Baseball in Burlington, Iowa

Overview

The record of the Midwest League franchise in Burlington, Iowa.

Although Burlington's occasionally hosted excellent nines, they've more often been afflicted with rather poor teams. Six times they've had the league's worst won/lost record, and often they've had win-a-game, lose-a-game squads.

Their bandbox ballpark's had some notable effects: Good pitchers look bad when they play for Burlington, and Burlington hitters have won far more than their share of the MWL home run titles. Burlington players hold quite a few League fielding records, too, both good and bad.

Summary

• Midwest League seasons: 45
• Won/Lost overall: 2801/3179, .468
• Best season: 82/40, .672 (1965)
• Championship Playoffs Won: 2 (plus 1 non-playoff championship)
• Best MWL Won/Lost Record: 1 season

Burlington joined the MWL in 1962 as an expansion team; they were a refugee from the collapsed Three-I League. Burlington is still represented in the Midwest League.

Seasonal Results
Other Leagues

Team Names

• Burlington Bees, 1962-81
• Burlington Rangers, 1982-85
• Burlington Expos, 1986-87
• Burlington Braves, 1988-90
• Burlington Astros, 1991-92
• Burlington Bees, 1993-present

Affiliations

• Pittsburgh Pirates, 1962
• Kansas City Athletics, 1963-67
• Oakland Athletics, 1968-74
• Milwaukee Brewers, 1975-81
• Texas Rangers, 1982-85
• Montreal Expos, 1986-87
  • The 1986 team included 10 players assigned by the Kansas City Royals.
• Atlanta Braves, 1988-90
• Houston Astros, 1991-92
• Montreal Expos, 1993-94
• San Francisco Giants, 1995-96
• Cincinnati Reds, 1997-98
• Chicago White Sox, 1999-2000
• Kansas City Royals, 2001-present

Officers, Managers, & Coaches

Ballpark

• Community Field (opened 1947)

Attendance record

• 83,927 (1994)

Ballparks & Attendance

Best Seasons

• Hitter: Jesse Ibarra (1995) .330, 34 HR, 96 RBI
• Pitcher: Vida Blue (1968) 231 strikeouts, 2.49 ERA

Best Big League Career

• Paul Molitor (1977)

Awards

• 1965 Gus Niarhos (Manager of the Year)
• 1966 Al Ronning (Manager of the Year)
• 1977 Paul Molitor (Most Valuable Player)
• 1977 Denis Menke (Manager of the Year)
• 1978 Bill Foley (Most Valuable Player)
• 1989 Tom Redington (Most Valuable Player)
• 1995 Jesse Ibarra (Most Valuable Player)

Burlington Highlights

Team Records

Hitters

• Batting: Javier Ortiz (1983) .352
• Home Runs: Bill Foley (1978), Matt Raleigh (1994), & Jesse Ibarra (1995) 34
• Runs Batted In: Dan Murphy (2003) 98

Seasonal Hitting Leaders

Pitchers

• Wins: David Grier (1980) 16
• Won/Lost (10 decisions): Raul Medrano (1965) 12/1, .923
• Earned Run Average: Barry Bass (1983) 1.68
• Strikeouts: Vida Blue (1968) 231

Seasonal Pitching Leaders

Notes

Usually it's really obvious who had the best hitting or pitching seasons when I do these; this time it wasn't. Ibarra's season's clearly stronger that Molitor's and Redington's, but I don't know much about Foley's MWL summer. I could make a case for Darron Ingram, but it would be a silly exercise. What about Randall Schwartz? Steve Split? I don't know.

The best pitching season's a pretty obscure question. Blue had an excellent season with a truly terrible team, so his won/lost record was 8-11. I'd be real surprised, though, if 37 seasons didn't have a pitcher with a similar season and a better won/lost record. But I'm still collecting data, so it may be some time before I know.

In both cases, other nominations are certainly welcome.

This summary originated as the March 13, 1999, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.

Sources

These pages draw heavily on several sources:

• Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, eds, The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Durham: Baseball America, 1997)
• Midwest League Media Guide and Record Book (Beloit: Midwest League, various years; title varies)
• Kevin Saldana, Today in Minor League Baseball History (???: SalFam Books, 1999)
• Baseball America's Almanac (Durham: Baseball America, various years)
• News sources.