Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League ( PCL ) is a minor - league baseball league operating in the Western , Midwestern and Southeastern United States . Along with the International League and the Mexican League , it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple - A level , which is one step below Major League Baseball . The PCL maintains its headquarters in Austin , Texas . History . The PCL has had a long tradition on the West Coast , with teams with evocative names such as the Hollywood Stars , Los Angeles Angels , Mission Reds ( representing San Francisco ' s Mission District ) , Oakland Oaks , Portland Beavers , Sacramento Solons , Salt Lake Bees , San Diego Padres , San Francisco Seals , Seattle Rainiers , Spokane Indians , Vernon Tigers ( later the Tacoma Tigers ) , Vancouver Canadians , and the Hawaii Islanders . A near - major league . In the first half of the 20th century , the Pacific Coast League developed into one of the premier regional baseball leagues . The cities enfranchised by the other two high - minor leagues , the International League and the American Association , were generally interwoven geographically with the major leagues . Such was not the case with the PCL . With no major league baseball team existing west of St . Louis , the PCL was unrivaled as the vehicle for American west coast baseball . Although never recognized as a true major league , the quality of play was considered very high . Drawing from a strong pool of talent in the area , the PCL produced a number of outstanding players , including future major - league stars Joe DiMaggio , Ted Williams , Tony Lazzeri , Paul Waner , Earl Averill , Bobby Doerr , and Ernie Lombardi . While many PCL stars went on to play in the major leagues , teams in the league were often successful enough that they could offer competitive salaries to avoid being outbid for their stars ' services . Some players made a career out of the minor leagues . One of the better known was Frank Shellenback , whose Major League pitching career was brief [ but who compiled a record PCL total of 295 wins , against 178 losses . Many former major league players came to the PCL to finish their careers after their time in the majors had ended . The mild climate of the West Coast , especially California , allowed the league to play longer seasons , sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December . This allowed players to hone their skills , earn an extra month or two of pay , and reduce the need to find off - season work . The longer playing season also allowed for additional games on the schedule , letting team owners generate more revenue . Teams sometimes played over 200 games in a single season . The high - water mark was the 1905 season , in which the San Francisco Seals set the all - time PCL record by playing in 230 games . Even just prior to the 1958 reshuffling , the league was playing 170 - 180 games per season . One consequence of such lengthy seasons was that a number of the all - time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL . In 1952 , the PCL became the only minor league in history to be given the " Open " classification , a step above the Triple - A level . This limited the rights of major league clubs to draft players from the PCL , and was seen as a step toward the circuit becoming a third major league . Sudden decline . The shift to the Open classification came just as minor league teams from coast to coast suffered a sharp drop in attendance , primarily due to the availability of major league games on television . The hammer blow to the PCL ' s major league dreams came in 1958 , when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco . As a result , three of the PCL ' s flagship teams ( the Los Angeles Angels , the Hollywood Stars and the San Francisco Seals ) were immediately forced to relocate to smaller markets . Additionally , the PCL did not benefit from the comparison with the major leagues , which now occupied the same territory and drew away much of the attention of its former fans . The league never recovered from these blows . The Pacific Coast League reverted to Triple - A classification in 1958 , and soon diminished in the public eye to nothing more than another minor league . Of the cities represented in the PCL in its heyday , only Salt Lake City and Sacramento remain , and even these are represented by different franchises than those that had originally called these cities home . The Oakland Oaks had moved to Canada two years before the arrival of the Giants . The San Diego Padres and Seattle Rainiers were displaced by Major League teams in 1969 , but by this time the PCL ' s decline was already far advanced . Recent expansion . In 1997 , the Pacific Coast League agreed to take five teams from the disbanding American Association , which had operated in the Midwest ; a sixth team was added to the league as an expansion team , thus providing the scheduling convenience of an even number of teams . The league now stretches from western Washington to Middle Tennessee . The league is divided into two conferences , the American Conference and the Pacific Conference ; after a realignment for 2005 necessitated by the move of the Edmonton Trappers to Round Rock , Texas in suburban Austin . Each conference is divided into a North Division and a South Division . The Trappers ' move also ended the league ' s presence in Canada ; as recently as 1999 , the league had teams north of the border in Vancouver , Calgary , and Edmonton , but they left for Sacramento in 2000 , Albuquerque in 2003 , and Round Rock in 2005 respectively . In 2005 , the Pacific Coast League became the first minor league ever to achieve a season attendance of over 7 million . Designated hitter . All of the non - independent minor leagues have adopted the designated - hitter rule . At the Double - A and Triple - A level , when both teams are National League affiliates , they have their pitchers bat ; otherwise the DH is used . In the Pacific Coast League , pitchers only hit when both clubs are NL affiliates " and " both clubs agree to have their pitchers hit . The reason for this is that as players move up and get closer to reaching the majors , teams prefer to have the rules follow ( as closely as possible ) those of the major leagues . Championship and interleague play . At the end of the season , the North and South Division winners within each conference meet in a best - of - five series to determine conference champions . Then , the American and Pacific Conference winners play a best - of - five series to determine a league champion . Since the league champion has played against the International League champion in the Triple - A Baseball National Championship Game , a single game for the Triple - A Championship . Previously , the PCL champion also competed in the Triple - A World Series . In , the three Triple - A leagues then in existence , the International League , the Pacific Coast League and the American Association , met to play the first Triple - A All - Star Game . One team was made up of All - Stars from American League affiliates and the other of National League affiliates . Beginning in , a team of PCL All - Stars faced off against a team of IL All - Stars . Current teams . < onlyinclude > Teams timeline . Note : Teams in italics are PCL " classic " teams from the league ' s height in the 1950s . The 1917 Portland Beavers folded operations , and its slot in the PCL was offered to Sacramento . < br > The 1905 Tacoma Tigers were moved back to Sacramento in the middle of the 1905 season due to poor play , then were moved again to Fresno the following season . < br > The 1907 - 08 Sacramento Solons played in the California League after returning from Fresno . < br > The 1907 - 1918 Seattle Indians played in the Class B Northwest League . < br > Former American Association teams . Five current league teams were acquired by the PCL following the disbandment of the American Association after the 1997 season . The Oklahoma City 89ers were a member of the Pacific Coast League from 1963 - 1968 . < br > The Denver Bears were a member of the Pacific Coast League from 1963 - 1968 .