Louisville Redbirds
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Louisville Bats Founded in 1982 Louisville, Kentucky |
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| Current | Triple-A (1982–present) | ||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| League | International League (1998–present) | ||||
| Division | West Division | ||||
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Previous leagues
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American Association (1982–1997) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Current | Cincinnati Reds (2000–present) | ||||
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (4) |
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| Division titles (4) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Nickname | Louisville Bats (2002–present) | ||||
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Previous names
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| Colors | Red, navy, white |
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| Ballpark | Louisville Slugger Field (2000–present) | ||||
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Previous parks
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Gary Ulmer | ||||
| Manager | Delino DeShields | ||||
| General Manager | Dale Owens | ||||
The Louisville Bats are an American minor league professional baseball franchise based in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bats are the Triple-A 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 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 868,418 fans. In 1983, the Redbirds were the first minor league team to draw over one million fans in a single season (1,052,438). The Redbirds' success during the 1980s led to some speculation that Louisville could be a potential market for Major League Baseball expansion; however this did not come to pass. 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.
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