KANSAS CITY, MO (December 3, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals have announced that the 2013 Royals FanFest, presented by Sprint and Teva Neuroscience, will take place Saturday, January 19 at the Overland Park Convention Center.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit Royals Charities.

Royals FanFest will feature more autograph opportunities than ever before, with continuous autograph sessions with current and former players and club personalities planned throughout the event.  Additional highlights include select interactive games for kids and roundtable discussions with players and front office executives.  In addition, ARAMARK and Royals Charities will sell the latest merchandise and unique Royals memorabilia at the event.   

The club’s 2012 Major League Award winners – shortstop Alcides Escobar (Joe Burke Special Achievement Award), pitcher Greg Holland (Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year) and designated hitter and 2012 All-Star Billy Butler (Les Milgram Player of the Year) will also be recognized during the event.

Season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets and will receive exclusive access to Royals FanFest from 9-11 a.m.  Season ticket holders will receive this special discount offer today through a personalized email.

Following the season ticket holder exclusive access event, Royals FanFest will open to the general public at 11 a.m. and run until 6 p.m.

Ticket prices for Royals FanFest are as follows:

Adult Advance                                                                   $12

Adult Day of Sale                                                               $14

Youth Advance                                                                    $6

Youth Day of Sale                                                                $8

Season Ticket Holder (Advance Only)                          $6

Season Ticket Holder Youth (Advance Only)            $3

* Please note that youth prices are for children ages 6-17.  Children  five and under will be admitted for free.  Discounted tickets for Royals Season Ticket Holders must be purchased in advance.

Beginning today, fans may secure Royals FanFest tickets by visiting www.royals.com/fanfest.  Tickets may also be purchased by calling (816) 504-4040 or visiting the Kauffman Stadium Box Office during business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).  Online and phone orders are subject to applicable service fees.

Tickets will also be available at the Overland Park Convention Center on the day of the event.  For a complete listing of prices and purchase options as well as updated information on players scheduled to appear and event programming, visit www.royals.com/fanfest.

This will be my first summer in nearly a decade that I’ll live within a short distance of Kauffman Stadium. Now instead of trying to schedule trips to KC for Royals games, I look forward to deciding mid-afternoon to take in a game, jumping in the car, and being there in no time.

When living close to the K, one of my favorite things is to check pitching matchups and say “Hey, so-and-so is pitching tonight. We should go to the game.” And actually do it.

Of course another benefit to being close is the occasional chance that someone will offer you a last-minute free ticket. (Take note all you season ticket holders: this doesn’t happen nearly as often as I would like.)

And another benefit of living close is the chance to attend the many promotional events the team hosts. T-Shirt Tuesdays, food and drink specials, giveaways… I’m so glad I can be close for such opportunities.

Futures Game: One of the highlights of last season was the minor league exhibition that was played in Kauffman before the minor league season began. I know that event was held entirely to capitalize on the enthusiasm surrounding the #1 ranking accorded the Royals’ farm system. With so much of that talent now in KC permanently, little such enthusiasm exists. But I still think a pre-season event makes sense. There is a “Futures Game” scheduled for September 14. But what that event will amount to remains to be seen.

Negro League Salute: Thank goodness the Salute to the Negro Leagues will be back this season. I never knew the true reason the event wasn’t held last year, but I guess the Royals realized it is a worthy event because it is back. Seeing the current ballplayers in the throwback uniforms is reason enough to attend. But the Negro Leagues need to be remembered, and Kansas City of all cities should be in the lead of this effort.

All-Star 5K: It appears the Royals 5K charity run will actually be turned into an All-Star Game event this year. On July 8, the run will have an “All-Star” theme and participants will get a medal and T-shirt.

A check of the Royals website gives additional information about some of the events, but not all. I wish some of the events were better explained.

Happy B-Day Slug: Kids might enjoy Sluggerrs Birthday Bash on April 14. But without further explanation, it doesn’t do much for me.

