MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK / CAROLINA LEAGUE : Durham Still Has a Taste of Hollywood

“Even if it is the Carolina League, it’s a chance to play every day.”

--Skip in “Bull Durham”

Lou Benbow got a good dose of life imitating art imitating life a month ago as part of teammate Michael Bowie’s wedding party.

Benbow and his Durham Bull teammates were the quasi-honor guard in the wedding, which was held on the field in Durham Ballpark. If that sounds familiar, there’s no need to rent “Bull Durham.”

“We did the whole thing, just like in the movie,” said Benbow, who played at Saddleback College in 1991. “We held the bats out as they walked by. It was very traditional.”

A walk to first instead of one down the aisle? “Batter up,” instead of “Dearly Beloved?”

Traditional? Ah, Durham.

The Bulls are arguably the most famous minor league team in the nation, thanks to the 1988 movie that starred Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

The Bulls’ management plays to it, selling videos and movie posters in the gift store. There’s even a poster of the real Crash Davis (yes, he was a real person) hanging in the stadium.

Management got a promotional bonus this season, when Bowie and his fiancee decided to be married on the field--a scene right out of the movie.

Said Andy Mason, an intern who does promotions: “I’m from the North and when I told my friends I was going to work for the Durham Bulls this summer, they all said, ‘Oh, the team from the movie.’ Everyone knows the Bulls.”

Among them, Benbow, 24, an infielder who was traded by the Met organization in late May.

“Who hasn’t seen the movie?” Benbow said. “I knew the whole story.”

A few truths, though, caught him off-guard.

Benbow learned there really was a Crash Davis, the character played by Costner. Larry (Crash) Davis played for Durham in 1949. Benbow also discovered that creaky old Durham Athletic Park was no longer home of the Bulls.

The team moved into a modern facility this season.

Of course, some reminders of the old park remain. The bull beyond the right-field fence, built for the movie, was replaced by a new, 50% larger, bull. The eyes still glow red and steam comes from the nostrils on home runs, just like its predecessor.

“I expected the old ballpark, with the wooden benches and all,” Benbow said, “but this place is outstanding. It’s a major league park. You have to love playing here.”

Benbow does, even if there is no Annie Savoy to lend a hand.

He was hitting well, when he got the chance, for St. Lucie, Fla., the Mets’ Class A team. But his .364 batting average wasn’t increasing his playing time.

So Benbow was hardly upset when he was traded to the Bulls, the Braves’ Class-A team, for former Angel catcher John Orton.

“I would get two hits and wouldn’t play the next day,” Benbow said. “I was glad to be traded. Then they told me it was to the Bulls and I said, ‘Wow.’ ”

Benbow started slowly, getting six hits in 38 at-bats. He then went on a four-game hitting streak, getting two hits in each game, to raise his average from .158 to .210.

“I was playing strictly third base with the Mets and there were three or four other guys at that position,” Benbow said. “Here, I’m playing second, short and third. I’ve been given a chance to play every day.”

Even if it is the Carolina League.

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“Don’t you think that’s a little excessive for the Carolina League?”

--Crash Davis

Former Katella pitcher Chris Reed knew of the Bulls’ legend, then he and his Winston-Salem (N.C.) teammates became part of it.

The two teams came to blows in the fourth inning of a game in late May. It would have rated only a minor mention, except it occurred on “Strike Out Domestic Violence” night.

“It would have been forgotten the next day,” Reed said. “Instead, it became national news.”

Reed, of course, will always remember it, primarily because he was the scheduled starter, but missed his turn because of a broken finger.

The fight started, Reed said, because his replacement hit a Durham batter in the fourth, which sparked the brawl.

“I went out there and tried to pull guys off each other,” Reed said. “Then somebody sucker-punched me. I didn’t have my best interest in mind after that.”

That cost Reed $100, plus a two-day suspension. He had a lot of company; the fight resulted in $6,000 in fines--a league record--and a 124 games in suspensions--also a league record.

“We’ll be forever linked with the Durham Bulls,” Reed said.

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“Big league pitchers don’t use these.”

--Ebby Calvin (Nuke) LaLoosh

“They did when they were in the Carolina League.”

--Annie Savoy

Reed, who graduated from Katella in 1991, hasn’t worn garter belts to improve his pitching.

He has won his last two starts and is 5-3 with a 3.56 earned-run average for the Cincinnati Reds’ farm club. He pitched eight innings, giving up five hits and one run, in a 4-1 victory over Salem (N.C.) last week. He also pitched seven shutout innings in a 2-1 victory over Southern Division-leading Kinston (N.C.).

More important to Reed, though, is the direction his life has taken off the field.

Reed was arrested in Plant City, Fla., for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident in March. He will have a hearing for the misdemeanor charges in September.

The incident served as a wake-up call for Reed, who has since focused more on baseball, and especially on his actions off the field.

“I’ve had to decide what’s important in my life,” Reed said. “I think it made me grow up a little bit. I can’t do things that are going to ruin my life. I was glad I learned it before the Reds had enough.”

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“This guy is a first-ball, fastball hitter. He’s looking for heat.”

--Crash Davis

Infielder Raul Rodarte, who was the most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference when he played at Rancho Santiago in 1991, has learned that looking for heat too soon can burn you.

Rodarte hit under .230 at double-A Jacksonville (Fla.) last season, then was released by the Seattle Mariners. He hooked on with the Pittsburgh Pirate organization and is hitting .294 with seven home runs and 28 runs batted in for Lynchburg (Va.) this season.

The secret to his new-found success?

“I’m a lot more patient,” Rodarte said. “I used to go up looking to hit the first thing thrown to me. Now I’m patient. I’m still aggressive, but smarter. It’s a good combination.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Carolina League Road Map A Trip to the Minors When formed: 1945; became a class-A league in 1963. Good start: Future Red Sox star Carl Yastrzemski, playing for Raleigh (N.C., no longer in the league) in 1959, won the batting title with a .377 average. He was 20.

Slams: In 1961, outfielder Chuck Weatherspoon of Wilson (N.C., no longer in the league) had by any standards a powerful season. He hit seven grand slams, including two in one game. Future Angel: Pete Cimino, who played for the Angels in 1967 and ‘68, had a career highlight in 1962 when he struck out 20 in a 7-3 victory for Wilson. *

Just about every baseball fan has seen “Bull Durham,” the Kevin Costner movie depicting life in the minors and featuring the Durham Bulls home field. But the Bulls are only part of the Carolina League’s history. Here’s a look at the league:

League Locations

Here are the league’s eight teams and their major league affiliations:

A. Durham, N.C. (Atlanta Braves)

B. Frederick, Md. (Baltimore Orioles)

C. Kinston, N.C. (Cleveland Indians)

D. Lynchburg, Va. (Pittsburgh Pirates)

E. Prince William, Va. (Chicago White Sox)

F. Salem, Va. (Colorado Rockies)

G. Wilmington, Del. (Kansas City Royals)

H. Winston-Salem, N.C. (Cincinnati Reds)

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Source: Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, league records