7 Kendall George 6 Zyhir Hope 35 Jose Meza 36 Samuel Munoz 5 Eduardo Quintero		Manager 12 John Shoemaker Coaches 29 Marlon Cairo (bullpen) 11 Sean Coyne (pitching) 52 Blake Gailen (hitting) 41 Cordell Hipolito (bench) -- Walter Lindo (performance) 38 Ramón Troncoso (pitching) 7-day injured list * On Los Angeles Dodgers 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 24, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • California League → Los Angeles Dodgers minor league players