The Salt Lake Bees are a
Minor League Baseball team of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...
(PCL) and the
Triple-A affiliate of the
Los Angeles Angels. They are located in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
, and play their home games at
Smith's Ballpark
Smith's Ballpark (formerly known as Franklin Quest Field, later Franklin Covey Field, and more recently Spring Mobile Ballpark) is a minor league baseball park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Co ...
. The ballpark opened in 1994 and has a seating capacity of 15,411, the largest in their league. The team was previously known as the Salt Lake Buzz (1994–2000) and Salt Lake Stingers (2001–2005) before adopting their Bees moniker in 2006. They have competed in the PCL since 1994, including the 2021 season when it was known as the Triple-A West.
History
Prior professional baseball in Salt Lake City
After the 1914
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...
season, Salt Lake City businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane purchased the
Sacramento Solons and brought the team to Utah as the
Salt Lake City Bees. Though a charter member of the PCL, the Solons suffered on the field and at the gate, being exiled at times to
Tacoma,
Fresno, and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. On March 31, 1915, their first game was played with 10,000 fans pouring into Majestic Park (later renamed Bonneville Park) to cheer the Bees to a 9–3 win over the
Vernon Tigers.
alt Lake ''Telegram'', April 1, 1915, p. 3
The original Bees never won a PCL pennant, but they did draw attendees well, especially considering the small market size. Other PCL team owners, though, resented the high cost of travel to Salt Lake City. When the Vernon Tigers abandoned
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
after the 1925 season, it was suggested to Lane that he would do well to transfer his team to southern California. So after eleven seasons, the Bees moved to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. At first known as the Hollywood Bees, the team soon became the
Hollywood Stars. After ten seasons in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
, the team transferred again, to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, where it played as the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
from 1936 to 1968. Salt Lake City was without a baseball team until 1946 when it received a franchise in the
Pioneer League.
Salt Lake Bees (1994–present)
The current franchise dates from 1994, when
Joe Buzas, a former major league player and the owner of the PCL
Portland Beavers, moved the team to Salt Lake City. Buzas made a deal wherein the city would build a new ballpark on the site of historic
Derks Field
Derks Field was a minor league baseball park in the western United States, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the home field of the Salt Lake Bees, Angels, and Gulls of the Pacific Coast League, Bees, Giants, and Trappers of the Pioneer Bas ...
in exchange for relocating the team. The new ballpark,
Franklin Quest Field
Smith's Ballpark (formerly known as Franklin Quest Field, later Franklin Covey Field, and more recently Spring Mobile Ballpark) is a minor league baseball park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Co ...
, opened in 1994 with the renamed Salt Lake Buzz drawing 713,224 fans to home games during their inaugural season—breaking the PCL single-season attendance record that had stood for 48 years. Buzas owned the team until his death in 2003. The team was purchased by
Larry H. Miller
Larry H. Miller (April 26, 1944 – February 20, 2009) was an American businessman. He owned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Utah Jazz and the Salt Lake Bees, a minor league baseball team. Miller and his companies (LHM Group) also ow ...
, who also owned the
NBA's
Utah Jazz. Miller died in February 2009, and the team was owned by his widow, Gail Miller until it was sold to Ryan Smith in 2021.
Known as the Salt Lake Buzz from 1994 to 2000, the team changed its name to the Salt Lake Stingers in 2001. The change was forced by a trademark dilution lawsuit filed by
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, whose
yellowjacket mascot is named
Buzz
Buzz may refer to:
People
*Buzz (nickname), a list of people
* J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (born 1967; aka ''Dr. Buzz''), American forensic psychologist and journalist
Fictional characters
*Buzz, a character in the 1987 American comedy movie '' Rev ...
.
Following the 2005 season, the team announced the Stingers would henceforth be known as the Salt Lake Bees, the name of the original PCL franchise which played in Salt Lake City from 1915 to 1926 and from 1958 to 1965.
[ The team also chose a logo, jersey, and color scheme similar to the latter Bees PCL franchise. Bees have long been a symbol of Utah. The original name of the Mormon settlement, Deseret, is said to be the word for "honeybee" in the Book of Mormon; a beehive appears on the ]Utah state flag
The flag of the state of Utah was adopted in February 2011 and consists of the seal of Utah encircled in a golden circle on a background of dark navy blue. It replaced a previous, albeit rather similar flag that had been in use since 1913. It is o ...
; the state motto is " Industry" (for which bees are known); and Utah is widely known as the " Beehive State."
In 2019, the Bees announced a new logo, name, and branding for the team, taking on the name "Abejas de Salt Lake" for their ongoing participation in The Copa de la Diversión.
In conjunction with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Bees were organized into the Triple-A West
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League ...
. Salt Lake ended the season in fifth place in the Western Division with a 49–70 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.[ Salt Lake finished the tournament tied for seventh place with a 6–4 record.] In 2022, the Triple-A West became known as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
Season-by-season records
Roster
Notable past players
* Bernardo Brito
Bernardo Brito known as EL Pupo (born December 4, 1963), is a retired professional baseball player who played outfield and designated hitter in the Major Leagues from –. While having a successful minor league career, hitting 299 home runs and p ...
* Chone Figgins
* LaTroy Hawkins
LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Ro ...
* John Lackey
John Derran Lackey (born October 23, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2002 through 2017 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Ch ...
* David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former designated hitter (DH) and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played in the American League (AL) from 1997 to 2016, primarily wit ...
* Todd Walker
Todd Arthur Walker (born May 25, 1973) is a former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 2007. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Walker played college baseball at Lo ...
* Kendrys Morales
Kendrys Morales Rodríguez (born June 20, 1983) is a Cuban-Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, Minn ...
* Jered Weaver
Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th ove ...
* Nick Adenhart
* Joe Saunders
* Howie Kendrick
Howard Joseph Kendrick III (born July 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current special assistant to the General Manager for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Kendrick in th ...
* Mike Trout
Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is a ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MV ...
Venue
The Bees play at Smith's Ballpark. It was formerly known as Franklin Covey Field. It was renamed in 2014.
Mascot
The team mascot is a large bee named Bumble.
References
External links
*
Sanborn map showing Salt Lake ballpark, 1911
Includes picture of early ballpark
Sanborn map showing Salt Palace, 1911, which became the site of the PCL ballpark
Sanborn map showing part of Derks Field, 1950
{{Utahsports
Baseball teams established in 1994
Pacific Coast League teams
Sports in Salt Lake City
Bees
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfam ...
Professional baseball teams in Utah
1994 establishments in Utah
Triple-A West teams