Burlington (IA) Bees

• Location: Burlington, IA

• League: Mississippi Valley League 1924-1932; Three-I League 1954-1961; Midwest League 1962-1981, 1993-2020

• Affiliation: Cleveland Indians 1932; Chicago Cubs 1955-1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1962; Kansas City A's 1963-1967; Oakland A's 1968-1974; Milwaukee Brewers 1975-1981; Montreal Expos 1993-1994; San Francisco Giants 1995-1996; Cincinnati Reds 1997-1998; Chicago White Sox 1999-2000; Kansas City Royals 2001-2010; Oakland A's 2011-2012; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2013-2020

• Ballpark: Community Field 1954-present

Team History

The Burlington Bees play in the Midwest League. They play their home games at Community Field in Burlington, IA. The name was first used for the Burlington entry in the Mississippi Valley League in 1924. That team played through 1932. In 1954 the name was revived by the Burlington team in the Three-I League and was kept when the team moved to the Midwest in 1962. From 1982 through 1992 the name was unused as the Burlington entry in the MWL took on the name of the parent MLB club.

Burlington was one of the cities that lost its affiliation in the minor league re-structuring after the 2020 season.

The Burlington Bees from Iowa are not to be confused with the Burlington (NC) Bees.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1924	54-67	6th (t)	Henry Wingfield	none
1925	53-72	8th	Dick Speer / Whitey Mann / Ed Reichle	none
1926	68-53	4th	Ed Reichle	none
1927	71-52	3rd	Ed Reichle	none
1928	59-61	5th	Ed Reichle	none
1929	62-64	5th	George Young (minors02)	none
1930	61-65	6th	George Young (minors02)	none
1931	64-60	4th	Art Mueller	none
1932	69-60	3rd	Art Mueller / Jack Tesar	none
1954	50-86	8th	Jimmie Crandall
1955	62-64	4th	Harold Meek	Lost League Finals
1956	46-75	6th	Ed McDade	none
1957	57-71	4th	Ken Raffensberger	none
1958	62-67	4th	Walt Dixon
1959	54-72	7th	Ray Mueller
1960	66-74	5th	Hardy Peterson	none
1961	65-65	5th	Hardy Peterson	none
1962	44-79	9th	James Adlam
1963	72-52	2nd	Grady Wilson	none
1964	63-59	4th	Robbie Robertson
1965	82-40	1st	Gus Niarhos	none League Champs
1966	77-48	3rd	Al Ronning
1967	56-59	5th	Al Ronning
1968	48-68	10th	Jim C. Hughes
1969	58-66	5th	Roy Sievers
1970	56-68	9th	Roy Sievers
1971	71-50	2nd	Harry Bright
1972	65-63	6th	Harry Bright
1973	54-64	8th	Rene Lachemann
1974	61-59	6th	Rene Lachemann
1975	64-66	6th	Matt Galante
1976	68-61	4th	Matt Galante
1977	71-68	5th	Denis Menke	League Champs
1978	69-69	3rd	Lee Sigman	Lost League Finals
1979	53-83	8th	Duane Espy
1980	70-72	5th	Duane Espy	Lost in 1st round
1981	54-81	7th	Terry Bevington

