Friday, March 31, 2023

Ryan Thompson loved baseball, got to serve as Durham Bulls bat boy

1990 Durham Bulls team photo card highlighting bat boy Ryan Thompson

Going into the 12th grade at local Northern High School in the fall of 1989, Ryan Thompson was also in the midst of his second summer at work, according to The Durham Sun.

His job? Durham Bulls bat boy.

For Thompson, the job was a perfect fit, he told The Sun in August of that year.

"I love the game of baseball and with this job I feel like I'm a member of the Durham Bulls team," Thompson, then 17, told The Sun. "It's a great job to have for the summer."

Thompson eventually had the job for at least one more season, 1990.

He also got himself onto a baseball card, if only a group shot.

Thompson made the 1990 Durham Bulls team photo card. He's listed as there on the front row, left side.

The Sun article from August 1989 has more on Thompson and fellow bat boy Todd Parrish, their work with the team and even the fan reaction to the still-recent Bull Durham.

1990 Durham Bulls team photo card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,150
Made the Majors:1,370-33.0%
Never Made Majors:2,780-67.0%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:557
10+ Seasons in the Minors:338

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