Bees ready to open final season at Smith’s Ballpark

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – The Salt Lake Bees are about to open its 30th season in downtown Salt Lake City, and its final year at Smith’s Ballpark.

The Bees kick off the 2024 season at Sacramento Friday with its home opener set for Tuesday against Tacoma.

Starting pitcher Kenny Rosenberg, who is about to begin his third season with the Bees, was feeling a little nostalgic about the final year of playing in one of the most scenic ballparks in the country.

“Given the amount of time that I’ve spent here, this place will always hold a special place in my heart,” Rosenberg said. “It being downtown, I think certainly has its perks and its drawbacks. But for us and for what the stadium has been and been able to provide for the community, it’s been it’s been nothing short of a great experience.”

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“I love it,” said outfielder Jordyn Adams, who set a Bees record for stolen bases last year. “You come out here, you see mountains like you see right now, whitecaps with snow. So for me being a Southern boy, I’m not used to that. But I love it there. The atmosphere we pack out here almost every.”

Bees manager Keith Johnson, about to begin his ninth season at the helm, will always remember playing here some 20 years ago.

“There was actually one night, I remember it vividly,” Johnson said. “I stepped in the batter’s box and I looked out and over over the mountains over there. The moon was coming out, and it was orange and it was huge. And I and I and I called time out and I told the catcher and the umpire. I was like, ‘look at that moon. Wow.”

But if they get a chance to play in the brand new stadium in Daybreak next year, that will be exciting.

“Of course,” Rosenberg said. “Those are the kind of things that, you know, it’s historic, right? I mean, any time you get an opportunity to be a part of something new and fresh like that, it’s exciting.”

Speaking of new ballparks, the Bees feel Utah is ready to host a Major League team in the near future if and when the league decides to expand.

“I do,” Johnson said. “I firmly believe that. You go back to the football programs, BYU, Utah, you go to, the Jazz, Real Salt Lake. The list goes on and on, and these are major sports. They would definitely show out for a Major League team.”

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“I feel like the fans deserve it,” Adams said. “I feel like Salt Lake is a good spot for it.”

As for this year’s Bees team, there is a good mix of veterans and young players all vying to get to the Big Leagues.

“I think it’s going to it’s going to be a fun group to watch.” Johnson said. “Because we’re going to do a lot of things right. And if we lose a ballgame, it’s going to be because another team beats us, not because we beat ourselves up there.”

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