Global InformationDurham Bulls information
| Durham Bulls | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (1998–present) | ||||
| Previous classes |
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| League | International League (1998–2020, 2022–present) | ||||
| Division | East Division | ||||
Previous leagues |
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| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays (1998–present) | ||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| Class titles (4) |
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| League titles (17) |
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| Division titles (23) |
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| First-half titles (7) |
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| Second-half titles (6) |
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| Wild card berths (2) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Durham Bulls (1980–present) | ||||
Previous names |
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| Colors | Blue, burnt orange, black, white | ||||
| Mascots | Wool E. Bull[1] | ||||
| Ballpark | Durham Bulls Athletic Park (1995–present) | ||||
Previous parks |
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Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Capitol Broadcasting Company | ||||
| General manager | Tyler Parsons[2] | ||||
| Manager | Morgan Ensberg | ||||
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995.
Established as the Durham Tobacconists in the North Carolina League in 1902, the team subsequently disbanded and restarted numerous times. After a 10-year hiatus, it was reestablished as the Durham Bulls and played in the North Carolina State League from 1913 to 1917. The Bulls were members of the Piedmont League from 1920 to 1933 and for a second time from 1936 to 1943. Durham competed in the Carolina League from 1945 to 1971. For the latter part of this stretch, they merged with a team from Raleigh, becoming the Raleigh-Durham Mets (1968), Raleigh-Durham Phillies (1969), and Raleigh-Durham Triangles (1970–1971). The Durham Bulls returned as members of the Carolina League in 1980. They were replaced by an International League team in 1998. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's (MLB) reorganization of the minors in 2021, they were placed in the Triple-A East, but this was renamed the International League in 2022.
Durham has won 17 league championships. They won the Piedmont League championship six times (1922, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1940, and 1941). Though not affiliated with any MLB team for the first four, the Bulls were a farm club for the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers, respectively, for the last two. They won the Carolina League championship on three occasions: in 1957 with the Detroit Tigers, 1967 with the New York Mets, and 1969 with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Bulls have won the International League championship eight times (2002, 2003, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022), all as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Durham has gone on to win three Triple-A National Championship Games (2009, 2017, and 2022).
The 1988 film Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon, featured the Bulls and Durham Athletic Park, the team's stadium at the time. Most of the filming was done at the ballpark following the end of the 1987 season.
- ^ "About Wool E. Bull". Durham Bulls. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ "Tyler Parsons New Durham Bulls GM; Zac Clark Promoted in Lansing as Replacement". Ballpark Digest. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.