Durham Bulls Basics, 2012, Part 1

The season opens soon and I’m thinking that some fans will be looking around the web for information about the Durham Bulls. So here’s WDBB’s contribution. I hope that it doesn’t come off as too basic. This is mostly stuff I did not know when I became a Bulls fan.

I hope that if readers see a mistake they will set me straight. I’ll fix it as soon as I can.

AAA Baseball

The Durham Bulls are the Triple-A franchise of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Triple-A baseball is one step below major league baseball. How do we know that? Because Major League Baseball says it is.

Major League Baseball has 30 teams: 14 in the American League and 16 in the National League. Each major league team has a AAA team in their farm system. Thus, there are 30 AAA minor league baseball teams. (Who said I couldn’t do basic arithmetic?)

The 30 Triple-A teams are divided into two leagues: The International League with 14 teams and the Pacific Coast League with 16 teams. So that sort of makes sense, so far.

What also makes sense is that, mostly, the International League is made up of teams who have their major league affiliates in the eastern and midwestern part of the country, while the Pacific Coast League’s parent clubs are, mostly, in the southwest and west.

But, hey, it’s baseball, so there will inevitably be a few quirks in the system. The Marlins, Brewers, and Cubs affiliates, for example are all in the Pacific Coast League not in the International League.

The Durham Bulls are in the International League.

The International League

The 14 teams in the International League are matched up with major league teams without regard to whether the parent club is in the National League or the American League. The IL has teams affiliated with Boston, New York (Yankees and Mets), Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago (White Sox), and Minnesota. That gives the IL 8 American League and 6 National League affiliates.

Logic would say that since AAA is the next step down from the majors, the teams would like to be in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that’s true. Toledo is linked to Detroit, Pawtucket is the AAA team of Boston, and the Atlanta Braves AAA club is just a long taxi ride away in Lawrenceville, Georgia. On the other hand, Charlotte is pretty far from Chicago and the Durham/Tampa Bay distance is a good bit more than average.

Obviously all the teams in the “International” League are in the US, but up until recently there was a team in Ottawa. That gave us the chance to sing along to “O, Canada” four times a year. You can bet that someday — maybe not in my lifetime, but someday — The IL will have a team in Havana, San Juan, or Mexico City.

With teams from both the National and American Leagues, what about the designated hitter rule? In the International League the only time pitchers bat is when both clubs are National League affiliates. That means that no Durham Bull pitchers will go to the plate this year (except in the very weird circumstance where a pitcher could go to the plate as a pinch-hitter — not likely, but possible).

The International League has three divisions: North, West, and South

Divisions and Affiliations

North Division

Buffalo Bisons - New York Mets

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs- Philadelphia Phillies

Pawtucket Red Sox - Boston Red Sox

Rochester Red Wings - Minnesota Twins

Empire State (Scranton/Willkes-Barre Yankees) - New York Yankees

Syracuse Chiefs - Washington Nationals

West Division

Columbus Clippers - Cleveland Indians

Indianapolis Indians - Pittsburgh Pirates

Louisville Bats - Cincinnati Reds

Toledo Mud Hens - Detroit Tigers

South Division

Charlotte Knights - Chicago White Sox

Gwinnett Braves - Atlanta Braves

Norfolk Tides - Baltimore Orioles

Durham Bulls - Tampa Bay Rays

The league offices are in Dublin, Ohio.

Next: See Part 2