Baseball didn’t change much in Bluefield up to now, but 2011 sees some huge changes at Bowen Field: the Bluefield Blue Jays (rookie; Appalachian League) are now in town after 53 seasons of the Bluefield Orioles occupying the ballpark.
The Orioles maintained an Appy League team in Bluefield from 1957 to 2010 before pulling out after last season. They were replaced by the Toronto Blue Jays as a parent team, who came in and made some big changes.
First, Chris Maxwell is the new GM; the former Casper Ghosts (rookie; Pioneer League) GM certainly has brought a lot of energy to the proceedings, basically starting from scratch and working hard on community involvement. He’s also laid down a lot of blue paint in the ballpark and installed promotions centered around the Blue Jays affiliation.
The Jays open the season with a three-game series in Elizabethton before opening at home Friday night.
Image courtesy of the Bluefield Blue Jays.
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