As Modesto Nuts celebrate final homestand, a coach reflects on Valley impact
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jake Witt led the Modesto Nuts to back-to-back California League titles in 2023-2024.
- Witt chose to remain in Modesto over potential promotion within the Mariners system.
- The Nuts conclude a 70-year legacy as Modesto's final minor league baseball franchise.
Baseball has taken Modesto Nuts pitching coach Jake Witt from Washington to Arizona to the Dominican Republic. But the tattoo behind his ear of the outline of the state of California says it all. He’ll always be a Cali kid.
Witt is a Central Valley native who took the unconventional route to pro baseball coaching.
A 2010 graduate of Liberty High School in Bakersfield, he pitched and played first base during his prep career. At West Hills College in Coalinga, a city in Fresno County, Witt pitched before suffering an injury. Between his playing career and his job with the Seattle Mariners, he did it all, from working in the oil fields in Bakersfield to coaching (Liberty High, Bakersfield Christian and West Hills).
His journey to pro baseball started at data-driven player development organization Driveline Baseball’s facility in Seattle in the height of baseball’s technology boom. He spent the 2022 season with the Baltimore Orioles, working with pitchers in the organization’s Dominican Summer League team. After a season there, he was hired by the Mariners.
“I kind of lucked into getting back into baseball,” he said. “I didn’t think I could make as big of a career out of it as I have.”
Witt still credits the Central Valley for sparking his love for baseball.
Growing up as a baseball player in Bakersfield, Witt played at some of the California League stadiums in amateur showcases or tournaments. Some are the same ballparks he now visits as a coach.
He went to Bakersfield Blaze games, the California League affiliate for many teams from 1997 to 2016, including the San Francisco Giants (1997-2000) , Texas Rangers (2005-2010) and Seattle Mariners (2015-16). The Blaze folded after the 2016 season.
Minor-league affiliates playing in Modesto have been members of the California League since John Thurman Field opened in 1955. Witt saw the Nuts and Blaze face off in California League showdowns.
The Nuts this week host their final home series as a franchise, marking the end of 70 years of minor-league baseball at John Thurman Field. Just like fans, Witt has fond memories of baseball at the ballpark on Neece Drive.
“I appreciate it,” he said. “The two championships, all the guys that have come through here, it’s definitely a place I’ll remember forever. My family loves where we live here in town, they love coming to games.”
Staying home, spending time with family
For the past three seasons, Witt has worked for the team he used to root against.
Witt came to Modesto three years ago as part of former manager Zach Vincej’s staff. He led a staff that pitched the Nuts to California League titles in 2023 and 2024. The championships were the 10th and 11th in Modesto’s California League history. The back-to-back titles were the first in team history and the first time in 14 years a California League team repeated, according to MLB.com.
Vincej this offseason got the promotion from Modesto to the Seattle Mariners’ High-A team in Everett. Witt likely could have gone with him to lead the AquaSox arms.
But he will never know if the Mariners wanted him to move up. Witt didn’t give them the chance to ask.
“I kind of opened up with ‘I want to stay in Modesto,’” he said. “Maybe they were going to send me back here anyway, maybe not. Right when contract negotiations started coming up, I immediately told them I wanted to be in Modesto.”
Witt sees his wife and kids more than most coaches in pro sports. They live in Bakersfield and Witt said he sometimes goes home after the Sunday afternoon game of a series, stays the night and the following day, then travels to the team’s next series.
“It means a lot to be home,” he said. “It’s really cool for me to know a lot of these places we play at.”
Witt’s family often comes to home games, too. He keeps their identity private for their safety but said fans talk with them often, some not knowing they’re talking to a coach’s family.
“There are some fans that know, and they treat my family awesome,” he said.
Helping players develop
Witt sees future Mariners at their earliest stage in professional baseball.
After players are drafted by the organization, they play in a short-season league in Arizona. After players progress past that level, their next stop is Thurman Field.
In the Nuts’ penultimate home series against the Inland Empire 66ers this year, he helped guide right-handed pitcher Christian Little through his final start at the Modesto ballpark. Little pitched 3.2 innings and struck out six batters before he was relieved. He pitched in the next series on the road against Rancho Cucamonga before getting the call-up to High-A. In August, Little pitched 10.2 innings and posted a 0.84 earned run average with 13 strikeouts and just four walks.
“It’s really cool. I’m working with guys like (Mariners’ No. 6 Prospect) Ryan Sloan, (No. 18 prospect) Michael Morales, (No. 30 prospect) Tyler Cleveland, Brandon Garcia, Juan Burgos, all those guys. It’s been really fun,” Witt said. “That’s one cool thing about Seattle, we’ve had a ton of talent roll through our system and Modesto. Being here three years, it’s pretty cool seeing the guys make it up to the big leagues.”
The Nuts understood the gravity that came with being the last minor-league baseball team in Modesto. Though they are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture, it is not lost on them how much the fans appreciated seeing some of the top prospects in Major League Baseball and future pros.
“The weight of this season and everything that comes with that, the guys were aware of it,” Witt said. “Something we talk about regularly is treating the fans with respect and giving them some time. This franchise has been here for a long time and we don’t take it lightly that they’re not going to have a (minor-league) franchise here anymore.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM.
