Louisville Bats
- Location: Louisville, KY
- League: International League 2002-2019; Triple-A East 2021; International League 2022-
- Class: AAA minor league
- Affiliation: Cincinnati Reds 2002-present
- Ballpark: Louisville Slugger Field
Team History[edit]
The Louisville Bats, of the Triple-A International League and briefly in Triple-A East, play a Kentucky Derby Week game each year as the "Derby City Mint Juleps". The Cincinnati Reds farmhands play their home games at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, KY
Minor League Baseball's 1982 return to Louisville saw the team then known as the Louisville Redbirds play in the University of Louisville's cavernous football stadium and draw 868,418 - a 30% jump on the Minors' 36-year-old record one-season attendance. The next season, the Redbirds became the first minors club ever to draw 1 million.
By 1998, they had lost the St. Louis Cardinals' affiliation, joined the Milwaukee Brewers and rebranded as the Louisville RiverBats. In 2002, they moved into "The Slug" - a new but much smaller ballpark that makes million-fan seasons virtually impossible - dropped "River" for just "Bats" and switched from the Brewers to the Reds.
They play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Murciélagos de Louisville - a literal translation of Louisville Bats (the flying mammal, not the wooden tool used to hurt baseballs).
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
External Links[edit]
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