Results tagged ‘ Bruce Chen ’
Spring Training Photos: February 19
Team photographer Chris Vleisides has touched down in Arizona. Here are a few photos from today’s intrasquad game, the first of 2013. Check back for more pictures!
Nate Adcock tossed a 1-2-3 first.
Veteran lefty Bruce Chen
20-year old prospect Cheslor Cuthbert impressed with a home run.
South Caravan visits Springdale
The South Caravan wrapped up with three stops on Monday. The first was in Springdale, Ark., home of the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Royals owner David Glass met with pitchers Bruce Chen, Danny Duffy and Will Smith before a luncheon, which was hosted by the Naturals and the Springdale Rotary. The program included Glass greeting the crowd of over 200. A Q&A session for the pitchers followed, with Chen providing several laughs. Fans were happy to see former Naturals Duffy and Smith, who helped the club to the 2010 Texas League title. We also noticed a Bruce Chen Northwest Arkansas jersey – a very rare item as the lefty made just one rehab start with the club!
Photos: Royals sign at Rally House in Independence
Royals Caravan launched yesterday with an awards luncheon and last night, fans flocked to Rally House in Independence for an autograph session. We had a great turnout – the line stretched out the door (and it was a chilly night in the Midwest). Lorenzo Cain, Johnny Giavotella and Eric Hosmer led off, followed by Bruce Chen, Alex Gordon and Mitch Maier. Let’s take a look
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Royals introduce Bruce Chen Joke of the Day promotion
Bruce Chen receives the pie in the face treatment after throwing a shutout vs. Tampa Bay on October 1, 2010.
The Kansas City Royals, in conjunction with pitcher and funnyman Bruce Chen, have announced details of a new “Joke of the Day” promotion for the 2012 season. Fans are encouraged to submit their favorite funny line for an opportunity to have it delivered by Chen on the CrownVision video board during a 2012 Royals home game. To be considered, fans may submit their joke in 300 characters or less at www.royals.com/jokes by Friday, February 10.
Royals fans can guarantee Opening Day tickets with any Full Season or Half Season plan in addition to the opportunity to purchase 2012 MLB All-Star Game ticket strips. Royals season ticket holders also receive reserved parking, the priority to purchase additional tickets for all 2012 home games, access to special events and more!
All season ticket packages are available online at royals.com/tickets and by calling (816) 504-4040.
Photos: Royals Awards Luncheon media session
Today, the Royals recognized honorees for exceptional contributions on and off the field in 2011. We’ll start with photos of the media session, which took place before the event.
Top to bottom: General Manager Dayton Moore, Manager Ned Yost, 2011 Les Milgram Player of the Year Alex Gordon, 2011 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year Bruce Chen and 2011 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner Eric Hosmer
Photos: Royals Awards show
Hardware was handed out on Saturday afternoon at the Royals Awards show, which honored Billy Butler, Bruce Chen, Joakim Soria and all of the organizational award winners. Let’s take a look!
Chen, the Joe Burke Special Achievement winner, and Soria, the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year, congratulated one another after the event. Both players were very proud and appreciative of the awards. Bruce, who worked his way back from “Tommy John” surgery in 2007, wanted to make sure that his award arrived to his Arizona home without a scratch – so he bought a seat on the plane for it!
Billy Butler received his second Les Milgram Player of the Year honor on the same day that would see him ink a long-term contract with the Royals.
Mike Moustakas was all smiles as he received the George Brett Hitter of the Year honor from the Hall of Fame third baseman.
John Lamb earned the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year award. John, who turns 21 in July, will be the youngest player in Kansas City’s Major League camp at spring training.
Eric Hosmer won the Carolina League batting title and slugged key playoff home runs in the Texas League playoffs in 2010. On Saturday, he was recognized for the other part of his game with the Frank White Defensive Player of the Year award.
Derrick Robinson took his game to another level in 2010, setting a career high in batting average. Robinson, who led the Texas League with 50 stolen bases, earned the Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year award for the second time. Wilson pointed out that Robinson is outstanding at both baserunning and base stealing.
Former Missouri State pitcher Buddy Baumann received the Mike Sweeney Award from the five-time All-Star. The award goes to the minor league player who best represents the organization off of the field. Baumann participated in a variety of community events while with the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2010.
Royals announce 2010 organizational award winners
The Royals are pleased to announce the remaining organizational award winners for the 2010 season. The honorees will be recognized at the 2011 Royals Awards Show, scheduled for Saturday, January 22 in conjunction with Royals FanFest presented by Sprint and Teva Neuroscience at the Overland Park Convention Center.
During the event, the Royals will recognize 12 honorees for their contributions both on and off the field in 2010. Former Royals greats such as George Brett and Willie Wilson will be among the presenters in attendance.
Previously, the club announced the following award recipients as voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Royals’ closer Joakim Soria was the selection for the 2010 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year while Billy Butler was the 2010 Les Milgram Player of the Year for the second straight season. Starter Bruce Chen was named the 2010 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner.
The remaining award recipients to be recognized at the event include:
Mike Moustakas, recipient of the George Brett Hitter of the Year – recognizing the organization’s top hitter. The 22-year-old third baseman combined to hit .322 with NW Arkansas (AA) and Omaha (AAA), tying for the minor league lead with 36 home runs. The Royals’ first-round selection (2nd overall) in 2007 also posted 41 doubles and drove in 124 in being named the Sporting News Minor League Hitter of the Year, the Texas League Player of the Year, and a Baseball America 2010 first-team Minor League All-Star.
