Baseball will be back in Modesto in 2025-

City’s History with the Game Celebrated at McHenry Museum

John Thurman Field in Modesto. Photo: Steve Newvine

More than sixty years ago, some of the biggest names in baseball played minor league ball in Modesto, Stanislaus County.

Jose Conseco, Jason Giambi, and Rickey Henderson are among the stars who made Modesto their home on their way to the big leagues.

Did you know that back in 1962, there was an exhibition game between the two teams from that year’s World Series? The Yankees and the Giants played in Modesto as they awaited drenching typhoon Freda rains to clear out of San Francisco. 

Modesto has a piece of baseball history, and thanks to some last-minute efforts, it will continue to be the home of the city’s minor league team for the 2025 season.

Modesto’s baseball  history is part of a permanent exhibit at the McHenry Museum.  Photo: McHenry Museum

The City and the Seattle Mariners organization have agreed to a one-year lease extension to continue having the Mariner’s farm team, the Modesto Nuts, playing at John Thurman Field.

That deal was reached around Labor Day, just as the Mariner’s farm team was winding down the regular season.

Earlier in the summer, the team announced it would leave Modesto unless the City agreed to a multi-million dollar list of stadium improvements. The City clarified that the request was out of line with what it could afford.  

Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants played an exhibition against the New York Yankees in Modesto on October 15, 1962. Photo: OpenSFHistory.org

Baseball has been a part of the city of Modesto’s history since the Modesto Reds played at the beginning of the 1900s. The game and its connection to the Valley are being celebrated with an exhibit at the McHenry House Museum, operated by the Stanislaus County Historical Society.

The Museum has a permanent exhibit called Modesto Baseball that highlights some of the game's biggest moments in the city.

The exhibit includes photographs from that World Series exhibition game on October 14, 1962. The Yankees and the Giants were washed out at Candlestick Park for a few days thanks to typhoon Freda, and game six was called off due to the poor field conditions.  

According to HistoricModesto.com, both teams needed to work out on dry grass. Modesto’s Del Web Field was available. The teams took buses out to the Valley and played an exhibition game.

Central Valley fans maneuver to get a view of the Yankees and the Giants as they play an exhibition during the World Series of 1962. The teams were rained out due to typhoon Freda in the Bay Area and they needed a professional field for workouts. Photo: HistoricModesto.com

Baseball holds a special place for Corey Gales, the team's director of corporate sponsorships.

A Modesto native, he’s been working for the team for three years. “Minor league baseball at this level is exceptional for any city,” he says. “There are only one-hundred twenty teams throughout the United States.”

Corey is happy the team will remain in Modesto for at least one more season and is optimistic that both sides can find a way to make a long-term lease happen for John Thurman Field.

It was another excellent season for the team as they won their division again. In 2023, they went all the way to the league championship.  

“We had intense heat this summer,” Corey said as he summed up the season. “Out of sixty-six home games, I’d guess thirty-five to forty of them were played in temperatures over one-hundred degrees.”

But that’s life in the summer in the San Joaquin Valley. The team and the fans have endured those hot summer games for many years, and everyone is hoping the baseball tradition continues in Modesto.

There are conflicting accounts about who won that October 1962 exhibition game played in Modesto or even whether it was considered a game, given that both teams were there primarily for the workout.

The World Series would continue in San Francisco, with the Yankees winning game six to tie the series. The Yankees beat the Giants 1-0 in game seven and captured the World Series trophy.-

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

Among his many achievements in forty years as a working professional are two opportunities to throw the ceremonial first pitch at two minor league baseball games.

He thanks all those who participated in the third annual Author’s Fair, which was held on September 14 at the Merced County Library Main Branch.

His latest book, Rocket Reporter, is available at Lulu.com. His California books are also available online or at the Merced Courthouse Museum Gift Shop.

The Modesto Baseball at the McHenry Museum is a permanent exhibit. Museum hours are Noon to 4 PM, Friday through Sunday. mchenrymuseum.org