MODESTO — After nearly 80 years, the Modesto Nuts, the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, are playing their final season in the city before moving to San Bernadino.

The Mariners announced at the end of last year that they sold the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings. 

The Nuts' general manager, Veronica Hernandez, the lead up to this final home opener has been "a roller coaster."

"One day you're happy and you're like, 'yeah,' and then the other day, you're like, 'this is going to be over soon,' " she said.

Hernandez made history in 2022 by becoming the first Latina general manager in minor league baseball.

Now, she's focused on preserving her team's history.

"We have almost 80 years to reflect back on, and we want to do it do that justice," she said.

Aside from coaches and players, Hernandez leads roughly 215 staff members.

"It's not like a thing that we try to hide or not have conversations about," she said of the team's impending move. "We know that this is our last year. We know there's a job security issue because nobody's going to have a job come October 1, and that's just something that we're not blind to."

Now, Hernandez is hoping the city keeps baseball inside John Thurman Field.

"My way of respecting all of their work that they've done over the years is really trying to hope that the City of Modesto has some occupants here come October 1, 2025," she said.

There is hope in the city that another team can eventually fill that void. Mayor Sue Zwahlen said the city has had conversations with other leagues about bringing a team to Modesto.

But when it comes to a timeline, Zwahlen says "nothing is firm."

For Hernandez, a goal is to make this final season another full of memories.

"Let's have fun with it, and let's cherish it," she said. "Don't count us out just yet, right? We have 66 games to go as of today, and we're going to have fun."

The Modesto Nuts final opening day game in the city starts at 6:40 p.m. Friday at John Thurman Field against the San Jose Giants. If you forgot to buy tickets, you can buy them at the door, but they expect this game to be a near sellout.