Louisville Bats

The Louisville Bats are a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They play in the International League as the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The Bats play their home games at Louisville Slugger Field which opened in 2000. The team previously played at Cardinal Stadium from 1982 to 1999.

Louisville Bats
Founded in 1982
Louisville, Kentucky
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassTriple-A (1982–present)
LeagueInternational League (1998–present)
DivisionWest Division
Previous leagues
American Association (1982–1997)
Major league affiliations
TeamCincinnati Reds (2000–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (4)
  • 1984
  • 1985
  • 1995
  • 2001
Division titles (8)
  • 1983
  • 1985
  • 1998
  • 2001
  • 2003
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
Team data
NicknameLouisville Bats (2002–present)
Previous names
  • Louisville RiverBats (1998–2001)
  • Louisville Redbirds (1982–1997)
ColorsRed, navy, white[1][2]
              
MascotBuddy Bat (1998-present)
Air Buddy (1998-2001)
Billy Bird (1982-1997)
BallparkLouisville Slugger Field (2000–present)
Previous parks
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
MC Sports Acquisition LLC[3]
ManagerPat Kelly
PresidentVic Gregovits[4]

The Bats began play as the Louisville Redbirds as members of the Triple-A American Association in 1982. They became the Louisville RiverBats when they joined the International League in 1998. Louisville won the American Association championship in 1984, 1985, and 1995 as the top affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Their lone International League championship was won in 2001 with Cincinnati.

History
The team stands for the National Anthem

In 1982, the St. Louis Cardinals moved their Triple-A team of the American Association, the Redbirds, from Springfield, Illinois, to Louisville, Kentucky. From the time the Redbirds arrived until the 1999 season, they played their home games at Cardinal Stadium (formally called Fairgrounds Stadium), located at the Kentucky Exposition Center, which seated over 30,000 people, (with the largest quoted as 34,330). During their inaugural 1982 season, the Redbirds broke the minor league attendance record by drawing 868,418 fans. In 1983, the Redbirds were the first minor league team to draw over one million fans in a single season (1,052,438). The Redbirds' success during the 1980s led to some speculation that Louisville could be a potential market for Major League Baseball expansion;[5] however this did not come to pass.

In 1998, the American Association disbanded and its teams moved to either the International League or the Pacific Coast League. Louisville joined the International league and rebranded as the Louisville RiverBats. They became the top farm club of the Milwaukee Brewers for 1998 and 1999 after St. Louis has switched their Triple-A affiliation to the Memphis Redbirds.[6][7]

The RiverBats became the Triple-A team for the Cincinnati Reds in 2000.[6][7] They also left Cardinal Stadium for Louisville Slugger Field, a new stadium in downtown Louisville, seating 13,131 with a more intimate baseball setting than their previous ballpark. Spectators enter the stadium through the restored "train shed" building, which was formerly the Brinly-Hardy Co. warehouse.[8] The team's attendance was about 685,000 in the first season of Louisville Slugger Field and 663,961 the following year.[9]

In 2002, the team dropped the word "River" from its name and became simply known as the Louisville Bats. While the logo and mascot consist of the winged mammal, the bat is also synonymous with the Louisville Slugger baseball bat.[8]

Traditionally one of the top-drawing minor league teams, the Bats' attendance in 2011 was second of all minor league teams with an average of 8,716 per game.[10]

In 2016, Forbes listed the Bats as the 11th-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $36 million.[11]

On June 30, 2020, it was announced by Minor League Baseball that there would not be a 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Season-by-season results

Redbirds record
YearLeagueAffiliationRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
1982American AssociationCardinals73–622nd (tie)Joe Frazier
1983American AssociationCardinals78–571stJim FregosiLost League Championship
1984American AssociationCardinals79–764th (tie)Jim FregosiAmerican Association Champs
1985American AssociationCardinals74–681stJim FregosiAmerican Association Champs
1986American AssociationCardinals64–784thJim Fregosi; Dyar Miller; Dave Bialas
1987American AssociationCardinals78–622ndMike JorgensenLost in semifinals
1988American AssociationCardinals63–794thMike Jorgensen
1989American AssociationCardinals71–744thMike Jorgensen
1990American AssociationCardinals74–723rdGaylen Pitts
1991American AssociationCardinals51–924thMark DeJohn
1992American AssociationCardinals73–703rdJack Krol; Mark Riggins
1993American AssociationCardinals68–763rdJack Krol; Mark Riggins
1994American AssociationCardinals74–684thJoe PettiniLost in semifinals
1995American AssociationCardinals74–704thJoe PettiniAmerican Association Champs
1996American AssociationCardinals60–844thJoe Pettini
1997American AssociationCardinals58–854thGaylen Pitts
1998International LeagueBrewers77–671stGary AllensonLost in semifinals

RiverBats record
YearLeagueAffiliationRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
1999International LeagueBrewers63–8111thGary Allenson
2000International LeagueReds71–739thDave Miley
2001International LeagueReds84–603rdDave MileyLeague Champions

