News
2010
Press Releases
Keep up to date with the 2010 Press Release Archive.
Gameday Stories
Check out the 2010 Gameday Story Archive.
2009
Relive the 2009 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
The Durham Bulls climbed to new heights in 2009, becoming the first International League Team to win the Triple-A National Championship. Charlie Montoyo steered the Bulls to the post-season for the third time in as many seasons. The Bulls’ 83 regular-season wins tied the team’s Triple-A record originally set in 1999. The Bulls would dispense of the Louisville Bats in five games during the opening round of the playoffs before avenging their 2008 championship loss to the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees by sweeping them in the finals and punching their ticket for the National Championship game. At the championship game in Oklahoma City, OK, the Bulls and Pacific Coast League Champion Memphis Redbirds played to a 4-4 tie until the bottom of the 11th inning. Redbirds hurler Oneli Perez threw one pitch with the bases loaded and it skipped to the backstop allowing Bulls pince-runner Rashad Eldridge to score with the winning run.
2008
Relive the 2008 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
With Montoyo and his team of Xavier Hernandez and Gary Gaetti at the helm, the Durham Bulls made it back to the Governors’ Cup Finals after winning their second straight South Division Crown and beating the Louisville Bats in four games in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls lost two nail-biters in Scranton Wilkes Barre before heading home to claim Game Three and give the Durham fans hope. However, the Yankees were too strong in Game Four, crushing the Bulls by a 20-2 score and winning their first Governors’ Cup Championship in team history. The Bulls were honored with four selections to the mid-season all-star team (Reid Brignac, Jeremy Cummings, Chris Richard and Dale Thayer) and had a player selected to play for Team USA in the Olympics in Beijing (Cummings). 2008 also marked the Triple-A Debut of highly-touted LHP David Price who spent the final month of the season with the Bulls before heading to Tampa Bay for their playoff run. The Bulls also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Bull Durham by welcoming back Kevin Costner and his band Modern West to perform a concert at the DBAP on July 4th.
2007
Relive the 2007 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
After two years of going home after Labor Day, the Durham Bulls found themselves back atop the division under new manager, Charlie Montoyo. Joining the Bulls for the first time in 2007 after spending the last few seasons with the Montgomery Biscuits, Montoyo and his staff guided the Bulls to an 80-64 record and South Division Title. The Bulls swept Toledo in the first round of the playoffs and had a 2-1 lead over the Richmond Braves in the Governors’ Cup Finals, but a Friday rainout followed and the Bulls would get swept in a Saturday double-header to lose the Cup to the Braves. 2007 had its share of highlights, including the Triple-A debut of top prospect Evan Longoria. Outfielder Justin Ruggiano was named to the Post-season all-star team after compiling the first 20-20 season by a Durham Bulls since Ron Gant in 1986. Off the field, the Bulls set their all-time paid attendance record for the second time in three seasons, drawing 520,952 fans over 72 home dates.
2006
Relive the 2006 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
The 2006 season presented fans with the opportunity to watch several of the game’s future stars along with a season for the ages by one of the veterans. The team finished a distant second to the Charlotte Knights in the South Division of the International League, but second to no one in terms of talent. Several of Baseball America’s Top 100 talents played for the Bulls in 2006, including top prospect Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Shawn Riggans, Joel Guzman, Wes Bankston, Jason Hammel, Juan Salas and Edwin Jackson. Though none of their performances matched up to the season produced by veteran 1B/DH Kevin Witt. Witt swatted a Triple-A team record 36 home runs and 99 runs batted in to earn the International League MVP Award, the All-Star Game MVP, the Joe Baumann Trophy for most home runs in the minor leagues and a post-season all-star nod.
2005
Relive the 2005 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
After seven consecutive seasons of winning records to begin their tenure in the International League, the Bulls finally fell below the .500 mark in 2005, finishing 65-79, 14 games behind the division-winning Norfolk Tides. The Bulls were a powerful group, setting the team record for home runs with a league-leading 198 round-trippers. However, they struggled on the mound and in the field with a league-worst team ERA of 5.03 and a whopping 198 errors, the second highest total in all of minor league baseball. Several of the Tampa Bay Rays' key prospects passed through Durham this year, including slugger Jonny Gomes, shortstop B. J. Upton, and Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, Delmon Young.
