LOUISVILLE BATS SEASON REVIEW LOUISVILLE BATS GAMEIN NOTES
2024 SEASON IN REVIEWTHURSDAY, // FINAL NOTES, JUNE 29, 6:35 STATISTICS, PM E.T. AND HIGHLIGHTS LOUISVILLE (40-33) VS. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (33-41) LOUISVILLE BATS: 67-82 BATS FINAL RECORD, 38-36 1ST HALF, 29-46 2ND HALF RHP Zack Brown (3-1, 7.28) vs. LHP Nate Fisher (5-7, 5.00) IL STANDINGS: 20th Overall (22.5 GB), T-5th 1st Half (11.5 GB), 20th 2nd Half (19.5 GB) Bats Media Relations: Aaron Cheris (acheris@batsbaseball.com), Nick Curran (ncurran@batsbaseball.com), Trey Curry (tcurry@batsbaseball.com) X/Twitter: @BatsBaseball
BATS LEAGUE RANKINGS
BATS NOTES
Bats Batting/IL Rankings AVG:.................246.............. 17th OBP:.................328........... T-19th SLG:.................397.............. 18th Runs:...............701............ T-18th Hits:................1223.............. 17th Doubles:..........270................. 6th Triples:..............19............. T-15th Homers:...........148............... 16th RBI:.................649............... 19th Walks:..............564............... 16th SO:.................1414................ 3rd SB:...................123............... 16th CS....................22................ 20th Bats Pitching/IL Rankings Wins:................ 67................. 20th ERA:................5.06.............. 12th WHIP:..............1.51........... T-14th AVG:.................267.............. 19th Shutouts:.......... 5............... T-14th Saves:............. 33................. 10th Hits:............... 1330............. T-2nd Runs:.............. 809.................. 4th Homers:.......... 181.................. 3rd Hit Batters:....... 82................... 6th Walks:............. 622................ 10th Strikeouts:..... 1251............... 17th
2024 REVIEW: The Louisville Bats ended the season with a 67-82 record, 22.5 games behind International League West Division winner and the eventual IL Champions, the Omaha Storm Chasers. The Bats had a much stronger first half, finishing second in the IL West and tied for fifth in the league with a 38-36 record, 11.5 games behind Omaha. The second half was a struggle for Louisville, as constant roster turnover and a 12-game losing streak in August ended any chance of a second straight winning season for the Bats. They were the sole IL team to record fewer than 30 wins in the second half, ultimately finishing at the bottom of the standings. The Bats posted a winning record at home for the second straight season, going 39-34 at Louisville Slugger Field to finish one shy of the 2023 win total at home of 40. The road was difficult for the Bats, as their 28 wins were the fewest posted by Louisville in a full season since 2019.
RECORD BREAKDOWN Overall Record:................... 67-82 Home:.................................. 39-34 Road:................................... 28-48 Day Games:........................ 16-22 Night Games:...................... 51-60 Extra Innings......................... 9-10 Series Record W-L-T.......... 9-10-7 Doubleheaders W-L-T:.......... 3-1-2 Shutout W/L:............................ 5-8 Last At-Bat W/L.................... 16-12 Walk-Off W/L:........................ 10-6 Score First:.......................... 37-29 Score 2nd/Didn't Score:....... 30-53 1-Run Games: ���������������������25-26 2-Run Games:..................... 15-10 3-Run Games:....................... 7-14 4+ Run Games:................... 20-32 March:..................................... 2-1 April:.................................... 12-13 May:....................................... 17-9 June:.................................... 10-16 July:....................................... 8-14 August:.................................. 9-19 September:............................ 9-10 Leading after 6:..................... 45-9 Leading after 7:..................... 49-7 Leading after 8:..................... 46-4 Tied after 6:........................... 12-6 Tied after 7:........................... 10-7 Tied after 8:........................... 10-6 Trailing after 6:....................... 9-66 Trailing after 7:....................... 6-67 Trailing after 8:....................... 4-68 With HR:.............................. 50-45 Without HR:......................... 17-37 Allow HR:............................. 38-56 Allow No HR:....................... 29-26 With Error:........................... 31-42 Without Error:...................... 36-40 Vs. LH Starter:..................... 21-23 Vs. RH Starter:.................... 46-59
