Burlington Royals
Encyclopedia
The Burlington Royals are a minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 team in Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...

, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. They are a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...

 and have been a farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

 of the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 since September 1, 2006. For the previous 21 years, the team had been affiliated with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 as the Burlington Indians. The Royals play home games at Burlington Athletic Stadium
Burlington Athletic Stadium
Burlington Athletic Stadium is a vintage baseball stadium in the central North Carolina Piedmont city of Burlington. It seats 3500 and serves as home field for the minor league Burlington Royals of the rookie Appalachian League...

. Opened in 1960, Burlington Athletic Stadium seats 3,500 fans.

Burlington Indians (Carolina League)

In addition to the Appalachian League version of the Burlington Indians, from 1958-64 a team representing Burlington, N.C., of the same name competed in the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

 (Class B through 1962; thereafter Class A) as a Cleveland farm club. During its seven years of existence, the Carolina League Indians won one league championship. Its players included future major leaguers Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega , born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, , is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels...

 and Duke Sims
Duke Sims
Duane B. Sims was a Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1964 to 1974 with the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers....

. Major League Baseball alumni of note are featured on the wall inside the men's restroom at the Burlington Athletic Stadium in the form of painted jerseys: Manny Ramirez (#22), Jim Thome (#25), Bartolo Colon (#40) and C.C. Sabathia (#52).

Burlington Indians (Central Association)

A third team called the Burlington Indians was based in Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...

, and played in the Class C Central Association
Central Association
The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, and ran continuously through 1917.-1908:The teams from Burlington, Iowa, Jacksonville, Illinois, Keokuk, Iowa, Oskaloosa, Iowa, Ottumwa, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Waterloo, Iowa joined after having...

in the late 1940s.

External links

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