The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth step between Rookie ball and the Major Leagues. Although Minor League Baseball, the umbrella organization for Minor Leagues that are affiliated with Major League Baseball, has eliminated the distinction between High-A and other full-season A leagues, most Major League teams still use such leagues as a standard promotion step. A few draftees, generally early-round draftees with college experience, will be assigned to a High-A team upon signing a professional contract, but generally players will not arrive at this level until their third or fourth year of professional play.

There were various attempts in the 1800s and early 1900s to form a California League. The first lasted from 1887-1889, then 1891, 1893, and 1899-1902. After the National Association was formed in 1902, the California League operated outside the NA as an independent in 1902 and again from 1907-1909. Unfortunately this led to huge differences in the quality of teams competing with each other. In 1907 San Francisco was 3-34, while in 1908 San Francisco was 9-67 and Oakland was 4-71. Oakland and San Francisco competed in every year of these various leagues, with San Francisco having two teams 1887-1888.

California (pronounced ⁱ/kælɨˈfɔrnjə/) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.

California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east – from the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast. The center of the state is dominated by Central Valley, a major agricultural area. California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the third-longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida). Earthquakes are a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire: about 37,000 are recorded annually.

Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III (born March 27, 1987) is an American professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Giants with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Posey made his major league debut on September 11, 2009; he was named the Giants' regular catcher on June 30, 2010.

As a rookie, he hit .305, slugged 18 home runs and had 67 runs-batted-in. He was a key to the Giants winning the 2010 World Series. He was named the National League rookie of the year.

Posey, the eldest of four children, was born to Gerald "Demp" Dempsey Posey II and Traci Posey on March 27, 1987, in Leesburg, Georgia. His nickname, "Buster," came from his father's childhood nickname. He played football, soccer, and basketball along with baseball growing up, but baseball was his main sport. As a junior at Lee County High School, Posey (playing shortstop and pitching) had 9 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 home runs while setting school records for batting average (.544) and runs batted in (RBI) (46). Meanwhile, he had a 10–1 record and a 1.53 earned run average (ERA). He batted .462 with 40 RBI as a senior while setting a school record with 14 home runs. Meanwhile, he had a 12–0 record (in 13 starts) with a 1.06 ERA and 108 strikeouts. That year, he was named the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, the Louisville Slugger State Player of the Year, an EA Sports All-American, and a Baseball America All-American. Posey had a 3.94 GPA in high school while graduating fourth in his class (out of 302 students), and although he was drafted in the 50th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he chose to enroll in college instead of signing.

Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California (1975–83), and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor (2011–present). He is the son of Pat Brown, the 32nd Governor of California (1959–67).

Both before and after his first two terms as governor, Brown was elected to a number of state, local and party offices. Brown previously served as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees (1969–1971), Secretary of State of California (1971–1975), chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989–1991), Mayor of Oakland (1999–2007) and Attorney General of California (2007–2011).

At the time of his election to a third, non-consecutive term as governor, on November 2, 2010, Brown was serving as the 31st Attorney General of California, an elected position. Brown was formally inaugurated as governor on January 3, 2011, the 28th anniversary of the end of his last term. During his first term (as California's 34th Governor), he was the sixth-youngest Governor of that state. Upon his inauguration as California's 39th Governor, he became its oldest serving governor. At the age of 74, Brown is also the oldest currently serving governor in the United States.