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FIELD SUPPORT: The Bats celebrated the 25th year of Louisville Slugger Field in 2024 and achieved another milestone in the ballpark's great history. During the homestand before the All-Star break, the Bats welcomed the 12 millionth fan to Louisville Slugger Field on Saturday, 7/15 vs. St. Paul. For the season, 361,825 fans came to Louisville Slugger Field for an average of 5,096 per game. Opening Night on 3/29 was the highest attended game, bringing in 9,299 fans. Following the 24th season of baseball in downtown Louisville (not including the cancelled 2020 season), the Bats have averaged over 8,200 fans per game since the ballpark opened in 2000. LOOK AT ALL THOSE BATS: While the Bats didn't come close to the franchise record of 94 players in 2022 or 2023's total of 84 players, the Bats still made use of a variety of different players in 2024, with 74 taking the field for Louisville over the course of the season. The 74 players included 31 position players and 43 pitchers. Eight appeared with the Bats only on rehab assignments and only two-Erik Gonzalez and P.J. Higgins-remained on the roster for the entirety of the regular season. The 267 Louisville transactions are also well below the 288 from 2023. Overall, 21 different players hit at least one home run for the Bats and 23 different pitchers earned at least one win on the mound. BATS TO REDS: Of the 74 players take the field for Louisville in 2024, 35 also appeared in the big leagues for the Cincinnati Reds, with 16 being position players and 19 being pitchers. The 35 players that appeared in a game for both the Bats and Reds falls well below the mark of 53 from 2023 and 52 from 2022, while equaling the total of 35 from 2021, the first year back from the pandemic. Of the 35 to play for both clubs this year, nine players made their Major League debut for the Reds in Jacob Hurtubise (5/13), Blake Dunn (6/4), Levi Jordan (6/24), Yosver Zulueta (6/25), Rece Hinds (7/8), Eric Yang (7/31), Julian Aguiar (8/9), Evan Kravetz (8/28), and Rhett Lowder (8/30). PK2K: Bats Manager Pat Kelly etched his name into the history books during the 2024 season. With the 3-2 victory on 7/11 over St. Paul, Kelly became the seventh Minor League manager to win 2,000 games. He was later honored in a pre-game ceremony on 7/20 in which he was given a multitude of gifts including a custom team-signed jersey, personalized shoes featuring his likeness on the tongue, a commemorative bat, and additional gifts. He's the third active manager to reach the 2,000 win plateau after Buddy Bailey (Myrtle Beach) and Rick Sweet (Nashville). With the 67 wins this season, Kelly became the second skipper in franchise history to record 300 wins and he now sits second in Louisville history with 320 wins, behind only Rick Sweet's 539, a franchise record. Kelly began his managerial career in 1986 with the Single-A Charleston Rainbows and has since managed 17 different affiliates across every level of Minor League Baseball, as well as two stints coaching at the Major League level for the Reds. Kelly began his professional baseball career as a 17-year-old playing rookie ball in the Angels' organization in 1973 and went on to play in three MLB games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980. LOUISVILLE'S 6,000TH GAME: On 9/12, the Bats suffered a 5-4 road loss to the Iowa Cubs, marking the 6,000th regular-season game in Louisville franchise history (dating back to 1982). In that span, the Louisville franchise has been known as the Redbirds (1982-98), and RiverBats (1999-2001) before ultimately becoming the Bats in 2002. At the end of the 2024 season, the All-Time Louisville record is 2,927-3,082 for a .487 winning percentage over 42 seasons including 2024. The Bats concluded the season with a 28-48 road record, marking their seventh consecutive losing season away from Louisville Slugger Field. The last time the Bats had a winning record on the road was in 2016 when they were 38-34 under manager Delino DeShields. However, Louisville clinched a second straight winning season at home with a 39-34 record in 2024 after going 40-35 at Louisville Slugger Field in 2023. ONE-RUN BATTLES: The Bats were involved in an incredible number of tight games during the 2024 season. Of the Bats' 149 games, 51 (34 percent) were decided by exactly one run, with Louisville going 25-26 in those games. In the first half, that was a strength for the Bats, as they went 14-9 in one-run decisions. The second half was a struggle in those situations, as the Bats finished 11-17 in one-run games. In 2023, the Bats excelled in the close contests, going 22-13 in one-run affairs. WHAT'S IN A NAME?: With Ivan Johnson's Triple-A debut on 7/26, he became the ninth player ever to play for the Louisville franchise with the last name Johnson and the first since Sherman Johnson took the field for the Bats in 11 games in 2019. Other Johnsons to take the field for Louisville include Tampa Bay Rays hero Dan Johnson (played for the Bats in 2015) and 1996 All-Star Lance Johnson (played for the Redbirds in 1987). Johnson is the second most popular last name in Louisville history, behind only Perez. That name leaped to the top of the Louisville leaderboard when Hernan Perez debuted for the Bats on Opening Night on 3/29 becoming the 10th different player with the last name Perez. Some of the nine previous players named Perez to take the field for Louisville include current Orioles reliever Cionel Perez (pitched for the Bats in 2021), and current Indianapolis Indians Manager Miguel Perez (played for the Bats in 2005).