1953 California League season

The 1953 California League was a Class C baseball season played between April 17 and September 7. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, as the top four teams qualified for the playoffs.
The San Jose Red Sox won the California League championship, defeating the Stockton Ports in the final round of the playoffs.

Team changes

The Bakersfield Indians ended their affiliation with the Cleveland Indians and began a new affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.
The Modesto Reds ended their affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates and began a new affiliation with the Milwaukee Braves.
The Stockton Ports ended their affiliation with the St. Louis Browns and began a new affiliation with the Chicago Cubs.
The Ventura Braves ended their affiliation with the Boston Braves. The club was renamed to the Ventura Oilers.
The Visalia Cubs ended their affiliation with the Chicago Cubs. The club was renamed to the Visalia Stars.

The San Jose Red Sox finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time since in team history.

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	José Pérez, Ventura Oilers	.373
H	Jim O'Brien, Stockton Ports	181
R	Ray Perry, Bakersfield Indians	120
2B	Bill Garbe, Bakersfield Indians Ray Perry, Bakersfield Indians	41
3B	Jay Roundy, Visalia Stars	12
HR	Ray Perry, Bakersfield Indians	36
RBI	Edward Sobczak, San Jose Red Sox	142
SB	Marty Keough, San Jose Red Sox Donald Lopes, Bakersfield Indians	28

Stat	Player	Total
W	Tony Freitas, Stockton Ports	22
ERA	Tex Clevenger, San Jose Red Sox	1.51
CG	Tony Freitas, Stockton Ports	28
SHO	Art Demery, Bakersfield Indians Guy Fletcher, Modesto Reds Tony Freitas, Stockton Ports Clair Parkin, San Jose Red Sox Solon Shaw, Visalia Stars Bud Watkins, Stockton Ports	3
IP	Tony Freitas, Stockton Ports Tony Ponce, Ventura Oilers	279.0
SO	Clair Parkin, San Jose Red Sox	192

The San Jose Red Sox won their second California League championship, defeating the Stockton Ports in six games.