Bowie Baysox Tickets

The Bowie Baysox are a minor league baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the class-AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. The team's home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium.

The Baysox are currently managed by Don Werner.

For many years, the Orioles' AA affiliate was Bowie Baysox Tickets located in Hagerstown, Maryland and called the Suns. When Major League Baseball added two teams in Bowie Baysox Tickets 1993, bids were offered for two new triple-A franchises, and the Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership (which owned the Suns and also the single-A Frederick Keys) got into the running to put one of the new franchises in central Maryland. Although their bid fell short, the idea of having a team in Bowie was so well-received, that the MBLP decided to move the double-A team across the state from Hagerstown. The Suns, meanwhile, were dropped to single-A status.

A contest was held among the community to choose a new name for the team, and over 3500 suggestions poured in. "Baysox" was chosen over the other finalists, Bowie Baysox Tickets which were "BayBirds" Bowie Baysox Tickets and "Nationals" (the latter was also chosen for the nearby Washington major-league team when it moved to the area in 2005). The "Bay" references are to the Chesapeake Bay, which lies less than 20 miles to the east of Bowie.

A complex land deal hindered completion of the stadium, and in their inaugural season in 1993, the Baysox were forced to find an alternate site to play their home games. Eventually a deal was reached that gave them Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, which had been vacated a year earlier when the Orioles moved into Camden Yards. A harsh winter prevented the new stadium from being completed in time for the beginning of the 1994 season, and the Baysox played 31 games that year at four other ballparks, including the University of Maryland and the Naval Academy. Finally the Baysox moved into their permanent home on June 16.

After two losing seasons, the BaySox made it back to the playoffs in 1997, and were also named the top double-A franchise in America, in part because of their tremendous attendance figures despite their proximity to the Baltimore major-league market. The Bob Freitas Award is given annually by Baseball America to the top franchise in each classification. Also in 1997 (June 28), the team introduced "Louie", its green furry mascot with pink hair and long snout, but unknown species. He continues to serve as mayor of "Louieville, Maryland", a play on the real city of Louisville, Kentucky, and also a rhyme to the team's home of Bowie.

The Baysox hosted the double-A All-Star Game on July 12, 2000, bringing players from not only the Eastern League, but also the Southern and Texas leagues to Bowie. During that season, the Baysox also got a new owner, as the Maryland Baseball Partnership sold the team (along with the Frederick Keys and Delmarva Shorebirds) to the Comcast cable network.

The Baysox were again sold in October 2006 by Comcast Spectacor to Maryland Baseball Holding, LLC. A group headed by Ken Young, who is president of Ovations Food Service and Bowie Baysox Tickets also the owner of the Norfolk Tides Bowie Baysox Tickets , the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.

The Baysox have had a long playoff drought, and went six straight seasons (1998 to 2003) without posting a winning record. In 2005 the team was in contention for the last playoff spot at the end of Bowie Baysox Tickets the season, but lost four straight games to Altoona on the final weekend to just miss the postseason once again.