Bulls, Tourists pay homage to 'Bull Durham'
It was 30 years ago that the film Bull Durham conceptualized the "church of baseball."Annie Savoy's keynote and Crash Davis' memories of Major League cathedrals likened the game to a religion and glanced into the mind of the sport's most extreme zealots. Along with those themes, of course, was an
It was 30 years ago that the film Bull Durham conceptualized the "church of baseball."
Annie Savoy's keynote and Crash Davis' memories of Major League cathedrals likened the game to a religion and glanced into the mind of the sport's most extreme zealots. Along with those themes, of course, was an engaging and seemingly realistic depiction of Minor League Baseball, a heart-felt and memorable portrayal worthy of tribute three decades later.
The Durham Bulls exist today as the Tampa Bay Rays' Triple-A affiliate in the International League, and one of the most recognizable brands in the Minors. And they have Ron Shelton to thank for the latter.
Shelton wrote and directed the movie based on his own experiences as an infielder in the Orioles organization from 1967 to 1971. Looking for a town he deemed "down on its luck" at the time, he landed in Durham in 1987 for his first foray into sports comedy.
"I wasn't a fan of most sports movies [and] I wanted to make one about a world that I knew that most people didn't," Shelton said via Durham's Twitter account. "People trying to get into the spotlight are more compelling than people who have made it into the spotlight, [and] there was no spotlight on the [Minors]."
He worked to make the chilly November gloom look like midseason sunshine. Before the following summer, fans were treated to the story of Susan Sarandon's Annie, Kevin Costner's Crash and Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, portrayed by Tim Robbins. At the time of the movie's release, the Bulls were part of the Carolina League and a Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
This past Saturday, after 30 years and an Academy Award nomination, the 72-year-old filmmaker returned to find that the team had literally rolled out the red carpet for him and his adoring fans -- an extravagance uncharacteristic of the setting he aimed to relate to the desperation of a Minor Leaguer.
Although a native of Whittier, California, Shelton's greeting was a hero's homecoming at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
There are some artifacts and references from the movie that are permanent staples at DBAP, including the red-eyed, tail-wagging, smoke-breathing animatronic bull. Though not the original sign from the film, a player and one lucky fan net a gift certificate to the Angus Barn steakhouse if it's struck by a homer.
"'Hit Bull, Win Steak' is alive and well," said Matt Sutor, Durham's director of marketing and communications. "While it was in right field in the movie, it currently sits above our left-field wall, tucked just inside the left-field foul pole. Every time a Bulls player hits a home run, whether it hits the sign or not, we light the bull."
Shelton spent the morning of his day of celebration behind the controls of the team's official Twitter account, answering questions labeled #AskRonShelton.
Some of his responses explained casting decisions and expanded on his inspirations through the writing process. Although he continues to workshop a Broadway musical version of his own creation, he also described the premise behind a sequel that he'd rather not bring to life.
"Nuke was learning the knuckleball in the Venezuela League, Robert Wuhl [who played assistant coach, Larry Hockett] is the scout who signs him there and he gets sent to Durham where Crash is managing. Annie is teaching at Duke," Shelton said with a caveat. "But it'll never get made."
He recalled that his favorite line was Davis' proclamation that baseball is played "out of fear and arrogance." Shelton was also particularly fond of Davis' "I believe" monologue at Annie's house, and the scene where Davis has a hostile confrontation with an umpire -- both of which earned the film its R rating.
"It was an opportunity that a lot of our fans never really had before," Sutor said. "To get inside the head of the guy who wrote the film."
After Shelton threw out the first pitch, fans cheered on larger-than-life mascot versions of Nuke, Crash and Annie in a foot race similar to the Milwaukee Brewers' sausage run.
Sutor also said that Sarandon, Robbins and some locals who held non-speaking roles in the film made videos that were played on the board at the stadium between innings. Robbins' message also acknowledged the Bulls' Triple-A National Championship in 2017.
There was "Announce your presence with authority" cam -- which Sutor explained as a "fun little play on Nuke's famous line where fans could or could not 'look hard.'"
Another nod to the film came during the "Hold it like an egg race," where fans had to balance an egg on a wooden spoon and run through a little obstacle course, which included circling a candlestick and throwing a softened baseball at the bull mascot.
Another promotion included a detail from the movie that was not very well known. The name Crash Davis was taken from a real-life infielder who played for the Raleigh Capitals from 1949-1952.
"Ron Shelton just came across that name and thought it was perfect for Kevin Costner's character," Sutor said.
The Bulls also had Carr Davis, great grandson of the real Crash Davis, in attendance. Typical of the Minor League antics over which Max Patkin used to flip his lid, Carr Davis also raced the mascot, Wool E. Bull, around the bases. The mascot's name is not a reference to Nuke's misunderstanding the lyrics of "Try a little tenderness" in the movie.
While the Bulls did their best to honor Shelton's creation, on Friday night, the Asheville Tourists attempted to travel to an alternate reality in which it is 1988 and Costner's Crash Davis is the real Crash Davis. At the end of the movie, Davis is released and signs with the Tourists. He is also on the cusp of breaking the Minor League home run record, which he does with his 247th longball at McCormick Field.
"The Tourists have been around for a really long time. So, when you talk to a lot of fans, 1988 really doesn't seem that far ago for them," said Doug Maurer, Asheville's director of broadcast and media relations. "[Craig] Biggio actually played for the Tourists in 1987 and a lot of people remember Biggio when he was in Asheville. So it was neat to be able to not only just go back in time and have the visual with the caps and the jersey."
Asheville's tribute was less about the movie and more about commemorating this fictional achievement. Tourists backstop
The team offered bobbleheads in the fictional Crash Davis/real-life Kevin Costner's likeness to the first 1,000 fans in attendance. The most notable recipient was Costner himself, who was gifted the figurine -- along with a commemorative throwback jersey and game program -- during an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
"[The Kimmel interview] was one of those things where I wasn't quite sure where it was going to go," Maurer said. "I was kind of pleased with how it came out and we received a lot of attention for that.
"The line was curling around the stadium to get in for these bobble heads. I've seen them for over $100 on eBay since we've given them out. ... It definitely went about as well as we could have planned."
Both the Bulls and Tourists donned the uniforms of their 1988 predecessors for their special night. Each club auctioned off the items to benefit the Asheville Tourists Children's Fund and the Autism Society of North Carolina, respectively.
"Locally we received a lot of attention for it because the Asheville Tourists Children's Fund has been around for a long time now and people can really get behind it," Maurer said. "Anytime we're able to parlay any kind of promotion into helping out the community, the folks here in Asheville really get behind it."
Gerard Gilberto is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @GerardGilberto4.