Bull Dragons take trophy as MLBx unites communities in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Bull Dragons took the MLBx Durham trophy home on Friday night after defeating the Durham Bulls, 65-63, and the Toros Bravo De Durham, 90-66.

MLB’s Rick Ankiel, Duke University’s Michael DiMartini and AUSL’s Ana Gold were the winning trio.

DiMartini was the event’s MVP, though it was only a week ago that he learned he would be replacing teammate Cider Canon.

Given DiMartini’s performance, you’d think he had practiced a ton. In his first individual round of the night, matched up against North Carolina State University’s Brandon Dovy, DiMartini launched homer after homer into the crowd, tallying 33 points.

Truth be told, that wasn’t the case.

“Nothing. At all,” DiMartini said. “I genuinely didn’t prepare for this. I took a little BP [batting practice] before this. I just stuck to my normal hitting approach. This game is actually pretty good for me -- I just hit it up the middle anyway, or at least I try to.”

The timing of this event couldn’t have been better for DiMartini, whose birthday is coming up on Sept. 26.

“It’s awesome,” DiMartini said of experiencing MLBx Durham ahead of his birthday. “I’m so grateful to be here and to do this. I thank God first, and my coaches and everyone. All my team came out to support me.”

As the gates of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (also popularly known as the “DBAP”) opened at 6 p.m. ET, fans poured into the bleachers surrounding home plate, with plenty more gathering in the outfield seats. The kids especially loved the center field grass area. That was despite the small rain showers that passed through Durham a couple of hours before the first round of the night.

Home run after home run were sent high into the air before eventually plopping into a fans’ glove or, in other cases, hitting the ground.

In case you’re unfamiliar with how this event works, here’s how: Four teams, three players each -- a combination of a former pro, an AUSL player and a college star.

But unlike your traditional Home Run Derby, this event has an offense and defense playing simultaneously in a three-inning game. While the offense can earn points by hitting home runs (one point each), the defense can earn points by making catches (also one point each).

Besides the Bull Dragons trio, here were the other squads and notable names: Durham Bulls (Ben Zobrist, Reese Atwood and Dovy), Toros Bravos De Durham (José Reyes, Megan Grant and Davin Whitaker) and Bull City Blues (Adrián González, Sami Williams and Justice Thompson).

In the two semifinals, the Bull Dragons played against the Durham Bulls, followed by the Toros Bravos De Durham against the Bull City Blues.

González was able to muster 29 points during his at-bat, but it wasn’t enough to bring the Bull City Blues into the championship round. The long-time MLB veteran, who played for teams like the Red Sox and Dodgers during his 15-year career, enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

“It’s just a fun event,” González said. “Come out here, try and hit as many homers as you can and just have a good time and bring some energy -- bring a different type of competition for the fans of baseball. It’s a lot of fun, and hopefully we get to do more and more events every year.”

The two semifinals brought the Bull Dragons and the Toros Bravos De Durham together for one epic three-inning showdown. DiMartini crushed the baseball during the top half of the third, racking up 32 points and helping the Dragons’ lift the X-shaped trophy at the center of the diamond.

But beyond all of the home runs and familiar faces inside the DBAP, the night represented much more.

MLBx’s value goes deeper than the points on the scoreboard. It’s about creating a different kind of community, one filled with players who share the same love for baseball and softball.

All three levels of the sport were represented, from former pros to collegiate stars. The night was a culmination of that shared love for the game, regardless of who ultimately won.

After MLBx’s showing during the All-Star break in Philadelphia this past July and last month's event in Atlanta, Friday night's even offered another example of that growing community.

MLB, AUSL and college athletes -- united by the game, even if only for a few hours.

“It’s so neat to get to meet everybody,” Ankiel said about how MLBx brings everyone together. "You get to meet the girls, you get to meet the kids in college. So now I go home and when I’m watching stuff I got other people to root for."

For Ankiel, the experience also highlighted how much players across different levels have in common. "They go through the same grind, the pressures before the game, what it takes to play every day."

And those shared experiences have created opportunities to learn from each other. "You got everybody together in the clubhouse and in the cage talking about what worked for them or how they got out of a slumps. Or things that can help different players in different moments," Ankiel said. "So it’s been really neat and a lot of fun.”