Bakersfield Blaze

The Bakersfield Blaze, based in Bakersfield, California, played in the California League from 1995 through 2016, the final identity of a franchise lineage that began when the city joined the league as a charter member in 1941. The Blaze name arrived when the Los Angeles Dodgers ended an 11-year affiliation and local ownership rebranded, fielding a rare co-operative roster stocked by multiple big league organizations in its first two seasons.

The Blaze played at Sam Lynn Ballpark, the 1941-vintage park famous for facing west into the setting sun, which forced evening games to start late enough for the glare to clear the center field backdrop. Josh Hamilton, the future American League MVP, played for the 2002 Blaze, and Ken Griffey Sr. managed the club from 2011 to 2013.

When the Blaze folded after the 2016 season, it ended 75 years of California League baseball in Bakersfield; the club was the last remaining charter member still playing in its original city. The team went out with the league's longest-tenured address and one of its quirkiest ballparks, done in by the aging facility rather than the fans.