Naturals Again Welcome Royals Caravan For 2010
January 5, 2010 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
Although snow currently blankets the region and frigid temperatures continue to rule, there are less than 95 days until the 2010 Opening Day at Arvest Ballpark. With that in mind, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals are excited to welcome the Kansas City Royals 2010 Winter Caravan as it makes its yearly stop in what has become an annual tradition of kicking off a new year of baseball in our area.
The signature event for this year's caravan will be a lunch held in cooperation with the Springdale Rotary Club on Monday, January 18th at the Holiday Inn in Springdale at 1500 S. 48th Street. The lunch program will begin at 11:30. Several Royals of past and present will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take questions and answers from Naturals fans.
Admission is $15 per person which includes a buffet lunch, and fans are encouraged to call (479) 927-4900 to purchase tickets. Naturals' season ticket holders and mini-pack holders may purchase their tickets for a discounted rate of $10 over the phone or at the Arvest Ballpark front office. Rotary club members of Northwest Arkansas may reserve their seats by contacting Courtney Palfreeman at (479) 530-8060. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the Miracle League of Northwest Arkansas.
Attending the caravan this season are Kansas City Royals first baseman Billy Butler, outfielder Mitch Maier, and catcher and former Natural Vance Wilson. Royals Hall of Famers Frank White John Mayberry are also slated to be in attendance along with Royals broadcaster Steve Stewart. Toby Cook, the Royals' Vice President of Community Affairs and Publicity along with Lora Grosshans, the Senior Director of Publicity, also will be on hand representing the Royals' front office.
Butler is coming off his best offensive season as a major leaguer, having batted.301 with 21 homers and 93 RBI in 159 games for the 2009 Royals. Drafted by Kansas City 14th overall in the 2004 draft out of high school in Jacksonville, Fla., Butler turned down a scholarship to the University of Florida to turn pro. He rocketed through Kansas City's farm system, stopping in the Texas League in 2006 with the Wichita Wranglers, where he led the league with a.331 batting average and amassed 96 RBI for a team that reached the Texas League Championship Series. Butler played mostly in the outfield in the minors but has settled in defensively at first base in the majors. The 23-year old Butler is married and has one child, a daughter, who was born in the 2008 offseason.
Maier saw the most extended action of his young career in 2009, appearing in 127 games for the 2009 Royals, mostly in center field. The 27-year old Michigan native batted.243 with three homers, 31 RBI, and nine stolen bases this past season while earning solid marks for his outfield defense. Drafted as the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2003 draft out of the University of Toledo, Maier began his professional career as a catcher and was moved all over the diamond during his time in the Royals' farm system, first to third base and then the outfield before making his big league debut in September 2006. Maier was teammates with Billy Butler in 2006 on the spectacular Wichita Wranglers team that made it to the Texas League Championship series. Maier contributed 14 homers in 138 games for the Wranglers and batted.306.
Wilson, the 36-year old veteran of seven major league seasons, hit.270 with ten homers and 32 RBI over 59 games with the Naturals in 2009. Wilson, who missed most of 2007 and 2008 recovering from elbow reconstruction ("Tommy John") surgery, was amongst those that recently received invitations to the Royals' big league camp. Wilson will report to Surprise, AZ in February and will set his sights on winning a roster spot in Kansas City. Originally a 44th round selection of the New York Mets in the 1993 draft, Wilson has appeared in the Majors as a backup catcher with the Mets (2000-04) and Detroit Tigers (2005-06).
Mayberry played in the major leagues for the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees from 1968 to 1982. Mayberry was an All-Star twice in his career (1973-1974). In 15 seasons, he compiled a.253 batting average with 255 home runs and 879 RBI. He had 1,379 career hits in 5,447 at bats. He shares the record for most home runs in a season without hitting a double, with 7 in 1971. Upon his retirement, he held both the Royals and Blue Jays franchise records for home runs in a single season, and had the 12th-best fielding percentage among first basemen for his career. After his retirement, Mayberry spent five years as a coach for the Blue Jays' farm system, two years as a coach for the Royals, and worked for the Royals' Community Affairs Department. He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1996. His son John Jr. is an outfielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
White was signed by the Kansas City Royals as an amateur free agent in 1970. White made his Major League debut on June 12th, 1973 and spent his entire 18 year career as a Royal, playing his final game on September 30th, 1990. During his career he was the 1980 American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player, a five-time American League All-Star (1978-79, 1981-82, 1986), starting second baseman of the 1979 All-Star Game, eight-time American League Gold Glove winner as a second baseman, and the 1986 Sliver Slugger Award winner. He finished his career with a.255 BA, 2006 hits, 160 HR, and 886 RBI. White was inducted into the Royals' Hall of Fame in 1995 and saw his number 20 jersey retired on May 2nd of that same season. Currently, White continues to work for the Kansas City Royals both in a front office capacity and as a game analyst for FSN Kansas City during some of their television broadcasts.
Stewart is the on-site pre and postgame host for every game on the Royals' Radio Network. He frequently handles play-by-play duties on spring training and regular season games, as well as webcasts from spring training. 2009 was his tenth year in the Major Leagues and his 18th season broadcasting baseball. Before coming to Kansas City, Stewart spent the previous four seasons as a Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, logging three seasons on radio and one on television. From 2000-2003, he filled in on Baltimore Orioles broadcasts on WBAL, where he was a sports anchor on both WBAL radio and TV. In 2002, he called several St. Louis Cardinals games on KMOX. He's broadcast basketball games for the Universities of Richmond, South Carolina, Maryland, Cincinnati (football and basketball) and Xavier. Stewart is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The 2010 season begins on Thursday, April 8th. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.
Texas League Stories from January 5, 2010
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- Naturals Again Welcome Royals Caravan For 2010 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
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