Honoring #42: The Royals offer a Jackie Robinson T-shirt on April 15 – Jackie Robinson day. Robinson is celebrated league-wide, and for good reason. But what the celebration entails isn’t explained. Will the Royals recognize Robinson’s ties to KC? The Dodger great, of course, started his professional career with the KC Monarchs, and also played for a short time with a barnstorming team called, of all things, the Kansas City Royals!

Clothing Giveaways: Judging by the pictures online, one of the best looking items to be given away is the Retro Batting Practice Jersey, available April 21.

I’m not much of a connoisseur of 1960s headwear, so I can’t recommend the giveaway that is part of the Salute to the Kansas City A’s on June 2. But a fan of the history of Kansas City will find that event interesting. The history of that ball club is pretty intriguing.

Celebs?: Another event that needs further explanation is the Celebrity Classic Game. I’m not aware of what such events KC has hosted in the past, but this one better be promoted well when the time comes, or I’ll save my money.

Faith on the Field: Being a parent myself, I always circle the Faith and Family event on my calendar, but then, for one reason or another, we never attend. For those with an interest in religious values, it might be worth attending. Unfortunately I haven’t been there to say if it’s good or not.

Frenchy and Fun Runs: A couple of the regular events are worthy of mention.

Every Thursday this season will be something called Frenchy Quarter Thursday. $21 will get you a t-shirt and Mardi Gras beads and a seat behind Jeff Francoeur in right field.  Judging by the festive atmosphere in the right field box, this will probably be best suited for adults.

If you’ve never done it, you need to try at least one Sunday Fun Run sponsored by Sprint. It’s not just for kids. It’s a chance to set foot on the field. Take a few moments to look up into the stands and try to take it all in from a player’s perspective. It’s pretty impressive.

The product on the field in Kauffman is finally worth the price of admission. But a good promotional event can make going to the ballpark all the more exciting. I hope to take in many games this year, claim some good giveaway items, and enjoy more than ever that we have a team in Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS INTRODUCE BRUCE CHEN JOKE OF THE DAY PROMOTION
Club Invites Fans to Submit Jokes for CrownVision Feature

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 12, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals, in conjunction with pitcher and funnyman Bruce Chen, have announced details of a new “Joke of the Day” promotion for the 2012 season. Fans are encouraged to submit their favorite funny line for an opportunity to have it delivered by Chen on the CrownVision video board during a 2012 Royals home game. To be considered, fans may submit their joke in 300 characters or less at www.royals.com/jokes by Friday, February 10.

Royals fans can guarantee Opening Day tickets with any Full Season, Half Season or 21-Game Season Ticket plan in addition to the opportunity to purchase 2012 MLB All-Star Game ticket strips. Royals season ticket holders also receive reserved parking, the priority to purchase additional tickets for all 2012 home games, access to special events and more!

Naturals again welcome Royals Caravan for 2012
Annual winter caravan stopping in Springdale on January 16^th

SPRINGDALE, AR - Although the grass is not green and the nights are chilly, the 2012 home opener at Arvest Ballpark is less than 100 days away. With that in mind, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals are excited to welcome the Kansas City Royals 2012 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 16^th at the Holiday Inn in Springdale at 1500 S. 48^th 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.

Attending the caravan this season are two prominent Kansas City Royals’ alums – former outfielder Willie Wilson and former infielder Kevin Seitzer, who currently serves as the Royals’ hitting coach at the Major League level. Current Royals’ pitchers and former Naturals Louis Coleman, Everett Teaford, and Aaron Crow will also be on hand and will participate in an audience-driven question and answer session that will be emceed by Joel Goldberg, the host of the Royals’ pre- and post-game shows on Fox Sports Kansas City, and Toby Cook, the Royals’ Vice President for Community Affairs and Publicity. Royals’ Chairman and Owner David Glass will also be in attendance.

Coleman, a fifth-round selection of the Royals in the 2009 draft out of LSU, was sensational as a rookie right-hander in the Royals’ bullpen this past season, posting a 2.87 ERA in 48 relief outings and fanning 64 batters in 54 2/3 innings pitched. A member of the Naturals’ 2010 Texas League Championship team, the 25-year old spent the first half of the 2010 season with the Naturals, posting a stellar 2-1 record and 2.09 ERA in 21 outings with six saves, earning a spot on the Texas League All-Star team.

