Lookout Landing · May 29, 2015
Another brief history of the San Jose Missions
Relationship status: It’s Complicated.Untangling the relationships between major league clubs and their minor league affiliates is sometimes as challenging as a 15-person game of Human Knot. Take, for instance, the San Jose Missions. They sprouted out of the remains of the Single-A San Jose Bees in 1976, receiving a new Triple-A classification and relocating to the Pacific Coast League as an affiliate of the Athletics and the Mariners for the 1977 season. In 1978, the Missions dropped their partnership with the A’s and played solely under Seattle’s heading, but were dumped by owner Bob Piccinini in the offseason for $175,000. The club packed their bags for Ogden, Utah in 1979 and moved back under the A’s control, while a brand-new team moved into San Jose and was assigned to the Mariners of the California League.