Louisville Bats
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The Louisville Bats, which play in Louisville, Kentucky, are the AAA 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.
In 1982, the St. Louis Cardinals moved their AAA team of the American Association, the Redbirds, from Springfield, Illinois to Louisville. During the 1982 season, the 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. As the league changed, the Cardinals moved their old AAA affiliate to Memphis, Tennessee and the team became the Memphis Redbirds. In 1998 and 1999, Louisville was affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers and in 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 Fair and 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.
Title
The Bats have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, once, and played in the championship series 2 times.- 1972 - Lost to Tidewater
- 2001 - Defeated Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Alumni
- Vince Coleman (baseball)
- Adam Dunn
- Andy Van Slyke
- Austin Kearns
- Felipe Lopez
- Willie McGee
- Matt Morris
- Wily Mo Peña
- Terry Pendleton
- Deion Sanders
External links
| International League | ||||
| North Division | South Division | West Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bisons | Ottawa Lynx | Pawtucket Red Sox | Rochester Red Wings | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons | Syracuse SkyChiefs | Charlotte Knights | Durham Bulls | Norfolk Tides | Richmond Braves | Columbus Clippers | Indianapolis Indians | Louisville Bats | Toledo Mud Hens | ||
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