Introducing the Burlington Bees

To begin 2010 our series continues with a look at the Iowa-based Burlington Bees, who boast one of the longest histories of any team in the MWL. The Bees also feature two Hall-of-Famers, numerous all-stars, and several affiliations, all vital to telling the story of Burlington baseball.

TEAM: Burlington Bees

MLB AFFILIATE: Kansas City Royals (2001)

LOCATION: Burlington, Iowa

FIRST SEASON: 1962

STADIUM (CAPACITY): Community Field (3,200)

2009 RECORD: 64-75, 5th Place, MWL Western Division; Advanced to MWL Championship, losing to Fort Wayne 3-0; Beat Kane County 2-0 in Round One, Beat Cedar Rapids 2-1 in MWL Semifinals

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4 (1965, 1977, 1999, 2008)

NOTABLE MLB ALUMNI: 177; Vida Blue (1968); Phil Garner (1971); Paul Molitor (1977); Larry Walker (1986); Kenny Rogers (1984-85)

VS. BOWLING GREEN: 3 (July 14-16 @ Burlington)

The first team to suit up in a Burlington uniform dates back to 1889 with the Burlington Babies playing in the Central Interstate League. That franchise, which left after one season, started a long-running trend of temporary franchises based in Burlington. From 1889 to 1949, Burlington saw teams play in the Western Association, Iowa State League, Central Association (twice), and the Mississippi Valley League. In addition to several leagues, the team had numerous names: Babies, River Bats, Flint Hills, and Pathfinders, all preceding 'Bees', which arrived for the first time in 1924.

In 1947, Community Field, the team's current stadium in its original state, was built for the Burlington Indians of the Central Association. A few years later, it was the Burlington Flints in the Three-I League before the team went back to the Bees again in 1954. With the reincarnation of the Bees, Burlington saw the first of its two hall-of-famers in 20-year-old outfielder Billy Williams. Over 61 games in Burlington he hit .304 with ten home runs and 38 RBI. He eventually spent 18 years in the big leagues, racking up a .290 average and 426 home runs to earn Hall of Fame status in 1987.

The Bees finally joined the Midwest League for the 1962 season as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After one season, the Pirates left, making room for the Kansas City A's. This began a run of 12 years as the A's affiliate; the longest relationship Burlington has had with one team. That longevity produced quite a few big league stars, including Sal Bando, a four-time MLB All-Star who happened to lead the Bees to the MWL title in 1965. Three seasons later it was a pitcher named Vida Blue who tore up the MWL for the Bees, recording the current franchise record of 231 strikeouts on his way to becoming a Cy Young and MVP winner in Oakland. Other future all-stars included Phil Garner (3 MLB All-Star games, MLB manager), George Hendrick (4 all-stars), Chet Lemon (3 all-stars), and Claudell Washington (2 all-stars).

The 12-year relationship with the A's ended for the 1975 season as the Milwaukee Brewers came to town. After two seasons, the most famous Bee of all made his debut with Burlington. On June 7, 1977, the Brewers drafted a college player by the name of Paul Molitor and assigned him to Burlington. Over 64 games as a Bee, Molitor hit an astounding .346 with eight home runs and 50 RBI. Despite playing less than half a season, his numbers were so dominant that he earned MWL MVP honors as the Bees took home their second league title. As it turned out, the 2004 hall-of-famer made it to the big leagues in 1978, meaning Burlington is the only minor league team Paul Molitor ever played for.

When Molitor left, he apparently took the wins with him. Over the next 21 years the Bees had just 4 winning seasons. The Brewers left after 1981 making way for a slew of affiliates through the 80's and 90's. After Milwaukee, the Texas Rangers (82-85), Montreal Expos (86-87, 93-94), Atlanta Braves (88-90), Houston Astros (91-92), San Francisco Giants (95-96), Cincinnati Reds (97-98), and Chicago White (99-2000) all called Burlington Home. The most successful of those clubs was the '99 White Sox-affiliated team, which clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the season before rolling to their third league championship.

Despite multiple affiliation changes and a lack of postseason success, Burlington still saw a plethora of top prospects. In 1984, Ruben Sierra donned a Bees jersey, sparking a lengthy major league career that saw him hit 306 homeruns. One year later, Sierra gave way to Kenny Rogers, the lefty who won 219 big league games.

With the Expos farm system, an outfielder by the name of Larry Walker smacked an impressive 29 home runs in just 95 MWL games in 1986. All he ended up doing was winning the NL batting titles, seven Gold Glove Awards, and the 1997 NL MVP. Other famous Expos include infielder Jose Vidro, a three-time all-star, and closer Ugueth Urbina, the ace of the Bees staff in 1993, going 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA.

The Braves sent catcher Javy Lopez, 1996 NLCS MVP, and reliever Mike Stanton, bullpen cog for the mid-90's Yankees, to southern Iowa. Left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle made his professional debut for the championship team in 1999. Buehrle has continued his winning ways since joining the White Sox, compiling 135 wins, a World Series trophy in 2005, and a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays (uh...the Hot Rods' parent club) this past summer.

After the 2000 season, Burlington once again had a new affiliate, this time the Kansas City Royals. The Royals broke one trend, signing multiple agreements to send players to Burlington, including a four-year extension that runs through the end of the 2010 season. While breaking that trend, the Royals did not break the prospect trend, sending numerous players through Burlington on the way to Kansas City. Those players include outfielder Mitch Maier (2004) and pitcher Luke Hochevar (2006), among numerous others.

The Royals have also been a fixture in the playoffs since teaming up with the Royals. Despite being swept in the finals this past summer, Burlington tasted the sweet champagne of victory in 2008. After a slow start, the club rolled through the second half of the '08 season, eventually sweeping their way to their fourth MWL championship.

Lastly, despite playing in a stadium that was originally built in 1947 and then rebuilt in the 1970's, Community Field fits right in with our current society: a little plastic surgery can fix anything. Luckily, the ballparks changes have turned out better than some of the cosmetic surgery disasters that fill today's tabloids. Since 1999 the ballpark has seen the following: new concrete, seats, sound system, party deck, scoreboard, playing field, clubhouses, indoor hitting cage, front office building, suites, concourse, restrooms, marquee signs, and stadium entrances. Joan Rivers would most certainly be jealous.

NEXT WEEK: CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS