February 2009
New Royals take the field
Greetings, Royals fans! Team photographer Chris Vleisides is in Surprise. He sent along pictures from the last few days. Here are some of your newest Royals in action – Willie Bloomquist, Coco Crisp, Tug Hulett, and Mike Jacobs. Check back as we will post more pictures from Spring Training!
Royals uniform history: 20
Today we take a look at a uniform number and its place in Royals history. Since 20 is a retired number and today is 2-20-2009, let’s start with 20!
Number 20, retired in 1995, is synonymous with Kansas City’s own Frank White, who wore the number as a player from 1974 to 1990 and again as a coach from 1997 to 2001.
Do you know what number Frank wore when he first came to the Majors in 1973? 19. At least for his first 51 Major League games.
Only three other Royals have worn number 20: Jim Campanis (sliding above) was the first to don the number in 1969 and 1970. Monty Montgomery (at left, 1971-72) and Barry Raziano (1973) also wore 20 before Frank. Keep checking ATH…we’ll review a number each month!
Royals claim Tug Hulett
This just in…the Royals have claimed infielder Tug Hulett off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. To make room for Hulett on the 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher Neal Musser was designated for assignment.
Hulett, who turns 26 on February 28, saw his first action at the Major League level in 2008, hitting .224 (11-for-49) with a home run and two RBI in 30 games. The left-handed hitting middle infielder hit .298 with 22 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 47 RBI in 91 games with Tacoma (AAA) last season. 2008 was the Hulett’s first season with the Mariners organization. Tug was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2004 and has reached double digits in steals in each of his five professional seasons.
Tug is the son of former Major League infielder Tim Hulett, who played 12 seasons for the White Sox, Orioles and Cardinals. We welcome Tug to the club!
Jacobs signs, ticket presale
First baseman Mike Jacobs agreed to a one-year deal late last night, which avoided an arbitration hearing. Jacobs hit 32 home runs and drove in 93 runs with the Marlins last season. He was acquired on October 30 in exchange for Leo Nunez.
Ticket presale
The Royals have announced a special ticket presale for Royals Report subscribers.
Fans who register for Royals Report by Friday, February 27 have a special opportunity to purchase tickets to every 2009 home game, excluding Opening Day. Royals Report subscribers can order tickets at royals.com on Thursday, March 5 starting at 9 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public Saturday, March 7 at 9 a.m. Newsletter subscribers will receive an email with further instructions on the March 5 presale opportunity. Sign up at: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/fan_forum/newsletters.jsp?partnerId=panel_KC_presaleregistration021709
If you’re looking to go to the April 10 home opener, you have three separate chances to secure tickets:
(1) Single-Game Ticket On-Sale Date – March 7: Opening Day tickets will be available through royals.com, by phone at 1-800-6ROYALS and at the Kauffman Stadium Ticket Office beginning Saturday, March 7 at 9 a.m.
(2) royals.com Opening Day Ticket Opportunity: To be eligible fans must register online at royals.com by Monday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. Those applicants whose names are selected in a random drawing will have the opportunity to purchase up to two (2) tickets to Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium. Register at: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/ticketing/ticket_opp.jsp?partnerId=panel_KC_openingdaytixopp020209.
(3) Royals Season Tickets: Fans can guarantee themselves Opening Day tickets with any Full Season, Half Season or 21-game season ticket plan starting at just $168 per seat. All season ticket packages are available online at http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/ticketing/seasontix.jsp and by calling (816) 504-4040.
Don’t delay…get your tickets today!
Royals 40th Anniversary Highlights
We’re celebrating 40 years of Royals baseball, and there are plenty of new features and opportunities for fans to get involved in 2009. Here are a few:
Fan Memories Collection
Now through Friday, March 27, you can submit photos, videos and written memories of your experiences at The K as well as your favorite Royals moments to memories@royals.com . The “memories” will be showcased as part of the Royals 2009 advertising campaign, including in television and radio spots, and print and digital ads. Additionally, the content will be featured prominently in the second annual Kansas City Sky Show set for June 12 as well as at three Retro Nights scheduled for June 17, July 22 and August 5.
“Welcome Home” celebration
The “Welcome Home” celebration on Saturday, April 11 will combine the Grand Re-Opening of Kauffman Stadium with the launch of the 40th Anniversary Celebration. Fans will enjoy special pre-game entertainment and festivities while exploring the new Outfield Plaza area, and one lucky fan in attendance will walk away with $40,000 through an in-game random drawing! It could be you!!
Special Ticket Offers
As part of the 40th Anniversary celebration, the Royals are offering several new ticket choices for fans. Royal Nites, which offer $5 Upper Level tickets for all Monday games except September 21. In addition, the Royals will offer specially-priced “throw-back” tickets for each of the Retro Nights, offering some of the same prices offered in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Retro Night prices include $6 Lower Level tickets on June 17 during the “Summer of ’69″ celebration, $5 Upper level tickets on July 22 during the 1970s celebration, and $3 “GA” seats and $10 Lower Level tickets on August 5 during the 1980s celebration. Fan-favorite Buck Nights, College Nights and Military Mondays will also return in 2009. Check out our season ticket offers at http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=kc.
Ka'aihue's team takes top prize
Kila Ka’aihue can crush a baseball…and it seems that his long drives translate to golf. Kila’s team shot 16 under par to win today’s Surprise Charity Golf Tournament. Members of the Royals and Texas Rangers participated in the tournament, which was hosted by the Surprise Sundancers and the City of Surprise. Proceeds from the tournament went toward Surprise/Northwest valley programs and projects including DreamCatcher C.A.R.E.S, a center for adaptive recreation and enrichment services. Way to go, Kila!
Date announced for 2009 Kansas City Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament
You love to watch your favorite Royals hit the ball out of the park…now see if they can keep another white ball in bounds! The second annual Kansas City Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament presented by Sprint is set for Monday, May 18.
The popular tournament will match current players and alumni with participants in an 18-hole golf tournament. All proceeds will again benefit the Special Olympics of Greater Kansas City Metro. To register, please visit:
http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/community/golf_tourney_form.jsp.
Pictures: Above – Billy Butler tees off; below left – Gil Meche takes a picture with a new fan; below right - a few golfers talk baseball with General Manager Dayton Moore
Spring Training opens
Well the day we’ve been waiting for since the final game of 2008 has arrived! Pitchers and catchers officially reported to Surprise today, though many of them have been participating in voluntary workouts at the complex. Workouts usually run from about 9:30 to 12:00 or 12:30 and are open to the public. For information on a particular day, contact the staff at Surprise Recreation Services at 623.222.2000.
Thank you to all of the fans who have visited ATH! February is the shortest month in days, but we are on pace to have our highest number of visitors since we started tracking page loads last July!
We want to let you know about a few new ways to keep up to date on your favorite team. First, royals.com beat writer Dick Kaegel has a new blog entitled Royals Beat. He will share insight from Spring Training, Kauffman Stadium, and Royals road games during the 2009 season. Dick made his first post on Wednesday, so feel free to ask him questions on the Royals.
Another Royals page to surf to is the royals.com Kansas City Royals fan page on Facebook. Several Royals pages have popped up on the popular social networking tool… but this is the official one. It just launched so it isn’t the largest Royals group on Facebook yet, however, we think it is the most informative. Our friends at Major League Baseball Advanced Media have added a RSS feed to ATH, so all of our posts will be displayed on Facebook! Just enter ‘Kansas City Royals’ under ‘Pages’ and find the page that looks like the screen shot below.
Gibbons and McClure on Hot Stove Show
Tune in to the Hot Stove Show on 610 Sports, tonight from 6 to 7 p.m., Central time. Royals bench coach John Gibbons and pitching coach Bob McClure are the guests. They will discuss the upcoming season with hosts Denny Matthews and Bob Davis. Ryan Lefebvre gets a well deserved night off on his birthday. Happy birthday Ryno!
All Royals Hot Stove shows are available at this page on royals.com.
Renovation Photos: The Outfield Experience
In 2009, Kauffman Stadium will feature several new seating areas, including outfield fountain seats. Several thousand stadium seats have been moved or removed during the renovation process. The seats are different sizes, so every seat had to be categorized into large boxes.
Now, many of those seats are finding new locations in the stadium. (Another possible destination is your home. A limited number of stadium seats are available through Royals Charities at http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/ballpark/stadium_seat_sale.jsp.)
Here you see new DRI DUCK Fountain Pavilion seating in left field, which surrounds an outdoor bar that sits atop the base of the old JumboTron. Seats are in place and ready for you on April 10!
Next we take a look at home plate from the left field fountain seats.
The new Little K is directly behind the left field fountain seats. Workers were finishing Field Turf installation last week.
We move to right field, where work continues in front of the fountains.
Finally, we look at right field and Rivals Restaurant. Outfield Box seats will be placed in this area.
mlblogsroyals1
Recent Comments