Tagged: Kalamazoo Kings
Introducing the Growlers
On Friday Kalamazoo Baseball introduced their new team name and logo. The new team entering the Northwoods League will be dubbed the Kalamazoo Growlers. The team will play in 2014 at Homer Stryker Field, who last hosted the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League. The manager for the new team will be Joe Carbone, who is the second most winning coach in the Mid American Conference history at Ohio University. He is a two-time MAC Coach of the Year, and was the Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 1997. The Growlers have also two players from Western Michigan University lined up for next season, also, in catcher Brent Sunde and outfielder Jared Kujawa. Although I spent my childhood watching minor league hockey in Kalamazoo with the K-Wings, I look forward to seeing the Growlers play ball. Kalamazoo also has a great history of baseball, as the first College World Series was played there, also. They’ll have a good rivalry with the Battle Creek Bombers just to the east. I still think that if these two communities would have worked together, there could still be an affiliated minor league program located just between the two cities.
Photos courtesy of the Kalamazoo Growlers
Northwoods League expands to Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan will finally be getting a new baseball team for the first time since 2011. The team will be competing in the Northwoods League, which is a summer college wooden bat league. This is the same league that the neighboring Battle Creek Bombers play in. Home games will be played at Homer Stryker Field, same as the prior tenant the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League (same as the Traverse City Beach Bums). The Kings suspended operations after the 2011 season, and never were able to get the team running again. Fans in the Kalamazoo area have submitted their ideas for a team name, and the finalists are: Cabbies, Clutch, Growlers, Kangaroos (K-Roos), and Krakens. My pick would be the Kalamazoo Kangaroos, but the franchise will announce the winner at an Opening Night Event on November 15th. This free event will feature the un-veiling of the new team name and logo, along with the manager and coaches. Fans will also be able to receive free ballpark food and nonalcoholic beverages, participate in a free raffle, and their will be free kids games as well. Fans will also be able to interact with the team owners and front office staff. I’ll definitely be following this team, and hope to be able to attend a game next season. I’m pretty familiar the the city also, as I grew up on minor league hockey watching the Kalamazoo Wings of the old International Hockey League when I lived in that area.
Photo courtesy of Kalamazoo Baseball/Northwoods League
Bummer! Last Game of the Season
Finishing up our last fun weekend of the summer with go-carts and water slides, we ended it watching the Traverse City Beach Bums taking on the Kalamazoo Kings in Frontier League action. This is the second to last game on the Beach Bums 2009 schedule, but for us, it’s most likely the last game we’ll see live untill 2010. Bummer.
It was a beautifull night for baseball, and the home team Bums won 5-2. The kids spent more time on the playground than watching the game, but at least it kept them busy. We opted for the lawn seats at Wuerfel Park, which has nice areas in the outfield to sit and watch from a blanket or lawn chair.
The kids each recieved a free baseball at the gate and they were able to get some players autographs on them. The only bummer was that former Major League pitcher and Bums pitching coach Roger Mason refused to sign for the kids. We were told he was ‘too busy’ and he basically turned his back on us. What a loser. You can see from the pic just how busy he was. Oh, well, we still didn’t let it ruin our last game.
Photos property of MIB
Minoring In Baseball 