The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team located in Modesto, California. They play in the California League, which is a Single-A classification league. The team's name is a nod to the various types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. Their team colors are brown, dark red and black and their mascots are Al the Almond, Wally the Walnut and Shelley the Pistachio. The Nuts have been affiliated with the Seattle Mariners of the MLB since 2017.
The Modesto Nuts play their home games at John Thurman Field, which opened in 1955. The stadium has a seating capacity of 4,000 people on game days and is located in Modesto, California. Interestingly, the stadium was originally built as a rodeo arena, but now hosts concerts in addition to the Nuts. The stadium was also the site of a famous scene from the movie American Graffiti, which was filmed in Modesto.
The Modesto Nuts have had several notable achievements and memorable moments throughout their history. They won their first California League championship as part of the Mariners organization in 2017, sweeping both the Division Series and the League Series and winning nine games in a row dating back to the last three games of the regular season. This was the Nuts' ninth league title overall and the second of the 2000s.
The team has also had several notable alumni who have gone on to have successful careers in Major League Baseball, including Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Mark McGwire. In addition, the team set attendance records for five straight seasons between 2007-2011 and was honored as back-to-back California League Organization of the Year for 2010 and 2011.
