Traverse City Beach Bums

Traverse City Beach Bums
175x100px Team logo Cap insignia
League	Frontier League (East)
Location	Blair Township, Michigan
Ballpark	Wuerfel Park
Year founded	1995
Nickname(s)	The Bums
League championships	3 (2001, 2002, 2015)
Division championships	3 (1996, 2012, 2015)
Former name(s)	Traverse City Beach Bums (2006–present) Richmond Roosters (1995–2005)
Colors	Navy Blue, Gold, White
Ownership	John & Leslye Wuerfel
Manager	Dan Rohn
General Manager	Leslye Wuerfel
Media	Traverse City Record-Eagle
Website	traversecitybeachbums.com

The Traverse City Beach Bums are a professional baseball team based in the Traverse City, Michigan, suburb of Blair Township, in the United States. The Beach Bums are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2006 season to the present, the Beach Bums have played their home games at Wuerfel Park.

The "Beach Bums" name refers to the residents and visitors who come to Michigan's most popular resort town, to spend time on the beach. Traverse City lies on the Grand Traverse Bay, a branch of Lake Michigan. The team's colors of navy blue and gold represent the region's bays and bright summer sunshine.

Wuerfel Park averages well over 200,000 fans per season for Beach Bums home games, ranking near the top of attendance lists in independent baseball. In their first three seasons, the Beach Bums have drawn over 600,000 fans with a mix of loyal, local fans, tourists, and regional baseball fans.

John and Leslye Wuerfel are the managing members of the Beach Bums. Their son, Jason, is the Beach Bums' Vice President and Director of Baseball Operations. Jason Wuerfel lettered four times with the University of Michigan varsity baseball team, and also won the 2003 Wolverine Award for Spirit and Leadership. He played professionally with the Elmira Pioneers, the Mid-Missouri Mavericks, and the Ohio Valley Redcoats. Jason also owns and operates the Beach Bums Baseball Academy, an organization that instructs young baseball players in the Traverse City area.

In November 2008, the Beach Bums named two new coaches with Gregg Langbehn being hired as the manager and Roger Mason accepting the position of pitching coach. Langbehn had previously spent 10 seasons as a coach and manager in the Houston Astros minor league system, while Mason, a Northern Michigan native, spent nine seasons as a pitcher in major league baseball, including a World Series appearance with the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies.

History

The Beach Bums are Traverse City's first professional baseball team since 1915. Predecessors include the semi-professional Traverse City Hustlers of the 1890s, and the professional Traverse City Resorters, from 1910 to 1915.

Following the 2004 season, the Frontier League granted a franchise for Traverse City, Michigan. However, the league was not sure whether to consider the team for expansion or relocation. In 2005, the Richmond Roosters were purchased by the Wuerfels and moved to Traverse City.

The Beach Bums played their first home game at Wuerfel Park on May 24, 2006, against the Kalamazoo Kings, with a sell-out crowd of 5,825.

Season-by-season records

Richmond Roosters (Frontier League)
Year	W-L	PCT	Place	Postseason
1995	38-32	.543	4th in FL
1996	39-35	.527	1st in FL West	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Springfield Capitals 2-1
1997	43-37	.538	2nd in FL West	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Evansville Otters 2-1
1998	49-31	.612	2nd in FL West
1999	40-43	.482	4th in FL East
2000	40-43	.482	4th in FL East
2001	49-35	.583	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Dubois County Dragons 2-1. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Chillicothe Paints 3-0.
2002	53-31	.631	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Dubois County Dragons 2-1. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Washington Wild Things 3-1
2003	50-39	.562	4th in FL East
2004	43-53	.448	5th in FL East
2005	39-56	.415	6th in FL East
Totals	483-435	.526
Playoffs	12-7	.632		1 Division Title, 4 Playoff Appearances, 2 Championships

Traverse City Beach Bums (Frontier League)
Year	W-L	PCT	Place	Postseason
2006	57-39	.594	3rd in FL East
2007	46-50	.479	4th in FL Central
2008	50-46	.521	2nd in FL East
2009	42-53	.442	5th in FL East
2010	55-41	.573	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Windy City Thunderbolts 3-1. Frontier League Championship Series: Lost vs. River City Rascals 1-3
2011	51-45	.531	3rd in FL East
2012	64-32	.667	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Southern Illinois Miners 0-3
Totals	301-274	.523
Playoffs	3-7	.300		2 Playoff Appearances

Current roster

Traverse City Beach Bums roster
Active (24-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 30 Andrew Brockett 22 Kramer Champlin 12 Bret Dahlson 33 Luis DeJesus 11 Casey Delgado 29 Chuck Ghysels 14 Ian MacDougall 24 Anthony Montefusco 37 Alex Phillips 20 Chris Rice 27 Michael Shreves		Catchers  9 Jake Rhodes  4 Shane Rowland Infielders 19 Yazy Arbelo  3 Sam Bumpers  0 Graham Ramos 10 Alex Tomasovich 13 Jose Vargas Outfielders 21 Jay Austin  8 Jeff DeBlieux  7 Greg Harisis  6 Brandon Jacobs 25 Adam Kirsch 26 Reggie Lawson		Manager 17 Dan Rohn Coaches 35 Greg Cadaret (Pitching) 23 Dominick Gaudioso (Hitting) -- Jason Wuerfel (Assistant) 10px Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster updated May 15, 2015 Transactions

Quick facts

Founded: 2006

Stadium: Wuerfel Park

Uniform Colors: Navy blue hats and white jerseys are worn for home games, while navy blue hats and grey jerseys are worn for road games. The alternate jersey is navy blue with the "TC" centered on the left-side chest, in gold.

Logo Design: A gold ring outline in navy blue with "Traverse City" arched inside. The "Beach Bums" wordmark overlaps the bottom of the ring in navy blue and gold, with a baseball splashing in stylized, navy blue waves underlining it. A baseball-playing bear is centered in the design wearing a Beach Bums jersey and cap.

Mascot: Two American black bears named "Suntan and Sunburn", wearing Beach Bums caps and matching jerseys.

Current ownership: John & Leslye Wuerfel

Playoff appearances: (1)

Official websites

• Traverse City Beach Bums
• Frontier League

Official websites

• Beach Bums page at OurSports Central