Louisville Bats
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| Louisville Bats Founded in 1966 Louisville, Kentucky |
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American Association (1982-1997) |
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| League titles | 1984, 1985, 1995, 2001 | ||||
| Division titles | 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010 | ||||
| Owner(s)/Operated by: Gary Ulmer | |||||
Manager:  David Bell |
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| General Manager: Dale Owens - Vice President/General Manager | |||||
The Louisville Bats, which play in Louisville, Kentucky, are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The team, formerly known as the Louisville RiverBats, plays in the International League. The Bats play their home games at Louisville Slugger Field; the naming rights for the stadium were purchased by Hillerich & Bradsby, makers of the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat.
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History [edit]
In 1982, the St. Louis Cardinals switched their Triple-A team of the American Association, the Redbirds, from Springfield, Illinois to Louisville. During the 1982 season, the Louisville Redbirds broke the minor league attendance record by drawing over 800,000. In 1983, the Redbirds were the first minor league team to draw over one million fans in a single season. In 1998, the American Association folded and the teams moved to either the International League or the Pacific Coast League. The league changed and expanded to Memphis and Durham, and the Cardinals shifted their Triple-A affiliation to Memphis, Tennessee and the new Memphis Redbirds not-for-profit franchise. In 1998 and 1999, Louisville was affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers and since 2000 with the Cincinnati Reds.
From the time the Redbirds arrived in 1982 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, allowing for the broken attendance records. In 1999, when the Redbirds became affiliated with the Brewers, they took the name Louisville RiverBats. In 2000 the team moved to Louisville Slugger Field a new stadium in downtown Louisville, seating 14,000 with a more intimate baseball setting than at Cardinal Stadium. 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.
Louisville has won the attendance title every season since moving into Louisville Slugger Field.
In 2012, Forbes ranked the Bats as the fourth most valuable franchise in Minor League Baseball.[1]
Titles [edit]
The Bats have once won the Governors' Cup—the championship of the IL—and twice played in the championship series.
- 1972: Lost to Tidewater.
- 2001: Defeated 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 AA championship in 1995.
Redbirds Record [edit]
| Year | League | Affiliation | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
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| 1982 | American Association | Cardinals | 73-62 | 2nd (tie) | Joe Frazier | |
| 1983 | American Association | Cardinals | 78-57 | 1st | Jim Fregosi | Lost League Championship |
| 1984 | American Association | Cardinals | 79-76 | 4th (tie) | Jim Fregosi | American Association Champs |
| 1985 | American Association | Cardinals | 74-68 | 1st | Jim Fregosi | American Association Champs |
| 1986 | American Association | Cardinals | 64-78 | 4th | Jim Fregosi; Dyar Miller; Dave Bialas | |
| 1987 | American Association | Cardinals | 78-62 | 2nd | Mike Jorgensen | Lost in semifinals |
| 1988 | American Association | Cardinals | 63-79 | 4th | Mike Jorgensen | |
| 1989 | American Association | Cardinals | 71-74 | 4th | Mike Jorgensen | |
| 1990 | American Association | Cardinals | 74-72 | 3rd | Gaylen Pitts | |
| 1991 | American Association | Cardinals | 51-92 | 4th | Mark DeJohn | |
| 1992 | American Association | Cardinals | 73-70 | 3rd | Jack Krol; Mark Riggins | |
| 1993 | American Association | Cardinals | 68-76 | 3rd | Jack Krol; Mark Riggins | |
| 1994 | American Association | Cardinals | 74-68 | 4th | Joe Pettini | Lost in semifinals |
| 1995 | American Association | Cardinals | 74-70 | 4th | Joe Pettini | American Association Champs |
| 1996 | American Association | Cardinals | 60-84 | 4th | Joe Pettini | |
| 1997 | American Association | Cardinals | 58-85 | 4th | Gaylen Pitts | |
| 1998 | International League | Brewers | 77-67 | 1st | Gary Allenson | Lost in semifinals |
Players [edit]
Alumni [edit]
This list contains former Louisville players who have played in at least 100 games in the major leagues:
Current roster [edit]
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Louisville Bats roster
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See also [edit]
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References [edit]
- 'Baseball, Professional', The Encyclopedia of Louisville, p. 70-73, John E. Kleber, Editor in Chief, ISBN 0-8131-2100-0
- ^ "How Billionaires Like Warren Buffett Profit From Minor League Baseball Ownership " Forbes. Retrieved on 6 June 2012.
External links [edit]
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| Triple-A | Double-A | Class A | Rookie |
| Louisville Bats | Pensacola Blue Wahoos |
Bakersfield Blaze Dayton Dragons |
Billings Mustangs AZL Reds DSL Reds DSL Rojos |
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