Column: Baseball teams are abandoning cities across California. How some are fighting back

Baseball teams are abandoning minor league and major league markets in California .

Modesto , California , has hosted a team in baseball’s California League for 16 years .

Three teams in the California League have shut down in the last seven years .

Major League Baseball wants its prospects playing in first -class stadiums with modern amenities.

Modesto has until April 1 to reach a long-term deal with the Nuts .

The city of Ontario has agreed to a lease extension with the Modesto Nuts through the 2025 season .

The Nuts are expected to move to Ontario , Rancho Cucamonga , San Bernardino and San Bernardino .

Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel dreamed up the Oakland Ballers , an independent minor league team that would play in a public park in West Oakland .

Freedman is an entrepreneur who still lives in Oakland , Carmel is a producer and writer who lives in Los Angeles .

In 2021 , MLB took over the minor leagues, cutting 43 teams affiliated with major league organizations and mandating the remaining 120 commit to industry standard for ballparks.