2011 Naturals Caravan

[kickinfamily]

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110106&content_id=16401926&vkey=news_t1350&fext=.jsp&sid=t1350

Although the grass is not green and the nights are chilly, Opening Night of the 2011 season at Arvest Ballpark is less than 95 days away. With that in mind, the Texas League Champion Northwest Arkansas Naturals are excited to welcome the Kansas City Royals 2011 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 24th at the Holiday Inn in Springdale at 1500 S. 48th 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 [phone] 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 [phone].

Attending the caravan this season are Kansas City Royals first baseman Billy Butler, former Natural and current Royals' first baseman/designated hitter Kila Ka'aihue, former Natural and Springdale resident Vance Wilson, who will manage the Royals' Class-A Kane County affiliate this season, and Brett Eibner, the former Diamond Hog who will start his professional career in the Royals' organization this upcoming season. This year's caravan will also include former Royals' closer Jeff Montgomery, a three-time Major League All-Star and member of the Royals' Hall of Fame.

Butler turned in another solid campaign for the 2010 Royals, as he batted .318 with 15 homers and 78 RBI in 158 games. Drafted by Kansas City 14th overall in the 2004 draft out of high school in Jacksonville, Fla., Butler turned down a scholarship to the University of Florida to turn pro. He rocketed through Kansas City's farm system, stopping in the Texas League in 2006 with the Wichita Wranglers, where he led the league with a .331 batting average and amassed 96 RBI for a team that reached the Texas League Championship Series. Butler played mostly in the outfield in the minors but has settled in defensively at first base in the majors. The 24-year old Butler is married and has one child, a daughter, who was born in the 2008 offseason.

Ka'aihue, the star slugger from the Naturals' first season in Springdale in 2008, is coming off a solid 2010 campaign that saw him dominate with Triple-A Omaha and spend the final two months of the season in Kansas City. He batted .319 with 24 homers and 78 RBI's in just 94 games for Omaha, and then hit eight homers and drove in 25 runs with the Royals. The Hawaii native, who won Texas League Player of the Year in 2008 with the Naturals, will enter Spring Training this year poised to compete for an everyday spot in the Royals' lineup at first base and designated hitter.

Wilson, the 37-year old Springdale resident who spent seven seasons in the major leagues, hit .270 with ten homers and 32 RBI over 59 games with the Naturals in 2009. Wilson retired in 2010 and this year will embark on a new career path as the manager for the Royals' Class-A Kane County affiliate. Originally a 44th round selection of the New York Mets in the 1993 draft, Wilson appeared in the Majors as a backup catcher with the Mets (2000-04) and Detroit Tigers (2005-06).

Eibner, the former Razorbacks' standout both on the mound and at the plate, was the Royals' second-round draft pick in the 2010 June draft. Though he did not see the field last season, Eibner drew rave reviews from scouts during Instructional Ball in Surprise, AZ after the season and is expected to make his Royals' minor league debut as an outfielder in April at either Kane County or Advanced Class-A Wilmington. A Wilmington assignment would put him one step away from Arvest Ballpark.

The 48-year old Montgomery pitched in 700 games during a 13-season career in the Major Leagues, with all but 14 of those appearances coming in a Kansas City uniform. He appeared on three All-Star squads and is the Royals' franchise leader in saves (304). His best season came in 1993 when he led the American League with 45 saves, winning the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award. He had a 46-52 record and a 3.27 ERA over his career, and his 304 saves currently rank him 19th all time in baseball.

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.

[jeep]

Sad to say that I did not make it this year, first time I've missed since they first started coming to Springdale. If anyone went, please let us know if anything interesting was mentioned.