January 28- Salt Lake City Bees

Very few people know this about me, even though I openly talk about it often, but I was born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m short, I’m Mormon. Let that sink in as you think about the foul language I speak, the tattoos I have and the beer I drink. Yes, it’s a bit hypocritical of me in theory; however, I’ve always done my best to be a good person, love my family, help out anyone who needs it and I still love and respect God. I’m an incredibly open person and hope you are too as I continue as bits and pieces of this blog involves my religion and church.

The current incarnation of the Salt Lake City Bees was founded in 1994 after then owner Joe Buzas moved the Portland Beavers to Utah. For those keeping score at home, this is the second post I’ve written in which the Portland Beavers relocated their team. From ’94-2000 the team was known as the Salt Lake City Buzz, but were sued and forced to change their name by Georgia Tech as their mascot, a giant yellow jacket, has the same name. From 2001-2004 they were known as the Stingers. In 2003 Buzas bought the farm and Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller bought the team. In 2005 the team then changed their name again to the Bees, a throwback to the original baseball team that occupied Salt Lake City from 1915-1926. Now, when it comes to other sports franchises, most tend to not only change their name, but also their mascot. By this I mean, and especially when a law suit is on the table, most teams will distance themselves from any trace of the reason for the law suit. The Bees; however, is one of the most perfect mascots and team name for any fixed location in sports.

Back in 1849, when Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers migrated to what is now Utah, they settled in a vast, agriculturally rich territory which they called the State of Deseret. This provisional state existed for only two years and was never recognized by the United States government. The most important part of this story is the word Deseret, which in the Book of Mormon is the word for honeybee. The state of Utah was founded in 1896 and adopted the beehive as their state logo, which is a fixture of the state flag. The state’s motto; industry, for which bees are known.

Back to the hat. This particular hat has been used since the start of the 2006 season. There’s really not that much to it. It’s black with a little bee dude swinging a bat. The logo isn’t even that big, but for some reason it’s perfect. It catches the eyes immediately and can go with almost any outfit combination. As for the marks…

#12- Howie Kendrick spent a fair amount of time in SLC, and did incredibly well every second he took the field. Specifically, I wanted to note his 2006 season. He only lasted 69 games in SLC, but spent 72 games in the Majors that season. His stats definitely helped push his case for a midseason call-up: .369/13/62 plus 11 stolen bases. Kendrick was easily on the fast track to getting up and staying up with the Angels. Unfortunately, Kendrick played a few more stints in SLC (2007-2009) for a total of 35 more games for rehab purposes. In all cases Kendrick averaged well over .400 combined.

#32- I remember Nick Adenhart’s start against the Oakland Athletics on April 8, 2009 as if it were yesterday. I was actually watching the game during class since it started at 3:13 PM PST. Adenhart was dealing like a veteran. He gave up seven hits and three walks, but struck out five and didn’t allow a single run in six innings. The Angels bullpen gave up six runs over the last two innings and the A‘s won 6-4. In mere hours following the game Adenhart and two of his friends were killed after a drunk driver ran a red light. It was strange. I was still awake when the news was announced and I couldn’t help but feel for his family and teammates.

I had only seen Adenhart pitch one game while he was with the Bees in a game against the Beavers in Portland. I honestly don’t remember how he did, but I certainly remember him taking the mound. Adenhart only played one season with the Bees in 2008, a season in which he also pitched three games for the Angels toward the end of the season. During his time in SLC Adenhart went 9-13 in 145.1 innings and had a 5.76 ERA. Based on the numbers, you’d think he was just a mediocre pitcher; however, if you saw him pitch in 2009, you’d have a different opinion. I couldn’t think of a better person to remember and share on this hat. I truly wish he could have had a long and fulfilling life.

January 23- Los Angeles Angels

The first time I saw this cap was sitting on the couch at the MLB Fan Cave, watching the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim taking on the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on May 26 of this last season (2012). Ricardo Marquez and I both turned to each other, locked eyes and gave out a simultaneous, “Oooooooohhhhhh!!!” Yes, this hat is that awesome.

This hat is not new, but a throwback to the old life of the Angeles in Pacific Coast League, and also served as the inspiration for the Los Angeles Dodgers logo which has been going strong since 1958. The hat was only used for three years from 1955-1957 when the Angels served as the AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1932-56) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1957). After the ’57 season the team moved north to Spokane, Washington to become the Indians. But, one thing that is to be noted is that the current Angeles team has no actual affiliation with the old Angels squad other than the name. Therefore, the old school uniforms they wore last May were technically incorrect. But what do I know, right?

When putting together numbers for this hat I had a hell of a time finding any of significance. You’d be surprised what you aren’t able to find within a three-year window. However, there were two names that I immediately recognized and spent over an hour trying to track down their jersey numbers. In which case, when trying to track down minor league numbers from almost 60 years ago, I wish you all the best of luck. I got so flustered that I had to recruit outside help. Luckily, I asked the right guy.

#26- (First off, yes. I did screw up on making the 6. It looks more like a lower case "b".)
John Beare (@Interstate19Cap) and I have been a pair of chatty Kathys for the last seven months or so, and he is definitely one of the guys who I admire that has a lot more New Era Caps than I do. But, where slight envy comes in, so does knowledge. Having seen a photo of the cap as his avatar on Twitter a few months ago I figured that he, of all people, might know how to find both players’ numbers. Sure enough, he did. Tommy Lasorda played for the Angels in their final season and John happened to have a book by a man named Richard Beverage (awesome name) that had this tidbit inside. Lasorda went 7-10 with a 3.90 ERA, which wasn’t exactly the cat’s meow of his career, but how can you blame a guy who had been moved up and down routinely from the Majors to the Minors throughout his career?

#?- The second spot on my hat is still blank on account of no one knowing what number Monte Irvin wore for the Angels. Irvin only played four games for the Angels in 1957, which is not exactly going to make the hunt any easier. While I could just role with another name and number, that would kind of defeat the purpose of what I’m doing. First off, there aren’t really any other notable names from those three years. Second of all, despite only four games, Irvin is a Hall of Famer. Irvin is best known for his time with the New York Giants, winning a World Series title with the club in 1954 alongside Willie Mays. I would almost guarantee that the vast majority of you reading this post probably didn’t even know who Irvin was until I just pointed it out. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973 by the Negro League Committee after his career had come to a close in 1956.

So, if anyone wants to do me a huge favor, and knows where to find that piece of information, it would be more than appreciated.

UPDATE!!!

#15- Success!!! After a month-and-a-half of investigating, an answer has finally been brought to light. A fellow member of the Twitter-verse named Nick Parson (@NicholasParson) is the person most responsible for this find. Prior to the discovery, very little hope was left in the search after a trail ran cold with Parson's contact at the library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Jim Gates. I received a direct message from Nick a few days ago in which he detailed that a member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) came across Irvin wearing #15 on his jersey in a program from April of 1957 and relayed the information to Jim about an hour after Jim had told Nick that hope was pretty much lost. Absolutely incredible. I cannot thank Nick Parsons, Jim Gates and SABR enough for making this discovery.

It really blows my mind to think that my dumb little hat markings helped bring a 56-year-old oversight to light. I thought I was just being clever. Wow!