1979 California League season

1979 California League season California League Baseball April 12 – August 31 140 10 Regular season San Jose Missions Mike Marshall, Lodi Dodgers Les Pearsey, Visalia Oaks Playoffs San Jose Missions Stockton Ports List of Carolina League seasons CALL 1978 California League season 1978 1980 California League season 1980 The 1979 California League was a Class A baseball season played between April 12 and August 31. Ten teams played a 140-game schedule, as the winner of each half of the season qualifying for the playoffs. The San Jose Missions won the California League championship, as they defeated the Stockton Ports in the final round of the playoffs. Team changes The San Jose Missions joined the league as an expansion team and joined the South Division. The club began an affiliation with the Seattle Mariners. The Santa Clara Padres joined the league as an expansion team and joined the North Division. The Stockton Mariners ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners and began a new affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers. The club was renamed to the Stockton Ports. Teams 1979 California League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium North Lodi Dodgers Lodi, California Los Angeles Dodgers Lawrence Park Modesto A's Modesto, California Oakland Athletics Del Webb Field Reno Silver Sox Reno, Nevada San Diego Padres Moana Stadium Santa Clara Padres Santa Clara, California None Washington Park Stockton Ports Stockton, California Milwaukee Brewers Billy Hebert Field South Bakersfield Outlaws Bakersfield, California None Sam Lynn Ballpark Fresno Giants Fresno, California San Francisco Giants John Euless Park Salinas Angels Salinas, California California Angels Salinas Municipal Stadium San Jose Missions San Jose, California Seattle Mariners San Jose Municipal Stadium Visalia Oaks Visalia, California Minnesota Twins Recreation Park Map of teams left 10px North Division 10px South Division 550 450 350 0 110 California 550 California 38.14 -121.27 Blue pog.svg 80 right Lodi #ffe California 37.66 -120.99 Blue pog.svg 80 right Modesto #ffe California 39.49 -119.80 Blue pog.svg 80 top Reno #ffe California 37.35 -121.97 Blue pog.svg 80 left Santa Clara #ffe California 37.98 -121.29 Blue pog.svg 80 left Stockton #ffe California 35.40 -119.02 Red pog.svg 80 right Bakersfield #ffe California 36.75 -119.77 Red pog.svg 80 right Fresno #ffe California 36.70 -121.65 Red pog.svg 80 left Salinas #ffe California 37.32 -121.86 Red pog.svg 80 right San Jose #ffe California 36.33 -119.30 Red pog.svg 80 right Visalia #ffe Regular season Summary The San Jose Missions finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time in club history. Despite finishing with the best record in the North Division, the Reno Silver Sox failed to qualify for the post-season, as they did not finish in first place in either half of the season. The Stockton Ports defeated the Reno Silver Sox in a tie-breaking game to win the North Division in the second half of the season. Standings CALL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed November 8, 2025 North Division Team Win Loss % GB Reno Silver Sox 74 67 74 67 – Stockton Ports 73 68 73 68 1 Lodi Dodgers 67 72 67 72 6 Modesto A's 66 74 66 74 7.5 Santa Clara Padres 47 93 47 93 26.5South Division Team Win Loss % GB San Jose Missions 89 51 89 51 – Visalia Oaks 86 54 86 54 3 Salinas Angels 69 71 69 71 20 Fresno Giants 66 73 66 73 22.5 Bakersfield Outlaws 63 77 63 77 26 League Leaders Batting leaders 1979 CALL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed November 8, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Mike Marshall, Lodi Dodgers .354 H Mike Marshall, Lodi Dodgers 186 R Les Pearsey, Visalia Oaks 111 2B Mike Marshall, Lodi Dodgers 37 3B Eddie Brunson, Stockton Ports 10 HR Mark Funderburk, Visalia Oaks 31 RBI Les Pearsey, Visalia Oaks 121 SB Alfred Weston, San Jose Missions 66 Pitching leaders 1979 CALL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed November 8, 2025 Stat Player Total W Steve Green, Visalia Oaks 16 ERA Steve Brown, Salinas Angels 2.41 CG Dave LaPoint, Stockton Ports Rick Steirer, Salinas Angels 11 SHO Glenn Fisher, Fresno Giants Brian Holton, Lodi Dodgers Dave LaPoint, Stockton Ports Ronald McGee, San Jose Missions Doug Smith, San Jose Missions 3 SV Clyde Reichard, Visalia Oaks 19 IP Steve Green, Visalia Oaks 208.0 SO Dave LaPoint, Stockton Ports 208 Playoffs The San Jose Missions won their first California League championship, as they defeated the Stockton Ports in five games. Playoff bracket Divisional finals Finals N1 Lodi 0 N2 Stockton 2 S1 Visalia 1 S2 San Jose 2 N2 Stockton 2 S2 San Jose 3 Awards California League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Mike Marshall, Lodi Dodgers Les Pearsey, Visalia Oaks See also 1979 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website California League season Category:1979 in sports in California Category:1979 in sports in Nevada