Traverse City Beach Bums

Traverse City Beach Bums
Team logo Cap insignia
League Frontier League (East)
Location Blair Township, Michigan
Ballpark Wuerfel Park
Year founded 1995
Nickname(s) The Bums
League championships 3 (2001, 2002, 2015)
Division championships 3 (1996, 2012, 2015)
Former name(s)
Colors Navy Blue, Gold, White
              
Ownership John & Leslye Wuerfel
Manager Dan Rohn
General Manager Leslye Wuerfel
Media Traverse City Record-Eagle
Website traversecitybeachbums.com

The Traverse City Beach Bums are a professional baseball team based in the Traverse City, Michigan, suburb of Blair Township, in the United States. The Beach Bums are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2006 season to the present, the Beach Bums have played their home games at Wuerfel Park.

The "Beach Bums" name refers to the residents and visitors who come to Michigan's most popular resort town, to spend time on the beach. Traverse City lies on the Grand Traverse Bay, a branch of Lake Michigan. The team's colors of navy blue and gold represent the region's bays and bright summer sunshine.[1]

Wuerfel Park averages well over 200,000 fans per season for Beach Bums home games, ranking near the top of attendance lists in independent baseball. In their first three seasons, the Beach Bums have drawn over 600,000 fans with a mix of loyal, local fans, tourists, and regional baseball fans.

John and Leslye Wuerfel are the managing members of the Beach Bums. Their son, Jason, is the Beach Bums' Vice President and Director of Baseball Operations. Jason Wuerfel lettered four times with the University of Michigan varsity baseball team, and also won the 2003 Wolverine Award for Spirit and Leadership. He played professionally with the Elmira Pioneers, the Mid-Missouri Mavericks, and the Ohio Valley Redcoats. Jason also owns and operates the Beach Bums Baseball Academy, an organization that instructs young baseball players in the Traverse City area.[2]

In November 2008, the Beach Bums named two new coaches with Gregg Langbehn being hired as the manager and Roger Mason accepting the position of pitching coach. Langbehn had previously spent 10 seasons as a coach and manager in the Houston Astros minor league system, while Mason, a Northern Michigan native, spent nine seasons as a pitcher in major league baseball, including a World Series appearance with the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies.

History

The Beach Bums are Traverse City's first professional baseball team since 1915. Predecessors include the semi-professional Traverse City Hustlers of the 1890s, and the professional Traverse City Resorters, from 1910 to 1915.[3]

Following the 2004 season, the Frontier League granted a franchise for Traverse City, Michigan. However, the league was not sure whether to consider the team for expansion or relocation. In 2005, the Richmond Roosters were purchased by the Wuerfels and moved to Traverse City.

The Beach Bums played their first home game at Wuerfel Park on May 24, 2006, against the Kalamazoo Kings, with a sell-out crowd of 5,825.

Season-by-season records

Richmond Roosters (Frontier League)
Year W-L PCT Place Postseason
199538-32.5434th in FL
199639-35.5271st in FL WestFrontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Springfield Capitals 2-1
199743-37.5382nd in FL WestFrontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Evansville Otters 2-1
199849-31.6122nd in FL West
199940-43.4824th in FL East
200040-43.4824th in FL East
200149-35.5832nd in FL EastFrontier League Division Series: Defeated the Dubois County Dragons 2-1.

Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Chillicothe Paints 3-0.

200253-31.6312nd in FL EastFrontier League Division Series: Defeated the Dubois County Dragons 2-1.

Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Washington Wild Things 3-1

200350-39.5624th in FL East
200443-53.4485th in FL East
200539-56.4156th in FL East
Totals483-435.526
Playoffs12-7.6321 Division Title, 4 Playoff Appearances, 2 Championships
Traverse City Beach Bums (Frontier League)
Year W-L PCT Place Postseason
200657-39.5943rd in FL East
200746-50.4794th in FL Central
200850-46.5212nd in FL East
200942-53.4425th in FL East
201055-41.5732nd in FL EastFrontier League Division Series: Defeated the Windy City Thunderbolts 3-1.

Frontier League Championship Series: Lost vs. River City Rascals 1-3

201151-45.5313rd in FL East
201264-32.6671st in FL EastFrontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Southern Illinois Miners 0-3
Totals301-274.523
Playoffs3-7.3002 Playoff Appearances

Current roster

Traverse City Beach Bums roster
Active (24-man) roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 30 Andrew Brockett
  • 22 Kramer Champlin
  • 12 Bret Dahlson
  • 33 Luis DeJesus
  • 11 Casey Delgado
  • 29 Chuck Ghysels
  • 14 Ian MacDougall
  • 24 Anthony Montefusco
  • 37 Alex Phillips
  • 20 Chris Rice
  • 27 Michael Shreves
 

Catchers

  •  9 Jake Rhodes
  •  4 Shane Rowland

Infielders

  • 19 Yazy Arbelo
  •  3 Sam Bumpers
  •  0 Graham Ramos
  • 10 Alex Tomasovich
  • 13 Jose Vargas

Outfielders

  • 21 Jay Austin
  •  8 Jeff DeBlieux
  •  7 Greg Harisis
  •  6 Brandon Jacobs
  • 25 Adam Kirsch
  • 26 Reggie Lawson
 

Manager

Coaches

  • 35 Greg Cadaret (Pitching)
  • 23 Dominick Gaudioso (Hitting)
  • -- Jason Wuerfel (Assistant)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated May 15, 2015
Transactions

Quick facts

Founded: 2006
Stadium: Wuerfel Park
Uniform Colors: Navy blue hats and white jerseys are worn for home games, while navy blue hats and grey jerseys are worn for road games. The alternate jersey is navy blue with the "TC" centered on the left-side chest, in gold.
Logo Design: A gold ring outline in navy blue with "Traverse City" arched inside. The "Beach Bums" wordmark overlaps the bottom of the ring in navy blue and gold, with a baseball splashing in stylized, navy blue waves underlining it. A baseball-playing bear is centered in the design wearing a Beach Bums jersey and cap.
Mascot: Two American black bears named "Suntan and Sunburn", wearing Beach Bums caps and matching jerseys.
Current ownership: John & Leslye Wuerfel
Playoff appearances: (1)

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.