The 77th and final season of affiliated baseball in Stanislaus County officially came to a close on Sunday in the Bay Area with the Modesto Nuts beating the San Jose Giants by a 9-6 score in 10 innings.

Reliever Reese Lumpkin pitched the final two innings in club history, nabbing the last strikeout and last win for Modesto. Dustin Crenshaw had an RBI single in the 10th inning of the win, each the last ever in club history. In the fifth inning, Starlin Aguilar blasted the final home run in Modesto history, a two-run home shot that also marked the first of his career, to make it a 6-2 game.

The win pushed the Nuts’ regular season record to 69-63 overall and to 31-35 in the California League second half, finishing third in the North division, but not enough to earn a postseason berth for the third straight year. The Nuts were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on Aug. 30 with a 10-7 loss to the Stockton Ports, the penultimate game at John Thurman Field.

The final homestand in Nuts history from Aug. 26 - 31 went in favor of the Ports, as they won the series 4-2. One of those wins came in the Sunday finale, 5-4, with Modesto falling short of staging a comeback.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, catcher Connor Dykstra blasted a ball over the left field fence for a solo shot in what would be the final home run at the iconic ballpark, built in 1955. That was all the Nuts could muster before the final out was recorded and fans began to gather near the field to embrace and meet with players and staff members.

“This year, this entire career that I had with the Modesto Nuts has been a pleasure and an honor, and I couldn’t have done it without you,” General Manager Veronica Hernandez said in a video message to fans. Hernandez made history in 2022 in becoming the first Latina GM in Minor League Baseball history and the first female GM in Modesto history.

“From the vendors, the staff, the partners, the fans, you're the reason why we come here every day. You're the reason why we have fun and do everything for you guys. So we wish you everything but the best in the future here at John Thurman field. And I am so sorry that we gotta say goodbye, but it's not goodbye forever. Hopefully Modesto can figure something out here in the future for baseball, but in the sense of affiliated ball, we are out. But that's okay. Something will come to happen. Modesto can do it.”

In December, Seattle Mariners — the parent club of the Nuts — sold the organization to Diamond Baseball Holdings. As a result, the club will relocate to San Bernardino to play as the Inland Empire 66ers next season. The Los Angeles Angels will in turn move their affiliate to Rancho Cucamonga to play as the Quakes, who will be relocated by their parent club Los Angeles Dodgers to a new stadium in Ontario in 2026 under a name to be announced later.

The final homestand at John Thurman Field was filled with promotions, with several paying homage to neighboring cities, including Turlock.

Local Little Leaguers took the field in both series opener and in the Thursday game to accompany players at their positions in pregame festivities.

Saturday served as Stanislaus State Night, with administration, faculty, staff, students and alumni filling the bleacher seats. There was a large student-athlete presence that night, and head volleyball coach Lauren Flowers, who led the Warriors to their first California Collegiate Athletic Association title last season, threw out the ceremonial first pitch alongside mascot Titus.

The Modesto club used to be a longtime affiliate of the Athletics (1966, 1975–2004), and considering Stockton now serves as their Low-A club, it was no surprise that A’s fans came out in force over the course of the week, donning jerseys of legendary alumni like Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Rollie Fingers.

Fingers, a National Baseball Hall of Famer, made an appearance at the ballpark Wednesday, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and signing and taking photographs with nearly a thousand fans in the concourse. Fingers pitched for the 1966 Modesto Reds club as a promising young starting pitching prospect of the Kansas City Athletics. That year’s team is widely considered the greatest Modesto team in history and one of the all-time great minor league clubs, as Fingers, Jackson, Tony LaRussa, Dave Duncan and Joe Rudi helped them cruise to the California League championship.

“We had some great players,” Fingers told the Journal. “We have three Hall of Famers — myself and Reggie Jackson and Tony La Russa… Dave Duncan hit like 50 home runs here that year.

“We always had fun playing here. We had great crowds here because we were in first place. And I think right around June, we got Reggie Jackson, and we didn't know who he was. All we knew was that we were getting a (former high school) running back. But what are we going to do with a running back, you know? But the first day out here in batting practice, he got in the batting cage and he was hitting balls out over top of the trees. I mean, killing the ball. He hit the ball a long way and surprised the heck out of me. You could just tell that he was going to be a great player."

Fingers was last in Modesto in 2012 when the Nuts honored him with a bobblehead giveaway.

“Modesto has always been great to me,” he said. “The ballpark has changed because when I was here, we didn't have metal sands. We had bleachers and (chain link) fences. Same configurations, but the stands are a lot nicer now than back in ‘66.”

Fingers also acknowledged trips to Turlock to hang out and grab meals during his time as an A's farmhand.

The legendary reliever offered a message of support to local baseball fans who are sling their beloved team.

“I’m glad they're baseball fans. I mean, they've been coming here for a long time, probably over 50 years at this ballpark. So, you know, it's a shame that they gotta leave here or end it here. I mean, they ended it in Oakland, too, but you know, you're still not that far away from seeing some baseball. They got a team in Fresno, not too far, Stockton, so you still got some baseball to go out and see some young kids play.”

Center fielder Carlos Jimenez wrapped up the year leading the Nuts in home runs (14), triples (4) RBI (63), runs scored (75), slugging (.419) and OPS (.777). Infielder Austin St. Laurent led the team in games played (123), hits (114) and walks (70). Leading the team batting was top prospect Felnin Celesten with a .285 average before being promoted to High-A Everett on Aug. 18.

On the mound, Adrian Quintana led with seven wins. Jean Munoz, who tossed scoreless eighth and ninth innings in the final game at John Thurman Field, led the club in appearances (37). Walter Ford was the ace all year, making the Opening Day start as well as getting the starting nod in the home finale, where he gave up a pair of home runs while punching out five over as many frames. Ford led the way with 23 starts, sporting a 5-5 record with a team-best 4.67 ERA and 95 strikeouts.