The Naturals’ 2010 Pitcher of the Year, Teaford spent part of the 2009 season and all of 2010 in Northwest Arkansas and made his Major League debut this past May. In 26 games with the Royals, including three starts, the southpaw posted a 2-1 record with one save and a 3.27 ERA and just 36 hits allowed in 44 innings of work. In his stellar 2010 season, Teaford established a Naturals’ franchise record with 14 wins against just three losses, making 27 appearances, including 12 starts. His spectacular playoff pitching in both 2009 and 2010 helped the Naturals reach two consecutive Texas League Championship Series. Following the 2010 season the 27-year old was one of six Royals farmhands chosen to represent Team USA in the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament, a group that also included former Naturals and current Royals’ starters Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.

Crow, who emerged as a key cog in Royals’ manager Ned Yost’s bullpen last season in just his second professional season, posted a 4-4 record and 2.76 ERA in 57 appearances with the Royals, striking out 65 batters in 62 innings. The 25-year old was also selected as the Royals’ lone representative for the American League’s All-Star Team. He was the Royals’ first-round pick (12^th overall) in the 2009 draft and began his first professional season in the Naturals’ rotation, where he was the Opening Day starter and posted a 7-7 mark for the eventual Texas League Champions.

Seitzer was an 11^th round selection by the Royals in the 1983 draft and made his MLB debut with Kansas City in 1986 as a first baseman. The following season, he flip-flopped positions with Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett during a rookie season that saw him bat .323 with 15 home runs and 207 hits, earning him the first of two selections to the American League All-Star team. Seitzer went on to a distinguished big league career that saw him bat .295 with 1,557 hits over a career that spanned 12 seasons spent with the Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. Following his playing career, the 49-year old Seitzer served as the Arizona Diamondbacks hitting coach for a portion of the 2007 season, and was named to the same post with the Royals prior to the start of the 2009 season.

Wilson was a switch-hitting speed demon who was drafted by Kansas City in the first round of the 1974 draft. Perfectly suited to cover the large outfield at Kauffman Stadium, Wilson made his debut two seasons after he was drafted and went on to have a 19-year career in the big leagues, rapping out 2,207 hits and swiping 668 bases while batting .285. Much of that career (1976-1990) was spent with the Royals. He was an American League All-Star in 1982 and 1983, was a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a winner of a Gold Glove in 1980, and a member of the Kansas City Royals’ 1985 World Series Championship team. After his playing career the 56-year old Wilson served as a coach in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system in 1995 and 1997 and currently runs the Willie Wilson Baseball Foundation in Kansas City.

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 2011 season begins on Thursday, April 7th. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Cardinals Announce Exhibition Game April 2, 2012 at Hammons Field
Double-A affiliate Springfield Cardinals welcome 2011 World Champions back to Missouri

ST. LOUIS, MO., November 2, 2011 – – The St. Louis Cardinals announced that the team will play an exhibition game against the Springfield Cardinals, their Double-A affiliate, at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 2nd, 2012 at Hammons Field.

“We are honored to be the first to welcome the reigning World Champions back to the state of Missouri in 2012,” Springfield Cardinals Vice President and General Manager, Matt Gifford said.

The Cardinals wanted to play two exhibition games in Springfield as part of their 2012 spring training schedule partly to make up for the weather-related cancellation of a sold out 2011 exhibition game. The Cardinals regular season and Spring Training schedules, which are set by Major League Baseball, prevent two exhibition games from being possible this year. The Cardinals will open the regular season on Wednesday, April 4th with a unique single game series against the Miami Marlins to open their new stadium in Florida.

“We owe it to the great fans of Springfield to come home to Missouri to play this exhibition game despite the travel challenges presented by our schedule” said Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak. “While we are disappointed we can’t play two games, this will be a welcome trip home for many of our players who really enjoyed their playing time in Springfield.”

