The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The team's home ballpark is San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, California.

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.

In 2003, a competition was held to determine a new name for the organization. Season ticket holder Phil Westbook's proposal for a team representing the Inland Empire ultimately led to the team's current name, the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino.

In September 2006, the 66ers announced they were renewing their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning in the 2007 season. That affiliation 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.

At one time, the team had a National Public Radio affiliate, KVCR-FM, broadcasting its games on radio. However, in 2008, the team changed 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. They retained 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.

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 2017 65-75 3rd Chad Tracy 201867-734thRyan Barba201957-824thRyan Barba2020season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic202156-612ndJack Howell202277-551stEver MagallanesLost in Semifinals202368-612ndDave StapletonLost in Semifinals202458-724thDave Stapleton202560-723rdDave StapletonLost in League Championship

Current roster

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame alumni

Ken Griffey Jr. (1988) Inducted, 2016 Adrián Beltré (1996) Inducted, 2024

MLB award winners and other notable alumni Asdrúbal Cabrera (2005) 2x MLB All-Star Chin-Feng Chen (1999) First Taiwanese player in MLB history; #43 jersey retired by the team Shin-Soo Choo (2002–2003) 1x All-Star Jeff Cirillo (2003) 2x All-Star, Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor Del Crandall (1996–1997, manager) 11x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove winner Rich Dauer (1988, manager) Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame Rafael Furcal (2007, 2010) 3x All-Star; 2000 NL Rookie of the Year Mark Grudzielanek (1999) 1x All-Star Kenley Jansen (2009–2010) 4x All-Star Mike Hampton (1992) 2x All-Star Mark Harmon (actor, part owner) Félix Hernández (2004) 6x All-Star, 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser (2000) 3x All-Star, 1988 World Series Most Valuable Player, 1988 NL Cy Young Award Todd Hollandsworth (1995, 1997, 1999) 1996 NL Rookie of the Year Eric Karros (1998) 1992 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Konerko (1995) 6x All-Star Ted Lilly (1997) 2x All-Star Gregg Olson 1x All Star, 1989 NL Rookie of the Year Carlos Santana (2008), 1x All-Star, 2019 Silver Slugger, 2024 Gold Glove Bill Swift (1989) 1992 NL ERA Leader Ismael Valdez (1998) Omar Vizquel (1990) 11x Gold Glove winner, 3x All-Star Tim Wallach (1995) (1998, manager) 5x All-Star Devon White (2000) 7x Gold Glove winner, 3x All-Star C.J. Wilson (1986) 2x MLB All-Star Steve Yeager (coach) 1981 World Series MVP

References

External links