GEM COLLECTOR

In just four years, Diamond Baseball Holdings has become the most powerful owner ever in Minor League Baseball. What is the plan for their 33 teams—and counting?

- JJ COOPER

Fresno is more than 2,000 miles from Nashville, but the California community is a country music hotbed. As much as that may be true, Fresno doesn’t always manage to convince Nashville of its bonafides.

For years, the Fresno Grizzlies have tried to bring top country acts to Chukchansi Park. For years, they have struck out. Whatever the reason, the Grizzlies couldn’t convince the best of the genre to perform at their stadium.

Now, the Grizzlies have friends in high places.

Last November, the Grizzlies were sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings, becoming the 26th minor league team acquired by the company. Once that happened, Fresno’s trouble landing top country acts disappeared. This October, Thomas Rhett, a singer with 20 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Country Airplay charts, will play Chukchansi Park as part of DBH’s Music on the Diamond series.

Welcome to Fresno, DBH.

“People in Fresno ask: ‘Where’s the country music?’ Now we have a show on the calendar,” Grizzlies general manager Derek Franks said. “We would have no chance to book Thomas Rhett if we tried to do that on our own.

“That answered something right off the bat. Our market was clamoring for it. The connections are a world of difference. Having a cold call from a random venue is a little different than getting a call from DBH, who already has connections with these folks.”

In less than three years, Diamond Baseball Holdings has gone from an idea to the most powerful ownership group in the history of Minor League Baseball. DBH already has 33 teams either in its portfolio or going through the sales approval process. It has said it remains in acquisition mode. The group added 16 of those teams in 2023 and has already added four more in 2024.