Insomniac186
06-04-2017, 06:20 PM
For those that don't know the story about the "Bad News Bees", they were one of the most infamous minor league teams in baseball history. In short, the 1986 San Jose Bees (Class-A, California League) were one of the last independent teams in minor league baseball, but did have a partnership with the Seibu Lions of Japan. As the second incarnation of the Bees (the original Bees existed from 1962 to 1976), the team existed from 1983 to 1987. Aside from several young Japanese players, the rest of the players were disgraced former major leaguers, the majority of which were blacklisted from the big leagues for substance abuse.
The 1986 team was immortalized by a sensational multi-page write-up in an issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. In it, the team was portrayed in a less-than-flattering manner, described as lowlifes that spent their meager paychecks on drugs, booze, and prostitutes. The 1986 Bees were also covered by several major newspapers across the country and internationally in newspapers such as the London Times. For more details on the team, you can read my blog in the link below or Google for the recent in-depth article featured in Sports Illustrated.
http://ballcapblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/1986-san-jose-bad-news-bees.html
Last year, it was discovered that the 1986 Bees jerseys (also used in 1987) were still stashed away in the back of a closet at San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the San Jose Giants since 1988. The San Jose Giants plan on auctioning the jerseys on Thursday, June 15th as part of a "Throwback Thursday" promotion. If anyone is interested, this will be your chance to own a piece of odd baseball history. FYI the San Jose Giants typically do silent auctions that wrap up at the end of the 6th inning. The auction includes both home and away jerseys. Due to the team's shoestring budget, the home and away jerseys are identical except for white and gray being the only difference.
The 1986 team was immortalized by a sensational multi-page write-up in an issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. In it, the team was portrayed in a less-than-flattering manner, described as lowlifes that spent their meager paychecks on drugs, booze, and prostitutes. The 1986 Bees were also covered by several major newspapers across the country and internationally in newspapers such as the London Times. For more details on the team, you can read my blog in the link below or Google for the recent in-depth article featured in Sports Illustrated.
http://ballcapblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/1986-san-jose-bad-news-bees.html
Last year, it was discovered that the 1986 Bees jerseys (also used in 1987) were still stashed away in the back of a closet at San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the San Jose Giants since 1988. The San Jose Giants plan on auctioning the jerseys on Thursday, June 15th as part of a "Throwback Thursday" promotion. If anyone is interested, this will be your chance to own a piece of odd baseball history. FYI the San Jose Giants typically do silent auctions that wrap up at the end of the 6th inning. The auction includes both home and away jerseys. Due to the team's shoestring budget, the home and away jerseys are identical except for white and gray being the only difference.