Meet "Dr. B"

"I love a challenge, I love an opportunity, and I think the best time to lead is when things are difficult. Because in my opinion, anybody can lead when it's easy."

Durham Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Becoats
from a June story in the Herald-Sun

Durham's new school chief joined us at the DBAP last Sunday. Dr. Becoats tossed a ceremonial first pitch, and the Easley Elementary choir sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." That was good exposure for the kids before a sell-out crowd.

Dr. Becoats is out and about in the community...absorbing input for a Durham Public Schools strategic plan. As they say at the central office: "Dr. B needs to see..." Click here for the skinny.

Photos: Ashley Yarber

Attitude of Gratitude

If sports attendance was our only economic indicator, consumer confidence would be at an all-time high!?! Consider this past weekend:

• The Bulls sold 39,000 tickets across the Labor Day weekend. (Fri-Mon)

• 56,000 attended the NCSU/Western Carolina season opener Saturday night.

• Duke had a full house at Wallace Wade Stadium for the Elon game - 34,000

...and while all of those folks were filling stadium seats, the UNC fan base was tuned in to the Heels/LSU game in Atlanta. (My media insider tells me approx 136,000 adults were watching the game.)

It was a stout weekend for the local sports economy!

It's on to the play-offs for the Bulls (home game this Friday evening!!!) but let's pause to say THANKS to our fans.

The recession put a dent in our attendance last season, but a BIG Labor Day crowd propelled us into the rarefied air of 500K in paid attendance for the 2010 season.

As you would expect, corporate business is still off...but individual ticket buyers have closed the gap. There's a timely story about this in the News and Observer; click here.

Meanwhile, enjoy our 2010 FAN TRIBUTE video. We are grateful for your loyal support and patronage!!!



Video produced by John Blotzer

Support the Sound Machine

The very famous, very entertaining band at North Carolina Central University is raising $500,000...to fund its coveted invitation to the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade. It's expensive to move the massive Sound Machine from Durham NC to Pasadena CA.

We welcomed the band to the DBAP Saturday night. They provided accompaniment for our fireworks show, and fans were invited to text a donation to help pay for the band's cross country trek.

Percussion on the field. Pyrotechnics overhead.

It's not to late to help!

Text (above) - $10 charged to your cell phone bill, or click here.

The Marching Sound Machine drumline intersects home plate.

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And this speaks to the band's versatility: They performed in near darkness beneath the canopy of fireworks. Watch and listen to the NCCU Sound Machine:

Bulls' video: John Blotzer; Photos: Molly Boyce

Manager of the Year

"I feel just like a kid. I'm about to call my mom and dad and tell them I won manager of the year. It means a lot to me."

That’s what Bulls’ manager Charlie Montoyo told the Herald-Sun Tuesday when the International League announced its 2010 awards. [Click here to check out the paper’s coverage.] The Bulls received several awards, but I'm compelled to type a few extra words about Charlie.

The man is selfless. That virtue defines his leadership style. We can learn from him.

If a top shelf coach demanded passion, hard work and commitment as player attributes, we would all nod in agreement. With Charlie, however, there’s a high level of reciprocity. How he treats his players seems to be just as important as what he expects from them.

• Everyone plays on a Montoyo squad. You don’t languish in the dugout or clubhouse. You get your chance; you take your turn.
  

• Charlie revels with his players when they’re called up. He understands the objective, shares their joy and takes the roster changes in stride.

In business, are we really excited when our best employees receive job offers? Do we engage everyone to the best of their abilities? Don’t we leave folks sitting on the bench?

Mentoring people for the “call-up.” Playing everyone. Sounds risky from a business perspective…but it sure works for Charlie on the field.

• And he’s determined to win. Believe it or not, that’s not always important to minor league managers. Their agenda is set by the parent club. The job has a lot to do with getting individual players ready for the next step. We’ve been fortunate with both of our great managers, Bill Evers and Charlie Montoyo, that playing to win is part of their DNA…part of their teaching regimen.

So, Charlie Montoyo puts his players first, plays to win…and Charlie Montoyo is Manager of the Year.

Photo credit: Associated Press; Montoyo at Spring Training, 2010

Record Breakin' Bulls

My Blackberry pinged Sunday afternoon...with BIG NEWS:

The South Division Champs are at home 8/30-9/6. It's our last home stand of the 2010 season. We're playing division rivals Charlotte, Gwinnett and Norfolk across the week. Make the Bulls part of your Labor Day weekend. Fireworks on Friday and Saturday. The Monday holiday game is at 1:05.

...but that's not all: Our first play-off game at home will be Friday night, 9/10. Often, our play-off games fall during the week. It's great to have a Friday night game. I'm looking forward to a BIG, LOUD Bull City crowd.

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...in other news: The Atlantic Coast Conference has unveiled the logo for the 2011 ACC Baseball Tournament at the DBAP. I'm pleased that it features the iconic Bull as we host ACC baseball fans from Boston to Miami. This will look very good on a t-shirt:

Another 2011 date of import is Monday, May 9th. The Bulls will play a retro game at the storied Durham Athletic Park. Our 2010 return to the DAP was a tremendous success. MiLB and the City of Durham encouraged us to make it an annual event. I was reluctant - thought it might lose its magic - but I came to my senses! Click here for the news release about the DAP game and our 2011 schedule.

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Bulls Head Groundskeeper Scott Strickland. He received the International League Turf Manager of the Year Award last Wednesday. It's hard for southern teams to win this award. Bermuda grass fields don't always compare favorably to fescue turf (used in the northern states) as the summer wears on. And we make it hard on Scott...72 regular season games and another 30+ events during the year. That's a lot of wear and tear on the field, but this season, Scott's award-winning turf is thick and green. He's the Baron of Bermuda...the Duke of Dirt...the Earl of Irrigation...

Goodmon Field - resting comfortably - last Friday afternoon.

Front office humor: Scott deserves a parade!

Back to School...at Duke

It's back to school this week, and that probably had an impact on our attendance Tuesday and Wednesday. There's an upside, though: We hosted the Duke freshman class on 8/25. As part of their Durham orientation, the class of 2014 was invited to a Bulls game. An excellent way to begin one's higher education! We had about 1200 Blue Devils dine at the American Tobacco Campus and attend the game.

The freshman class totals 1,745 this year. Duke received 27,000 applications. A select group. The combined GPA of Bulls patrons reached an all-time high Wednesday night!

From Duke's web site:
The Class of 2014 represents 48 states and 54 countries. North Carolina is the state that produced the most students with 202 (11.5 percent), followed by New York with 155 (8.8 percent), California with 152 (8.7 percent), and Florida with 147 (8.4 percent). This year's class sets a record for the second year in a row for the number of Latino students in a first-year class 136), and contains the third-highest number of black first-year students (180) in the university's history. Almost 11 percent (190) are from other countries. READ MORE/CLICK HERE

Photo credit: Ashley Yarber Photography

Dispatch from Uganda

What are revered village elders wearing in Uganda these days? Durham Bulls caps, of course.

Winkie La Force, the intrepid Executive Director of Leadership Triangle, recently returned from another church trek to Africa. She always takes a box of Bulls shirts and caps. We're popular worldwide.

Notice the elder's new reading glasses. In addition to Bulls caps, folks in the village received specs from Mission Vision, a Davidson College-based organization founded by Winkie's nephew. LEADERSHIP runs in her family.