Bees unveil new uniforms at annual banquet
The new uniforms feature the new color scheme and logo that the organization unveiled in November. Not only was it a fun evening, but the fundraiser brought in just over $8,000 for the Friends of Community Field, a 501(c)3 non-profit group that raises money for capital improvements to the city-owned Bees stadium.
The Bees will remain with the traditional base white uniform at home and gray on the road. The home uniform has "Bees" in a navy blue script with gold outline matching the new team color scheme. The front of the jerseys also features a solid navy blue number on the front and navy blue piping up the center and around the collar. The number on the back will be navy blue with a gold outline to match the script on the front.
The road grays will be similar in style, but have "Burlington" in navy blue block letters with a gold outline. The piping and number on the front is also navy blue and the number on the back is navy with the gold outline. The BP/Sunday jerseys are a navy blue mesh material with the new cap logo on the left chest. The jersey is a pull-over style with a two-button collar rather than the full button shirt like the others.
The home and road jersey each have a new logo patch on the sleeve and a Royals logo patch will be added before Opening Day. The home jersey will be worn with a navy blue cap that has a gold bill. The road uniform will be worn with a solid navy blue cap. All gold hats with the cap logo and navy blue caps with the scripted letter "B" are also licensed and available for retail, but won't be worn on the field in 2007.
Bees manager Jim Gabella, former Bees player Joe Ridge, and former Bees pitching coach Derek Botelho came out with the jerseys on for the unveiling. Gabella will return for a record fourth season as the Bees manager in '07. Ridge played for the Bees in 1958 in the Three-I League and was a teammate of Hall of Famer Billy Williams. Botelho pitched in the Major Leagues with the Kansas City Royals in 1982 and the Chicago Cubs in 1985. He served as the Bees' pitching coach in 1997 and '98 and is currently a pitching coach in the Atlanta Braves organization and will be at Double-A Mississippi this upcoming season.
Moore talked about his desire to build the Royals into a "model" organization, called Gabella a "difference-maker" in their organization, and took questions from the audience about the Royals and Major League Baseball. The silent and live auctions plus the raffle brought in over $5,500. The most popular silent auction items were autographed baseballs from Kerry Wood and Luis Aparicio that went for $100 apiece and three Pheasants Forever prints that totaled $440 in bids. In the live auction, things got off to a fast start with the Busch Stadium framed photo and Stan Musial autographed baseball going for $1,000 and the naming rights to the home dugout for the upcoming season bringing in $1301 in a spirited bid. Luke Hochevar's autographed Bees jersey went for $500 and an autographed bat from Hall of Famer and former Bee Paul Molitor finished the night at $700. The live auction was the most profitable in the four-year history of the Winter Banquet event.
To see photos of the new uniforms, please visit www.gobees.com. For more information, contact Assistant GM of Baseball Operations/Broadcaster Randy Wehofer at (319) 754-5705.