Durham Bulls GM Mike Blrling

Durham Bulls General Manager Mike Birling recently made the headlines. The Triangle Business Journal featured the aficionado in its April 22, 2005, edition.

Chris Baysden wrote the article entitled “A dream job at a field of dreams” about the 32-year-old from Kimberly, Wisconsin. The profile outlines Birling’s career working for baseball clubs, his passion for working behind the scenes at the ballpark and his many superstitions to ward off rain.

Baysden interviewed Capitol Sports Vice President, and Birling’s boss, George Habel for the piece. “Habel praises Birling for his maturity and his business savvy – not to mention his work ethic,” wrote Baysden. “During homestands it’s not unusual for him, and some of his staffers, to work from 8:30 in the morning to around midnight.”

The article also “exposes” Birling’s hankering or baseball food. He confesses he ate 8 hotdogs during a recent homestand and sometimes drinks 8 to 10 cans of Pepsi a day.

“When he’s not keeping the snack vendors in business, Birling is busy plotting his strategy for keeping the Bulls’ attendance as high as possible,” continued Baysden. “That includes focusing on group sales such as company outings and pushing the sale of nine-game minipacks.”

Birling is currently in full swing with the Bulls 2005 season and is hoping to rival the attendance record set in 2001 when 505,000 fans attended home games during the season.

When asked what he likes about the Triangle, Birling responded, “How passionate, loyal and knowledgeable people are about all the local sports.”

When asked what he dislikes about the Triangle, Birling responded, “How under-appreciated Durham is compared to other Triangle cities.”