The Durham Bulls, Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, are headed back to the promised land. After another great season, the Bulls are once again the best team in the International League East. This is something that fans have come to expect due to their incredible success as of late. Durham has won two National Championships and seven League Championships over the past two decades. This year, the Bulls have won the Triple-A National Championship for the fourth time.

Durham’s success has been due to some incredible individual performances this season. Infielder Vidal Brujan has been the largest contributor this season with an on-base percentage of .369, along with 21 runs batted in, and 75 hits. Brujan was also named the International League Championship Game MVP.

Another standout Bull infielder is Jim Haley. Haley has recorded 86 hits along with 18 home runs this past season. He was intrical to Durham’s success down the line as they were looking to clinch a spot in the playoffs. 

This is a Bulls team that got off to a very slow start in March. They started the year 4-10 and were at the bottom of the division for a month, but ramped it up and turned their season around. They are now on minor league baseball’s highest mountain top, as Durham is a city of champions once again. This great turnaround shouldn’t come as a surprise, the Rays were voted the best farm system in baseball by ESPN last offseason.

A lot is unknown surrounding the future of the Rays organization. Although they clinched yet another postseason berth this year, they have been relatively stagnant since their trip to the World Series in 2020. 

It may soon be time for some of the high profile minor leaguers to step up and perform at the MLB level.