PRESS RELEASE – The rain came in the morning to Colusa Casino Stadium but it would not damper the team’s spirit to pull off its first press conference. Under rows and rows of protective tents the Yuba City Bears are back in baseball as the newest expansion franchise in the Great West League.
General Manager of the Marysville Gold Sox Michael Mink came up with the idea to help unite the cities in the form of baseball.
“We are excited for the rebirth of Bears. Yuba City has a rich tradition in baseball and the Bears are a major part of it. It is important to our organization to make this area a strong united sports hub and what not a better way than baseball,” said Mink.
The Bears played 19 seasons in Yuba City before folding in 1949.
On Thursday, the team officially unveiled its name, logos and colors. The logo is fun, energetic, enthusiastic young bear ready to hit one out of the ballpark. The “YC “logo is modern touch with bear flair, that will look great on any ball cap. The organizational logo pays its respect to the Sutter Buttes mountain range (smallest range in world); which are a backdrop of Yuba City and the Bear Flag from the Bear Flag Revolt. The team colors will be teal, purple, gray and white.
The list of VIPs that attended the Thursday event included league co-founder and Baseball Hall of Famer Pat Gillick; CSH International President Zoran Rajcic; GWL Commissioner Ken Wilson; Yuba City Mayor Stan Cleveland Jr; Yuba City Council Members John Buckland, Preet Didbal and Shon Harris; Marysville Vice-Mayor Dale Whitmore; Marysville Council Member Bill Simmons; Marysville Chief of Police Aaron Easton; and Marysville Fire Chief Dale Vogelsang. Along with special guests John Nicoletti, Hunter Hampton, George Laver, Brian Madison, John Cassidy, Jimmy Graben were all in attendance on Thursday.
Mink presented each city with a commemorative bat that renewed the “Twin City Rivalry” from the 1940’s.
“I thought it was a great time for everyone and both cities were in great spirit of competition today. We are providing more jobs, hotel stays, economic impact to the area and a great brand of baseball to spend your summer nights, said Mink
The Yuba City Bears 61-game slate includes a 31-game home schedule. An exhibition vs. the Gold Sox and Fan Fest will be held at Colusa Casino Stadium on May 28th at 5:05PM. The event is free for everyone and opportunity to see the Gold Sox and Bears take batting practice and compete in a 3 inning inter-squad exhibition followed by an autograph meet-and-greet session down on the field.
The Bears will play a balanced GWL schedule, facing Chico, Lincoln, Medford, Portland, and Rival-Marysville 12 times each. The schedule was released Thursday at the Press conference.
Games that are played Monday-Saturday will begin at 7:05PM and Sunday Evening games will start at 6:05PM.
“This is going to a wonderful summer to remember with 61 days of baseball and an opportunity to bring two great cities together with one common love. The Game of Baseball,” said Mink.
Special thanks to Flynnagain Productions for the main logo and YC logo design. The organizational logo design was the creation of Lauren Barnes with conception from Mink.
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