Burlington got some staggering news toward the beginning of December when the Burlington Bees declared their delivery from Minor League Baseball.
For reasons unknown, Burlington was without baseball for precisely one month.
On Wednesday evening, the Burlington Baseball Association declared the Burlington Bees will join the Prospect League, a top university wooden bat group, for the 2021 season.
The Bees satisfied their guarantee to baseball fans in southeast Iowa and western Illinois that baseball will proceed in Burlington.
“We are blissful to make this declaration for our fans and local area who have truly gotten down to business for us during these difficult occasions,” Burlington Bees General Manager Kim Parker said. “Baseball and local area occasions are our specialty best and this new association will permit us to keep on doing both. Our staff endeavors to make the ballpark a spot where fun is had and recollections are made. We are excited to proceed with that family custom here at Community Field.”
“The Greater Burlington Partnership is past energized that the long-standing history of Bees baseball will proceed in Greater Burlington. Local area Field will remain an objective for territorial avid supporters and families to encounter summer fun and great baseball. We anticipate advancing the new group while incorporating it into a solid financial driver for the local area,” said Chelsea Lerud, Executive Director, Greater Burlington Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“The city of Burlington is excited to discover that the Burlington Bees will by and by beauty Community Field,” said Burlington chairman Jon D. Billups. “The Bees have been important for the customs of our local area for quite a long time as ages have figured out how to adore the game in Burlington at Community Field. There isn’t anything better than to get a Bees game on a bright day: gab in the stands, the break of a bat, umps calling strikes, and the flavor of an old fashioned wiener. Conventions stay as the Bees presently, still remain. We like the difficult work and exertion the Bees association has placed in to guarantee Bees baseball proceeds.”
The last authority home game for the Burlington Bees was on Aug. 30, 2019, a 6-3 misfortune to the Clinton LumberKings. Amusingly, the two urban communities lost their association with Minor League Baseball in December when Major League Baseball reported its withdrawal of the minors.
Presently, both Burlington and Clinton will contend in the Prospect League.
Burlington has had some type of baseball since 1889. The 2020 Class A Midwest League season was dropped because of the continuous COVID-19 pandemic.
Local area Field facilitated various secondary school ball games throughout the mid year of 2020.
The Prospect League had 14 groups a year ago in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It will have two Iowa groups in 2021. The nearest group to Burlington is the Quincy Gems, who play in noteworthy QU Stadium.
No declarations to the extent division realignments have been reported by the Prospect League.
The Prospect League season runs from late May through early August, with the end of the season games enveloping with mid-August.
“We are really glad to be invited into the Prospect League,” Parker said. “It has gained notoriety for quality baseball and we are anticipating demonstrating our local area what it has to bring to the table.”
“Guaranteeing the continuation of baseball locally of Burlington has consistently been a significant need for Major League Baseball. We thank the entirety of the Bees heads and chose pioneers in Iowa for their help with arriving at this significant objective together,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations.
