Las Vegas’s baseball history began in 1983 when the Spokane franchise came to town and the Stars were born. With a brand new ballpark named Cashman Field, the team got off to a flying start as the AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and won the first-half title in the Southern Division of the Pacific Coast League. The title was the first of seven division crowns that Las Vegas has captured. The franchise also collected two PCL Championships in its 19-year history.

Current Philadelphia Phillies manager Larry Bowa led the team to its first league title in 1986 with an 80-62 overall record and a 3-games-to-2 win over Vancouver in the PCL Championship Series. Some of the same players were around when Steve Smith led the Stars to the 1988 league title with another 3-2 win over Vancouver. Minor League Player of the Year, Sandy Alomar Jr., was one of the team’s leaders along with infielder Joey Cora and future Padres General Manager, Kevin Towers. Cora still holds career franchise records for at-bats (1,471), hits (448) and stolen bases (98) during his four years in Las Vegas.

Over 6 million fans have come to Cashman Field in the past 18 years, including a franchise high 387,207 in 1992. They’ve come to see not only future stars, but even the Major League stars of the day in various Big League Weekend series in the spring. In 1993, over 25,000 fans came out to see five games featuring Tony Gwynn and the Padres, Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners, Sammy Sosa and the Cubs, along with the Brewers and White Sox. In addition, Cashman Field hosted the Oakland Athletics for their first six regular season games in 1996 when the A’s stadium was undergoing construction.

Based in one of the PCL’s largest cities, the Stars and Padres enjoyed an 18-year run in Las Vegas before the team’s logo, colors and affiliation changed prior to the 2001 season.

Last season was the first year that Las Vegas served as the AAA training ground for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The franchise also adopted the traditional Dodger Blue and applied it to its new logo and uniforms.

The Las Vegas 51s take their name from the semi-secret nuclear testing site approximately 120 northwest of Las Vegas, known as Area 51. The strange reports of UFO sightings and alien activities spawned the team’s nickname, alien head logo and its mascot, Cosmo.

In their first season, the 51s gained national attention for their unique nickname and gained national prominence when their caps were rated as the number one retail seller among all Minor League Baseball caps. The team finished with a 68-76 record, boasting the PCL Most Valuable Player, Phil Hiatt, who finished the season with a franchise record 44 home runs.