MiLB

Bulls’ Tristan Gray gets long-awaited call from the bigs

September 20, 2023 Shawn Krest

DURHAM — Baseball always seems to have a plan for its top prospects. Those plans never seemed to include Tristan Gray. During COVID when the minor leagues were shut down, each team got to keep […]

Keep going: Bulls slogan keeps David Hess fighting

July 31, 2023 Shawn Krest

David Hess knew something was wrong. He just self-diagnosed the wrong thing. Hess spent most of the 2021 season with the Durham Bulls, who were winning their first of back-to-back Triple-A titles. His Bulls tenure […]

Leaders, prospects on NC’s minor league rosters

July 5, 2023 Shawn Krest

There’s still hope! The minor leagues have been undergoing substantial change over the last few seasons. Several teams were eliminated during the pandemic, and the remaining minor league franchises were reshuffled into new leagues. The […]

New owners plan to move Down East Wood Ducks out of Kinston

June 1, 2023 Shawn Krest

On April 8, 1949, Grainger High School beat Tarboro High 5-4 in the first baseball game held at Kinston’s Grainger Stadium. Several teams have called the historic building home over the past seven-plus decades, and […]

Take me out to the ballgame: Minor league seasons start across NC

April 5, 2023 Shawn Krest

Baseball season returned to North Carolina with the state’s two Triple-A teams starting play last weekend. The state’s eight Class-A teams take the field this week as some of baseball’s top prospects will get some […]

NSJ 2022 Pro Team of the Year: Ensemble cast wins Bulls’ 2nd straight national title

December 31, 2022 Shawn Krest

The Durham Bulls have won championships in many different ways over the last 25 years. Since moving to Triple-A and affiliating with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Bulls have won 16 divisional titles, eight International League titles […]

Best of the best: What makes NC’s 10 MiLB teams special

August 3, 2022 Brett Friedlander

Read NSJ’s 2022 MiLB Across NC features: Carolina Mudcats • Down East Wood Ducks • Winston-Salem Dash • Kannapolis Cannon Ballers • Greensboro Grasshoppers • Fayetteville Woodpeckers • Charlotte Knights • Durham Bulls • Hickory […]

Tourists in their own city

July 27, 2022 Brett Friedlander

ASHEVILLE — The scoreboard at McCormick Field can be confusing to the uninitiated. It designates the teams as “Visitors” and “Tourists.” By definition, tourists are almost always visitors. But when it comes to minor league […]

Crawdads get creative in Hickory

July 20, 2022 Brett Friedlander

HICKORY — Promotions are an effective tool used by every team in minor league baseball to help draw fans into their stadiums and then keep them entertained once they’re there. The Hickory Crawdads are no […]

Durham Bulls pair Hollywood reputation, on-field success

July 13, 2022 Brett Friedlander

DURHAM — Crash Davis and Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh are among the two most famous players in Durham Bulls history. And yet neither of them, as presented in the movie, ever appeared in a game […]