The Durham Bulls celebrate a championship while opening a new season
The championship banner appeared at 6 p.m. Thursday, unfurled with a sellout crowd of 9,709 still milling around the stadium, finding their seats at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The accompanying rings the players will get for their part in the Durham Bulls winning last season’s Triple A National Championship will be distributed Saturday night.
Opening nights are always special in baseball. Opening nights that follow a championship add an extra spice to the festivities.
“That was special for me,” Bulls shortstop Willy Adames said. “I’ve never seen a banner for when I win. That was a special moment. Hopefully we can get another one this year.”
Last season, the Durham Bulls won their fifth International League championship in their 20th season as a Triple-A team. They followed that up with a 5-3 win over Pacific Coast League champion Memphis to become the overall Triple-A champions for the second time.
Since that championship game was played in Moosic, Pennsylvania, Thursday night’s 2018 season-opening game against the Charlotte Knights was Durham’s chance to hail its champions.
Durham Mayor Steve Schewel threw out the first pitch a few minutes after the championship trophy was removed from the field.
Six minutes before Schewel’s appearance, Rev. Mark-Anthony Middleton of Abundant Hope Christian Church, who was elected to the Durham City Council last November, took to the public address system to offer an ecumenical prayer to people of all faiths.
Frequent player movement in minor league baseball means fans rarely get to see many players returning from one year to the next.
But Thursday night’s Bulls lineup against Charlotte included five players for that championship win over Memphis last Sept. 19: Adames, second baseman Kean Wong, first baseman Jake Bauers and right fielder Justin Williams.
A sixth player from that championship lineup — and who has a ring coming his way — also was at the DPAP Thursday night. Now playing with Charlotte, Patrick Leonard had three hits and drove in three runs to help the Knights beat the Bulls, 6-2.
“He’s a great player and a great person,” Adames said. “You saw him last year. He was raking. I’m glad for him that he got a lot of hits. Not too happy that he had it against us.”
At some point, Bulls manager Jared Sandberg has to worry about this season’s team finding its own success. The opening weekend, with all its pageantry and ceremony, allows for some looking back, though.
“I do think it was something special that not many people are going to be a part of,” Sandberg said. “Who knows how long it’s going to be until the next championship? For us to have such a great season and a lot of those guys back, it’s definitely OK to talk about it. There’s a lot of excitement that comes around winning a Triple-A championship.”
Beyond all the championship honors, Bulls fans enjoyed a variety of food choices, including the fried pretzels which are the featured concession for the opening series. That treat, served with beer cheese, was the winner in an online vote over fried bacon-wrapped footlong hot dogs, BBQ brisket sandwiches and loaded tater tots to be the first specialty food available.
Those offerings, plus meatloaf sliders, buffalo chicken sandwiches, fried apple pie, fried burgers with boom boom sauce and the chicken tender with fries sandwich each will be available during one homestand each later in the season. The most popular items will return later in the season.
“I can’t wait for fans to get their hands on some of these concoctions to help them further enjoy their experience at the DBAP,” said Bulls general manager Mike Birling.
This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 9:57 PM with the headline "The Durham Bulls celebrate a championship while opening a new season."