The offseason makeover of the 2026 Pioneer League continues, as the new Long Beach team in the MLB Partner Leaguer announced six name semifinalists and more details emerge about a Modesto team.
In Long Beach, Long Beach Baseball Club (LBBC) announced the slate of six semifinalists after receiving more than 1,366 total submissions from across the city. The announcement also marks the start of the contest’s second phase, where fans will cast their votes for the final team name.
The semifinalists, in alphabetical order:
- Long Beach Coast
- Long Beach Cruisers
- Long Beach Grit
- Long Beach Groove
- Long Beach Parrots
- Long Beach Regulators
The voting phase officially opens today and will remain live until 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, October 15. Fans can participate in the public vote both online and at designated in-person voting stations across the city.
“The people of Long Beach have been incredible,” said Ena Patel, President of the LBBC, via press release. “It’s clear that this community wants to be part of building the team’s identity and is excited about us making Blair Field our home in 2026. We believe these six semi-finalists reflect the creativity, heart, and energy of this city. The public vote will be one important factor in deciding the finalists and ultimately the winning name. This city keeps showing up for us, and now we’re asking fans to do it again: cast your vote, and encourage everyone you know in Long Beach to do the same.”
Following the close of voting, the Long Beach Baseball Club will undertake a comprehensive review to determine the finalists.
The team is set to play at historic Blair Field. Adding Blair Field to the mix gives the league a new entry to the Los Angeles area, as Blair Field is home to the Long Beach State Dirtbags. Opening in 1958, Blair Field has hosted baseball at every level, including Chicago Cubs spring training in 1966, MLB exhibition games in 1967 and professional baseball in the form of the independent Golden Baseball League’s Long Beach Armada in 2005-2009. The facility also hosted Los Angeles Rams practices and has been a movie set for several productions, including Moneyball and Mr. Baseball.
Also entering the 2026 Pioneer League in 2026: a new team to replace the Cal League’s Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field. The new team will be owned by Main Street Modesto LLC, spearheaded by Main Street Baseball President and CEO Dave Heller, who also owns the Quad Cities River Bandits (High-A; Midwest League), the Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A; Sally League) and the Pioneer League’s Billings Mustangs. A John Thurman Field lease was unanimously approved by the Modesto City Council. It comes after years from previous Nuts ownership attempting to secure funding to upgrade the ballpark to new MiLB specs or fund a new downtown ballpark. In the end the Nuts were sold and are moving to the Los Angeles area for 2026. From the Modesto Bee:
In the lease with the Pioneer League team, the city will pay the utilities, including gas, electricity, water (for both irrigation and potable use), sewer, solid waste collection and trash removal, and telephone service. The city will repair all structural components, irrigation system and landscaping outside of the stadium.
The new owners will be on the hook for maintenance of the field and cleaning the ballpark, clubhouses and parking lots.
The city will reimburse the ownership group up to $950,000 over the term of the lease for specified improvements undertaken by the tenant, including “the installation of new outfield wall padding, safety nets, and drink rails for fans and players, as well as new flooring, tile, paint, fixtures, and other aesthetic improvements in the offices, clubhouses, bathrooms, seating bowl and any other facilities on the Property.”
These won’t be the only lineup changes in the 2026 Pioneer League, we’re told.
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