Bull Durham Racing Mascots

“You just got lesson number one: don't think; it can only hurt the ball club.” – Crash Davis

Contrary to the wise words of Kevin Costner in the 1988 classic “Bull Durham,” somebody on the marketing team for the Durham Bulls WAS thinking. And it’s already paying dividends for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate.

The Bulls introduced a new attraction at their home opener on Monday – racing mascots!

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of the top baseball movies of all time, Crash, Nuke and Annie will be racing around the track every Bulls home game this season.

Annie won the inaugural race, and I would expect no less. Her opening monologue resonates in baseball movie history with Babe’s pep talk in “The Sandlot,” Terence Mann’s speech in “Field of Dreams” and Buck Weaver’s in “Eight Men Out.”

The Bulls drew more than 8,000 fans on their Opening Day to lead all Minor League franchises.

Between the racing mascots and exciting prospects like Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer, Durham has a lot going for it these days.

And don’t expect the race to have a “Teddy Never Wins” component to it – because everybody wins in “Bull Durham.”