Bats record
YearLeagueAffiliationRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
2002International LeagueReds79–656thDave Miley
2003International LeagueReds79–642ndDave Miley; Rick BurlesonLost in semifinals
2004International LeagueReds67–7710thRick Burleson
2005International LeagueReds66–7811thRick Sweet
2006International LeagueReds75–686thRick Sweet
2007International LeagueReds74–707thRick Sweet
2008International LeagueReds88–561st (tie)Rick SweetLost in semifinals
2009International LeagueReds84–581stRick SweetLost in semifinals
2010International LeagueReds79–643rdRick SweetLost in semifinals
2011International LeagueReds73–718thRick Sweet
2012International LeagueReds51–9314thDavid Bell
2013International LeagueReds69–759thJim Riggleman
2014International LeagueReds68–7512thJim Riggleman
2015International LeagueReds64–8011thDelino DeShields
2016International LeagueReds71–736thDelino DeShields
2017International LeagueReds56–8613thDelino DeShields
2018International LeagueReds61–7613thDick Schofield
2019International LeagueReds59–8113th (tie)Jody Davis
2020International LeagueRedsN/AN/APat KellySeason cancelled due to COVID-19

Titles

The Bats have once won the Governors' Cup—the championship of the IL—and twice played in the championship series.

  • 1972: Lost to Tidewater Tides (Norfolk, Virginia).
  • 2001: Defeated Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.

Note: The Bats were ahead 1-0 in the championship series when the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred. The league canceled the rest of the series and declared the Bats the champions, thus the series was reduced to being a championship game.

Under Jim Fregosi's leadership from 1983 to 1986, the Redbirds won the American Association title in 1984 and 1985, and were the league runner-up in 1983, when they won the Eastern Division. The team later won another championship in 1995.

Ballparks
Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky
Main articles: Louisville Slugger Field and Cardinal Stadium

The Louisville Bats play at Louisville Slugger Field, which opened in 2000 and has a seating capacity of 13,131 people.[13] Previously, from 1982 to 1999, the team played at Louisville's Cardinal Stadium.

Logo and team colors

From 2002 until 2016, the Bats had a black-and-purple color scheme, with a stylized bat and the team name across the front, in white. In 2016, the team updated its color scheme to red and navy blue, dropping its former colors. Additionally, the rebranding updated the logo to show a front-facing abstraction depicting a flying bat in front of a baseball moon while gripping a baseball bat in its talons. The update is the first rebranding since the team dropped the word "River" from its name and added the former color scheme.[14]

Players

The Bats have retired one number in honor of a former player in the franchise, number 8, which belonged to catcher Corky Miller, who at the time of his retirement held the franchise record for number of games played.[15] In addition, the Bats have also retired the number 1 for Louisville native and Hall of Famer Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, and the number 42 in honor of his teammate on the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired across all of Major League Baseball in 1997).[16][17]

Alumni

This list contains former Louisville players who have played in at least 100 games in the major leagues:

Notable broadcasters

Listed below are the MLB broadcasting jobs that former Bats broadcasters have held since leaving the Bats

Roster
Louisville Bats roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

Catchers


Infielders

Outfielders

  • 19 Narciso Crook

Manager

Coaches


7-day injured list
* On Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated November 23, 2019
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • International League
 → Cincinnati Reds minor league players

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See also

References
Notes
  1. Fischer, Chadwick (November 23, 2015). "Louisville Bats unveil new logos and uniforms". Louisville Bats. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  2. "Louisville Bats New Logo Guide" (PDF). Louisville Bats. November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  3. "Louisville Bats sale finalized". Ballpark Digest. February 25, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  4. "Front Office". Louisville Bats. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  5. Reed, William F. (July 11, 1983). "Louisville Is A Major Minor". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  6. "Louisville, Kentucky Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. Kendrick, Scott. "Louisville Bats - Profile of the Triple-A Louisville Bats". Baseball.about.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. "History | Louisville Bats Content". Milb.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. "Louisville Bats finish No. 2 in Minor League Baseball attendance". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. "Minor league attendance leaders are Lehigh Valley, Louisville and Columbus". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  11. Klebnikov, Sergei (July 8, 2016). "Minor League Baseball's Most Valuable Teams – 11. Louisville Bats". Forbes. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  12. "2020 Minor League Baseball season shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020.
  13. "Stadium Guide". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  14. "Louisville Bats unveil new logo, color scheme". milb.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  15. "Corky Miller's No. 8 Bats' first retired jersey". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  16. "Bats to retire Reese, Robinson jersey numbers". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  17. "A Grand Tribute to Robinson and His Moment". December 1, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
Sources
  • "Baseball, Professional", The Encyclopedia of Louisville, p. 70-73, John E. Kleber, Editor in Chief, ISBN 0-8131-2100-0
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