mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684
DURHAM -- Springtime. Sunshine. Blue skies. Batting practice. Fielding practice.
If those phrases bring "Play ball" to the tip of your tongue, that's just what the Durham Bulls want. The AAA Minor League Baseball Club used Friday and Saturday to help fans warm up for the 2010 season.
As part of the annual Fanfest, members of the public swung by the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to buy individual game tickets, to enjoy concessions (free to ticket purchasers) and to buy souvenirs (many were half off). For the second year in a row, fans also got to venture onto the field to take some swings and to play catch.
"We're just happy with the turnout," Mike Birling, the Bulls' general manager, said while taking a break from guarding the hot corner. "We just love to see kids out on the field having fun."
Although Fanfest has been around for several years in different forms, this was the first time it spanned two days.
"I think it's been a great success to do it Saturday based on the number of kids out here," the general manager said.
Elsewhere in the park, the Shermans -- Elizabeth, Evan and 7-year-old Zachary -- were enjoying lunch on a sunny concourse patio. The Sherman family moved to Apex three years ago and are Fanfest lovers.
"It's an event we never miss," said Evan Sherman, who works in industrial automation.
"And I'm glad we made it to Saturday so I didn't have to pull him out of school," Elizabeth Sherman said.
Clifton Barnes and son Will Griffin Barnes -- "He's three and a half and I'm a lot older than that" -- paused while walking off the field to talk about Fanfest. Dad said he is a big baseball fan.
And Junior? "I love Wool E. Bull," Will Griffin Barnes said of the Bulls mascot.
"Basically, it's just an excuse for father-and-son day together," Clifton Barnes said.
The 2010 Bulls season will bring a few new wrinkles, including the opening of the Tobacco Road sports-themed restaurant on the patio overlooking left field. Birling said the operation should be up and running by month's end.
The team's first game is an April 3 exhibition against the Tampa Bay Rays. This will be only the third time the Bulls' parent club has played its top affiliate, Birling said. The first time was in 1998, when the Rays (then the Devil Rays) were brand-new; the second was in 2002, when they were six years away from their first winning season. (The non-devilish Rays won the American League when they shortened their name and made their only playoff appearance in 2008.)
The Bulls' national championship ring ceremony will take place in conjunction with the Rays game. The season begins April 8 with series at Norfolk, Va., and Gwinnett, Ga., before an April 15 home opener vs. Norfolk.
Also, the Bulls return to their old home, the newly renovated Durham Athletic Park, for a game in early May. This will be the Durham nine's first time back at the DAP since the DBAP opened in 1995.
