As efforts to attract a younger and more diverse fan base are starting to show results, baseball teams are pulling out of minor league and major league markets in the nation’s most populous state.
In the past seven years, three affiliated minor league teams in the California League — Bakersfield, Lancaster, and Adelanto — ceased operations. At the major league level, the Athletics will play their final game in Oakland on Sept. 26. The A’s, moving to Las Vegas after a temporary stint in Sacramento, will be the first major league team in 20 years to leave their fan base and start over in a new location.