John Lamb, recipient of the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year - recognizing the organization’s top pitcher. The 20-year-old pitched at three levels of the Royals system in 2010, wrapping up at NW Arkansas. The six-foot-three lefty from Laguna Hills, Calif., was a combined 10-7 with a 2.38 ERA in 28 starts, allowing 122 hits in 147.2 innings, striking out 159 and walking just 45. Lamb was a fifth-round pick of the Royals in 2008.
Derrick Robinson, recipient of the Willie Wilson Base Runner of the Year - recognizing the organization’s top base runner. The 23-year-old patrolled center field for the Texas League-champion Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2010, hitting .286 with a league-leading 50 stolen bases in 67 attempts. The speedster, drafted by the Royals in the fourth round in 2006, has swiped 236 bases in his professional career, including 181 in his last three campaigns, and is a two-time winner of the Willie Wilson Award, also earning the honor in 2008.
Eric Hosmer, recipient of the Frank White Defensive Player of the Year – recognizing the organization’s top defensive player. Hosmer, 21, is an athletic first baseman who posted a .988 fielding percentage in 80 games at Wilmington (A Advanced) before upping that mark to .994 in 43 games at first for NW Arkansas. At the plate, the Royals’ first-round pick (3rd overall) in 2008 batted a combined .338 with 43 doubles, nine triples, 20 home runs, 86 RBI and 87 runs, also stealing 14 bases in 16 attempts.
Buddy Baumann, recipient of the Mike Sweeney Award - recognizing a player who best represents the organization on and off the field. The 23-year-old left-handed pitcher tirelessly volunteered for numerous community events throughout the 2010 season, visiting Wilmington-area schools and hospitals and conducting several baseball clinics. Kansas City’s seventh-round selection in 2009 was 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three relief appearances for Burlington (A) to begin 2010 before going 4-2 with four saves and posting a 2.24 ERA in 31 games (14 starts) for Wilmington.
Brian Poldberg, recipient of the Dick Howser Player Development Person of the Year – recognizing an outstanding member of player development. The only manager the NW Arkansas Naturals have ever known, Poldberg led the club to the Texas League Championship in 2010. The team was also recently recognized as the Baseball America Minor League Club of the Year. After ending a seven-year playing career, the Carter Lake, Iowa resident has been a coach and instructor in the Royals organization since 1987.
Sean Gibbs, recipient of the Art Stewart Scout of the Year – recognizing an outstanding scout. Gibbs has served the Royals organization as an area scout since 2007. He has scouted and signed several players including 2010 Burlington (R) Pitcher of the Year Crawford Simmons.
Andrew Layman, assistant general manager of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, is the recipient of the Matt Minker Award – recognizing an outstanding minor league affiliate employee. Layman has directed the merchandise, ticket and stadium operations departments during his 19-year Blue Rocks tenure. In 1998, he received the Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Award for best exemplifying the spirit of volunteerism in recognition of his time invested with a local teen. The Malvern, Pa. native is a 1992 graduate of Lynchburg College where he played lacrosse. He currently makes his home in Wilmington with fiance, Jordan, and their son, Mason.
In addition, the Royals will honor Chuck Sailors with the Dan Quisenberry Special Achievement Award - recognizing an outstanding member of the community. In 2004, Sailors founded the KC Urban Youth Center at 28th and Troost in Kansas City, Mo. Today, the center is part of three low-income housing communities in urban Kansas City serving more than 300 students and their families each year. Sailors and his staff work daily with a holistic approach in order to offer hope, community and wholeness to children and youth living in traditionally underserved communities.
Bruce Chen: Funny off of the field, serious on it
Left-handed pitcher Bruce Chen is a character in the clubhouse and away from baseball (such as the below picture from the Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament). His humor even reached Kauffman Stadium’s CrownVision this season with a starring role in “High Five Somebody” and another feature called the “Bruce Chen Joke of the Day”. Fittingly, he was the starting pitcher on June 4 when Will Ferrell joined fellow comedians/actors Bobby Cannavale, Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Horatio Sanz and Jason Sudeikis at Kauffman Stadium. Ferrell’s rallying cry of “C’mon Chen!” will be remembered for years to come.
Chen, the funny man off of the diamond, cited his business-like preparation in today’s conference call with the media to discuss his Joe Burke Special Achievement Award. All of the hard work since his “Tommy John” surgery in 2007 culminated in his last start of 2010 as he tossed his first career shutout on October 1 vs. Tampa Bay.
While Chen is proud of the accomplishments (the shutout, his first save, 12 wins to name a few), he is already looking forward to next year. Chen had just completed a workout before the conference call. The free agent is spending time this offseason at his home in Surprise, Ariz. and has received permission to train at the Royals complex.
Chen is grateful that the Royals gave him the opportunity to show what he can do both prior to 2009 and 2010 with minor league deals. He likes the organization and the direction that it is headed in. While Chen is open to returning to the Royals, he believes that he will have several choices this offseason and will leave all of the contract talks to his agent.
He closed the call by thanking everyone who voted for him and stating how honored he was to win the award.
Make sure to check back tomorrow as the Royals announce the 2010 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year. The winner will join media for a conference call at 3:30 p.m. and we will recap the call here.
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