Louisville Bats
The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and baseball bats, such as those manufactured locally under the Louisville Slugger brand. The team plays their home games at Louisville Slugger Field, which opened in 2000. The Bats previously played at Cardinal Stadium from 1982 to 1999.
| Louisville Bats | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (1982–present) | ||||
| League | International League (2022–present) | ||||
| Division | West Division | ||||
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| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Cincinnati Reds (2000–present) | ||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (4) |
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| Division titles (8) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Louisville Bats (2002–present) | ||||
Previous names |
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| Colors | Red, navy, white | ||||
| Mascot | Buddy Bat | ||||
| Ballpark | Louisville Slugger Field (2000–present) | ||||
Previous parks |
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Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Diamond Baseball Holdings | ||||
| President | Greg Galiette | ||||
| Manager | Pat Kelly | ||||
The club began play as the Louisville Redbirds in the Triple-A American Association (AA) in 1982. Louisville won three AA championships: in 1984, 1985, and 1995 as the top affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They joined the Triple-A International League in 1998 following the dissolution of the AA after the 1997 season. The Redbirds rebranded as the Louisville RiverBats in 1999; this was shortened to Bats in 2002. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Bats were shifted to the Triple-A East, but this was renamed the International League in 2022. Their lone IL championship was won in 2001 with Cincinnati.