Inland Empire 66ers

Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino
Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino
Founded in 1987 ; San Bernardino, California ;
Minor league affiliations
Class	Single-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A-Advanced (1987–2020)
League	California League (1987–present)
Conference	South Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Los Angeles Angels (2011–present)
Previous teams	Los Angeles Dodgers (1995–2000, 2007–2010); Seattle Mariners (1987–1994, 2001–2006);
Minor league titles
League titles (6)	1995; 1999; 2000; 2003; 2006; 2013;
Second-half titles (2)	2022; 2023;
Team data
Name	Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino (2003–present)
Previous names	San Bernardino Stampede (1996–2002); San Bernardino Spirit (1987–1995);
Mascot	Bernie
Ballpark	San Manuel Stadium
Owner(s)/; Operator(s)	Diamond Baseball Holdings
General manager	Joe Hudson
Manager	Dave Stapleton
Website	milb.com/inland-empire

The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium.

Franchise history

The 66ers began when the Salinas Spurs moved to San Bernardino and bought the name of the San Bernardino Spirit from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes who had just left town. The team was bought by Elmore Sports Group soon afterwards. The team originally played at Fiscalini Field until 1996 when the team moved to San Bernardino Stadium, nicknamed "The Ranch" in concert with the team's new name, the San Bernardino Stampede.

Later, the stadium was re-christened San Manuel Stadium sponsored by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians with their casino.

The team name was later changed to the team's current name, the Inland Empire 66ers, taken from the historic U. S. Route 66 that ran through San Bernardino.

In September 2006, the 66ers announced they were renewing its affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning in the 2007 season. That affiliation would last through the end of the 2010 season.

In September 2010, the 66ers agreed to a two-year affiliation with the Los Angeles Angels to be the MLB club's minor league "High A" ball affiliate.

The team was once unique for having a National Public Radio affiliate, KVCR-FM, as the station that broadcast its games on radio. However, in 2008 the team changed its station 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.^[1] They retained their affiliation with the Angels.^[2] 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.^[3]

On March 27, 2024, the club announced that Diamond Baseball Holdings had acquired ownership of the club.^[4] On December 15, 2024, following the sale of the Modesto Nuts franchise to Diamond, it was announced the 66ers would become the Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners beginning in the 2026 season; the move would consist of the current 66ers franchise assuming the place of the Modesto Nuts in a de facto relocation of the Nuts franchise (which would effectively cease operations at that time following a failure to receive funds to renovate their current stadium); the pre-2025 incarnation of the 66ers would then relocate to Rancho Cucamonga, assuming the identity of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes; that team's pre-2025 team incarnation will then relocate to a new stadium being built in Ontario.^[5]

The dance team performing on the field
The team at Lake Elsinore Diamond in 2012
San Manuel Stadium

Season-by-season records

San Bernardino Spirit (1993–1995)
San Bernardino Stampede (1996–2002)
Inland Empire 66ers (2003–present)

Season	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1993	62–74	7th	Greg Mahlberg	—
1994	48–88	9th	Greg Mahlberg	—
1995	84–54	1st	Ron Roenicke	League Champions
1996	70–70	7th	Del Crandall	—
1997	68–72	7th	Del Crandall / Dino Ebel	Lost League Finals
1998	55–85	9th	Mickey Hatcher / Joe Vavra / Tim Wallach	—
1999	80–61	2nd	Rick Burleson	League Champions
2000	77–63	4th	Dino Ebel	League Champions
2001	76–64	3rd	Daren Brown	Lost in 1st round
2002	77–63	3rd	Daren Brown	Lost in 2nd round
2003	78–62	2nd	Steve Roadcap	League Champions
2004	77–63	3rd	Daren Brown	Lost in 2nd round
2005	58–82	9th	Daren Brown	—
2006	72–68	5th	Gary Thurman	League Champions
2007	72–67	3rd	Dave Collins	Lost in 1st round
2008	68–73	3rd	John Valentin	Lost in 1st round
2009	59–81	4th	Carlos Subero
2010	50–90	5th	Jeff Carter
2011	69–71	5th	Tom Gamboa
2012	66–74	5th	Bill Haselman
2013	69–71	5th	Bill Haselman	League Champions
2014	62–78	5th	Denny Hocking	Lost in 2nd round
2015	61–79	4th	Denny Hocking
2016	48–92	5th	Chad Tracy

Roster

Inland Empire 66ers roster
v
t
e
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 29 Cesar Avila 17 Sadiel Baro 21 Riley Bauman ~ 16 Derek Clark 47 Sadrac Franco 48 Victor Garcia 11 Yendy Gomez 26 Bridger Holmes 10 Barrett Kent 23 Fulton Lockhart 30 Alex Martinez 33 Peyton Olejnik 7 Andre Sanchez 21 Enderjer Sifontes 34 Francis Texido 44 Yeferson Vargas 27 Najer Victor ~ 20 Luis Viloria 31 Jaren Warwick		Catchers 9 Caleb Bartolero 3 Dario Laverde 12 Caleb Pendleton 6 Yeremi Villahermosa Infielders 4 Harold Coll 14 Mitchell Daly 2 Randy Flores 4 Johan Macias 8 Capri Ortiz 11 Luis Rodriguez -- John Wimmer Outfielders 63 Kevyn Castillo 19 Randy De Jesus -- Edwardo Espinal 15 Rio Foster 37 Alexander Ramirez 13 Jorge Ruiz 25 Anthony Scull 43 Imanol Vargas		Manager 22 Dave Stapleton Coaches 45 Elmer Dessens (pitching) 5 Raywilly Gomez (hitting) 35 Steven Hernandez (coach) 41 Brian Rupp (coach) 60-day injured list 17 Logan Britt 27 Zach Joyce -- Jesus Martinez 7-day injured list * On Los Angeles Angels 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 10, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • California League → Los Angeles Angels minor league players