Fans that retained their tickets to the 2011 Cardinals/Cardinals Exhibition Game and did not receive a refund will receive replacement tickets for the 2012 game in the spring. As was the case earlier this year, tickets to the exhibition game will be extremely limited and priority for any available tickets will be given to Springfield Cardinals Season Ticket Holders. For information on 2012 Season Tickets in Springfield, please call (417) 863-0395, or visit www.springfieldcardinals.com. The Cardinals Spring Training schedule of games in Florida is expected to be announced in December once it has been finalized by Major League Baseball.

Fans Invited to Celebrate Team’s 11^th World Championship Sunday
World Championship Celebration Presented By Budweiser Starts at 4PM with Victory Parade
Tickets to Busch Stadium Ceremony will be available Saturday at cardinals.com/parade

ST. LOUIS (October 28, 2011) – Fans are invited to help celebrate the St. Louis Cardinals 11th World Championship this Sunday, October 30th with a special celebration presented by Budweiser that will begin with a victory parade through downtown St. Louis and conclude with a special on-field ceremony and fireworks display at Busch Stadium.

The parade will begin at 4:00 p.m. with the Budweiser Clydesdales leading the Procession of Champions in Ford trucks east along Market Street from 18th Street at Union Station to 7th Street south toward Stan Musial Drive and into Baseball Heaven, Busch Stadium.

In addition to the 2011 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, the parade will include Fredbird, Team Fredbird and the Cardinals Rally Squirrel, as well as musical entertainment courtesy of the marching bands of Belleville, Lindbergh, Pattonville and Seckman High Schools.
Tickets to the victory celebration at Busch Stadium will go on sale 2:00 P.M. Saturday at cardinals.com/parade. Tickets will cost $5, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Cardinals Care, the team’s charitable foundation that helps kids in our community.

Fans will be limited to two tickets per order. Season Ticket Holders will be able to purchase up to four tickets two hours in advance of the tickets going on sale to the general public. Fans can learn more about the celebration by visiting cardinals.com/parade.

Cardinals Care is dedicated to caring for kids. Since it was founded in 1997, Cardinals Care has distributed over $17 million to area non-profit youth organizations, built 19 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods and currently serves over 4,500 kids in the Redbird Rookies program.

April 5^th, 2011

Springfield, MO – With the season starting in two just days, the Springfield Cardinals would like to remind all Season Ticket Holders that TONIGHT is Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night at Hammons Field beginning at 6pm.

Season Ticket Holders will have the chance to get a “sneak peek” at the 2011 Springfield Cardinals players as they prepare for the upcoming season. Players and coaches will also be available for autographs once the workout is over. Complimentary food and Coca-Cola products will be available on the main concourse throughout the event.

Players expected to be in attendance are 2010 Texas League All-Stars Steven Hill and Aaron Luna, pitchers Nick Additon, Kevin Thomas, Scott Schneider and, former Missouri State Bear, Matt Frevert, Prospects Matt Adams, Ryan Jackson, Niko Vasquez, Tommy Pham and the coaching staff including Manager “Pop” Warner, Hitting Coach Phillip Wellman, New Pitching Coach Bryan Eversgerd and many more!

The Springfield squad will leave Wednesday to begin the season on the road in Frisco, TX against the RoughRiders at 7:05pm Thursday night. The Cardinals will return home on the 14^th and open up their home schedule against Frisco at Hammons Field. Great Southern Magnet Schedule/Picture Frames will be given away on Opening Night, Steve Carlton will be on hand to throw out the first pitch, “Buck a Brat” $1 Johnsonville Bratwurst will make their season debut and the night will be capped off with an AM Pyrotechnics Fireworks display!

For ticket information call the Cardinals ticket office (417) 863-2143 or go to www.springfieldcardinals.com.

Escape to Cardinals Baseball!

Copyright © 2011 Springfield Cardinals, All rights reserved.
Visit us online at www.springfieldcardinals.com