1951 California League season

1951 California League season
League	California League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 20 – September 9
Number of games	148
Number of teams	8
Regular season
League champions	Santa Barbara Dodgers
Playoffs
League champions	Santa Barbara Dodgers
Runners-up	Visalia Cubs
CALL seasons
← 1950 1952 →

The 1951 California League was a Class C baseball season played between April 20 and September 9. Eight teams played a 148-game schedule, as the top four teams qualified for the playoffs.

The Santa Barbara Dodgers won the California League championship, defeating the Visalia Cubs in the final round of the playoffs.

Teams

1951 California League
Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
Bakersfield Indians	Bakersfield, California	Cleveland Indians	Sam Lynn Ballpark
Fresno Cardinals	Fresno, California	St. Louis Cardinals	Fresno State College Park
Modesto Reds	Modesto, California	Pittsburgh Pirates	Modesto Field
San Jose Red Sox	San Jose, California	Boston Red Sox	San Jose Municipal Stadium
Santa Barbara Dodgers	Santa Barbara, California	Brooklyn Dodgers	Laguna Park
Stockton Ports	Stockton, California	None	Oak Park Field
Ventura Braves	Ventura, California	Boston Braves	Babe Ruth Field
Visalia Cubs	Visalia, California	Chicago Cubs	Recreation Ballpark

Map of teams

Bakersfield

Fresno

Modesto

San Jose

Santa Barbara

Stockton

Ventura

Visalia

California League Teams

Regular season

Summary

• The Santa Barbara Dodgers finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time since 1942.

Standings

^[1]

California League
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Santa Barbara Dodgers	88	59	.599	–
San Jose Red Sox	80	67	.544	8
Stockton Ports	79	68	.537	9
Visalia Cubs	76	71	.517	12
Modesto Reds	74	73	.503	14
Ventura Braves	72	75	.490	16
Fresno Cardinals	61	86	.415	27
Bakersfield Indians	58	89	.395	30

League Leaders

Batting leaders

^[2]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds	.371
H	Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds	205
R	Jim Warner, Modesto Reds	145
2B	Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds	55
3B	Lee Walls, Modesto Reds	16
HR	Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds	40
RBI	Gabe Gabler, Santa Barbara Dodgers	153
SB	Alfred Facchini, Ventura Braves	54

Pitching leaders

^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Tony Freitas, Modesto Reds	25
ERA	Stan McWilliams, San Jose Red Sox	2.55
CG	Tony Freitas, Modesto Reds	28
SHO	Frank Aguilar, Ventura Braves Frank Dasso, Modesto Reds Stan McWilliams, San Jose Red Sox	4
IP	Earl Escalante, Stockton Ports	286.0
SO	Frank Dasso, Modesto Reds	210

Playoffs

• The playoff semi-finals format is changed from 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 to 1 vs. 3 and 2 vs. 4.
• The Santa Barbara Dodgers won their third California League championship, defeating the Visalia Cubs in five games.

Playoff bracket

	Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Santa Barbara	3
	3	Stockton	1
						1	Santa Barbara	4
						4	Visalia	1
	2	San Jose	1
	4	Visalia	3

See also

• 1951 Major League Baseball season

References

1. CALL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025
2. 1951 CALL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025
3. 1951 CALL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website