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting coach	Pitching coach	Coach
1993	64-71	8th	Lorenzo Bundy		Steve Alonzo	Jeff Fischer
1994	55-82	14th	Lorenzo Bundy		Steve Alonzo	Jeff Fischer
1995	54-81	13th	Mike Hart		Mickey Brantley	Keith Comstock
1996	65-73	11th	Glenn Tufts		Juan Lopez	Keith Comstock
1997	72-68	3rd	Phillip Wellman	Lost in 1st round		Derek Botelho
1998	63-77	13th	Phillip Wellman			Derek Botelho
1999	71-68	7th	Nick Capra	League Champs	Daryl Boston	J.R. Perdew
2000	51-88	14th	Jerry Terrell		Orsino Hill	J.R. Perdew
2001	55-79	12th	Joe Szekely		Terry Bradshaw	Jose Bautista
2002	68-71	9th	Joe Szekely		Patrick Anderson	Jose Bautista
2003	64-74	14th	Joe Szekely		Patrick Anderson	Tom Burgmeier
2004	56-84	13th	Jim Gabella		Patrick Anderson	Tom Burgmeier
2005	65-75	11th (t)	Jim Gabella		Patrick Anderson	Tom Burgmeier
2006	64-73	11th	Jim Gabella		Patrick Anderson	Steve Luebber
2007	61-77	11th	Jim Gabella		Ryan Long	Bobby St. Pierre
2008	73-65	4th	Brian Rupp	League Champs	Ryan Long	Doug Henry
2009	64-75	8th	Jim Gabella	Lost League Finals	Omar Ramirez	Jerry Nyman
2010	46-90	16th	Jim Gabella		Omar Ramirez	Jerry Nyman / Carlos Martinez
2011	76-62	4th	Aaron Nieckula	Lost in 1st round	Haas Pratt	Jaime Escalante
2012	67-72	11th	Aaron Nieckula	Lost in 1st round	Haas Pratt	John Wasdin
2013	56-78	14th	Jamie Burke		Nathan Haynes	Trevor Wilson
2014	68-71	9th	Bill Richardson	Lost in 1st round	Paul McAnulty	Ethan Katz
2015	63-76	13th	Chad Tracy		Ryan Barba	Ethan Katz
2016	68-72	10th	Adam Melhuse		Buck Coats	Jairo Cuevas	Matt Spring
2017	60-79	14th	Adam Melhuse		Travis Adair	Jairo Cuevas	Jack Santora
2018	50-84	16th	Jack Howell		Matt Spring	Jonathan Van Eaton	Cole Garner
2019	66-74	11th	Jack Howell		William Bradley	Jonathan Van Eaton	Trevor Nyp
2020	Season cancelled

Notable players

• Gene Alley (1960) 2 x GG; 2 x MLB All-Star
• Sal Bando (1965) 4 x MLB All-Star
• Vida Blue (1968) 6 x MLB All-Star;1971 AL Cy Young Award; 1971 AL Most Valuable Player
• Jim Brewer (1958) MLB All-Star
• Mark Buehrle (1999) 4 x GG; 5 x MLB All-Star
• Shawn Estes (1995) MLB All-Star
• Dan Ford (1971–72) "Disco Dan"
• Phil Garner (1971) 3 x MLB All-Star
• Wayne Gross (1973–1974) MLB All-Star
• George Hendrick (1968, 1970) 4 x MLB All-Star
• Eric Hosmer (2009)
• Doug Jones (1979) 303 career saves; 5 x MLB All-Star
• Matt Keough (1974) MLB All-Star
• Chet Lemon (1973–1974) 3 x MLB All-Star
• Bob McClure (1981) 19 MLB Seasons
• Paul Molitor (1977) 7 x MLB AS; 3,319 Career Hits; Baseball Hall of Fame (2004)
• Mike Moustakas (2008) MLB All-Star
• Dwayne Murphy (1974)
• Mike Norris (1973) 2 x GG; MLB All-Star
• Carlos Pérez (1993) MLB All-Star
• Salvador Perez (2009) 3 x GG; 3 X MLB All-Star
• Randy Ready (1981) 13 MLB Seasons
• Addison Russell (2012) MLB All-Star
• Rubén Sierra (1984) 4 x MLB All-Star; 1989 AL RBI Leader
• Dave Stenhouse (1956) MLB All-Star
• Hal Trosky (1932) 1936 AL RBI Leader (162)
• Ugueth Urbina (1993) 2 x MLB All-Star: 1999 NL Saves Leader
• Johnny Vander Meer (1953 Player/MGR) 2-Consecutive MLB No-Hitters
• Jose Vidro (1993) 3 x MLB All-Star
• Claudell Washington (1973) 3 x MLB All-Star
• Billy Williams (1958) 7 x MLB All-Star; Baseball Hall of Fame

No Hitters

Several Burlington pitchers have thrown no-hitters: Major leaguers in bold

• 6-4-62 Pedro Tio, Quad Cities 13-0 7 innings
• 8-14-62 Charles Ling, Keokuk 6-0
• 5-6-65 Don Pierce, Fox Cities 4-0
• 6-29-65 George Bosworth, Cedar Rapids 3-0
• 6-19-68 Vida Blue, Appleton 4-0 7 Innings
• 7-20-75 Abelino Pena Cedar Rapids 2-0 7 Innings Perfect Game
• 8-5-96 Jason Grote Clinton 8-0
• 5-6-98 Lance Davis/Dan Timm Quad City 5-0
• 8-5-03 Jonah Bayliss Peoria 1-0
• 4-12-04 Dusty Hughes/Jake Mullis Wisconsin 3-0
• 6-30-04 Chris Coughlin Beloit 3-0 Perfect game
• 8-7-2008 Danny Duffy/Juan Abreu Peoria 10-0

Related Sites

Burlington Bees