Off the field, the Bulls shattered their paid attendance record with 520,371 tickets sold. The team was also honored to welcome ESPN's popular sports show SportsCenter to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on August 1st. SportsCenter was in the midst of a tour across the country making a stop in all 50 states in only 50 days.
2004
Relive the 2004 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
In 2004, the Durham Bulls came up short in their bid to become only the second International League team ever to win three consecutive Governors' Cup crowns, but they did earn their sixth playoff bid in seven years. The Bulls started the playoffs against the league's best hitting team - Buffalo. After taking a 2-0 series lead, the Bulls seemed poised to return to the Governors' Cup Championship for the third straight year and fifth time in their seven International League seasons. However, Buffalo denied the Bulls their shot by sweeping all three games at Dunn Tire Park. The Bisons went on to capture the Governors' Cup Championship, defeating the Richmond Braves 3-games-to-1. 2004 was another memorable season in the exceptional career of Bulls Manager Bill Evers as he recorded his 500th win as Durham's skipper on June 8th with a 10-1 victory at Syracuse.
2003
Relive the 2003 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
In 2003, the Bulls became the first International League team to repeat as champions since the Columbus Clippers did it in 1991 and '92, and became the first Durham pro baseball team to repeat since the Bulls did it in 1940 and '41 in the old Piedmont League. They achieved a paid attendance of over 500,000 for the third consecutive season despite 50 rain-affected games. The Bulls won their fifth Southern Division Championship in six seasons in the IL, edging out Charlotte by one game.
2002
Relive the 2002 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
The 2002 season was very historic for the The Durham Bulls. All season long the Bulls celebrated their 100th Anniversary. The season culminated with the Bulls sweeping Toledo and Buffalo in the International League playoffs to win their first Governors' Cup title. Bill Evers broke the club record for managerial wins in April. He finished the season with 398 wins over five seasons. Luis De Los Santos captured the league ERA title (2.42). Carl Crawford was named the IL's Rookie of the Year and finished the season as the starting left fielder for the Rays. Rocco Baldelli finished the season with the Bulls, and as a result of his play at three different levels, was named the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and SportsTicker. Lance Carter led the club with 12 wins, including winning seven straight starts in July and August before the Rays brought him to the majors. Lee Gardner saved 25 games for the Bulls and made his major league debut in May. In total, 22 Bulls players also appeared in the major leagues during the season.
2001
Relive the 2001 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
It was the youngest Durham team since the Class-A days. Eight players made their big league debuts after spending time in Durham, including second baseman Brent Abernathy, third baseman Jared Sandberg, right handers Jesus Colome and Victor Zambrano, lefty Joe Kennedy and catcher Toby Hall. Hall led the IL with a .335 average and won the league MVP award. Hall was also the first Bull to play in the Futures Game and ended up being the game’s most valuable player at the beginning of All-Star weekend in Seattle. With an ever changing roster, the Bulls missed the playoffs for the first time in Triple-A and finished 74-70.
2000
Relive the 2000 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
The year 2000 saw the first wave of home grown Rays in Durham. The first two years of Triple-A, the team was made up of mostly veterans, but the 2000 edition included youngsters Aubrey Huff, Toby Hall, Travis Harper, Travis Phelps and Victor Zambrano. Huff was the IL rookie of the year with a .316 average, 20 homers and 76 RBI in 108 games before his promotion. Veterans Ryan Jackson and Ozzie Timmons combined leadership with power as Jackson hit .311 while Timmons drove in 104 runs, scored 100 and hit .300. Second baseman Brent Abernathy and catcher Pat Borders were members of the gold medal winning Olympic team in Sydney, Austrailia. Durham lost to Indy in the first round of the IL playoffs.
1999
Relive the 1999 season by reading past:
Gameday Stories
Press Releases
The 1999 Durham Bulls featured the most fearsome offense the International League had seen in the past 50 years. The Bulls led the league with a .295 team average, 923 runs scored and 1460 hits. They averaged over six runs per game and became the first IL team since the 1950’s to average 10 hits a game. IL MVP Steve Cox led the attack on his way to a league leading .341 average, 107 runs scored and 127 RBI. He banged out an amazing 182 hits, including 49 doubles. The impressive offensive numbers did not translate into a championship, however. The Bulls lost in the championship series to the Charlotte Knights in four games. It was also the year of the oldest rookie. 36 year old Jim Morris made his Bulls debut after sitting out 10 years.
