Award

Durham Bulls Community Captain Award Winner – Ryan Mentock!

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Ryan Mentock wins Durham Bulls Community Captain Award on August 24, 2019.

Our commissioner, Ryan Mentock, has won the Blue Cross NC and Durham Bulls Baseball Club Community Captain award! The award is earned by “demonstrating an active involvement and dedication to serving their local communities through volunteerism, fundraising, hard work, and leading by example.” Click here for a poor quality video of the presentation!

The nice lady who walked me to the field asked me if I knew who nominated me for the Community Captain award. I said kind of – I thought a few people nominated me. “So many people nominated you, way more than anyone else. You were an easy choice. You should know that your community really loves you.” I love y’all, too.

Thanks for your support!

~Ryan

Durham Bulls Ballpark Renovation Project Award Presentation

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Durham Bulls Ballpark Project

Our league applied for the $10,000 Durham Bulls and Coastal Credit Union Ballpark Renovation Project grant, awarded to four deserving organizations in the Triangle area. And we won! From Capital Broadcasting:

Four organizations have been chosen as the inaugural winners of the Durham Bulls Ballpark Project presented by Coastal Credit Union. Person High School, Bull City Little League, Durham Softball and Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association have each earned a $10,000 donation for facility renovations.

“This was an extremely tough decision for our committee, as every application was well-done,” Durham Bulls Vice President Mike Birling said. “In the end, these four organizations stood out not only as worthy groups, but as locations which will help to grow the sports of baseball and softball for years to come.”

Person High School will have renovations made to both its baseball and softball fields, and Bull City Little League will see an improvement to its facility which houses three fields. The Durham Softball facility will have an overhaul for the first time since it was built, and Hillsborough Youth Athletic League will see renovations for its over 500 children who participate in its leagues each year.

Each facility will be renovated in the coming months, with a list of priorities submitted by each location. Additionally, representatives from each organization will be honored on-field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Tuesday, August 7.

I am super excited about what this means for our league and our future in Durham sports. I want to thank all the players for believing in the concept and making this amazing league possible.

To celebrate, get your Durham Bulls tickets for Tuesday, August 7 through this link! The Bulls and Columbus Clippers will play a doubleheader (two 7-inning games) starting at 6:05pm.

As if $2 Taco Tuesday wasn’t enough motivation to attend, we get to accept the $10,000 check for our league on the field in-between the two games! Special tickets are discounted down to just $8.99 and two sections of tickets have been reserved for all winners!

Represent our league and wear your Durham Softball shirt, if you can. I’ll make a cool, custom Durham Softball keychain for anyone who wears their Durham Softball jersey and tags our league in a Facebook post on your personal timeline or on our page’s timeline. Show off your Durham Softball pride and help support the other three deserving winners during the ceremony in-between games of the double header! I hope to see you there!

https://groupmatics.events/event/BallparkChallenge

Awards & Bonuses

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In addition to the donations we’ll make to these sponsor organizations based on their participation and performance, teams in the league are also competing for a few nice prizes each season. The physical prizes will be awarded to the non-profit sponsor organization of the team that wins the award, as described below.

Umpire’s Choice Award

The Durham Softball Umpire’s Choice Award is an extra end-of-season bonus donation for one team in the league. The Award is voted on by the Umpires affiliated with the league at the end of the season.

The Umpire’s Choice Award pool is equal to 2% of the available Donation Pool at the end of the regular season. For 12 to 19 players per team, this donation would roughly be between $23 and $72, respectively, depending on the number of players in the league. The Umpires will vote for the team that most exemplifies the following characteristics during the season:

  • Sportsmanship. The players respect their opponents and do not seek conflict while playing the game.
  • Team Work. The players respect their teammates, speak positively, and encourage each other during the game.
  • Service. The players participate in weekly promotions and contribute to the causes of the other teams in the league.

To be eligible for the award, the team must have zero forfeits on the season. These requirements are meant to encourage fair play and allow the Umpires to also help give back and contribute to our cause.

Player’s Choice Award

The Durham Softball Player’s Choice Award is basically the exact same as the Umpire’s Choice Award, only voted on by the Players in the league, rather than the Umpires. The donation amounts, voting criteria, and eligibility requirements are all the same.

Regular Season / Tournament Champions

In addition to receiving the largest performance-based donation bonus for having the best record at the end of the season, the Regular Season Champion’s sponsor organization will receive a custom trophy. The trophy is being donated to the league by The Tockery, a local Durham custom wood and acrylic fabricating and engraving shop, and will be customized to include the name and logo of the winning organization.

The Tockery is also making Giant Checks to present to all teams at the end of the season. The check will be made out in the amount of the donation that the team earned for their non-profit sponsor that season. The teams won’t be able to keep the check, but it’ll still look cool for pictures. Everyone likes to take a picture with a giant check, right?

Drinks at Sponsor Bar

Each week, our sponsor bar has been gracious enough to offer a free pitcher of domestic brew to all teams on Sunday after their games! Just show up on Sunday afternoon with at least 4 people from your team wearing their Durham Softball jerseys. Since our Sponsor is kind enough to pay for the first drink each week, they hope you’ll stay for lunch and tip your server well!