Richmond Flying Squirrels | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
Class | Double-A (1995–present) | ||||
League | Eastern League (1995–present) | ||||
Division | Southwest Division | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Team | San Francisco Giants (2003–present) | ||||
Previous teams |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (1) |
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Division titles (3) |
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First-half titles (1) |
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Second-half titles (1) |
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Team data | |||||
Name |
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Previous names |
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Colors | Red, black, gray, white | ||||
Mascots | Nutzy and Nutasha | ||||
Ballpark | The Diamond (2010–present) | ||||
Previous parks |
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Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Lou DiBella | ||||
General manager | Todd Parnell | ||||
Manager | Dennis Pelfrey |
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. The Flying Squirrels have been affiliated with the Giants since 2010, making it the longest-running active affiliation in the Giants organization among teams not owned by the Giants. [1] The Squirrels were previously known as the Connecticut Defenders.
The Flying Squirrels mark affiliated baseball's return to Richmond after a one-year absence prompted by the relocation of the former Triple-A International League's Richmond Braves to Lawrenceville, Georgia in 2009, where they are now called the Gwinnett Stripers.
On September 23, 2009, it was announced that the Connecticut Defenders would leave Norwich for their current home at The Diamond in Richmond, Virginia, where they will continue seeking proposals for a new ballpark in the Richmond metropolitan area. The team name was changed to the "Flying Squirrels". [2]
The name the Richmond Flying Squirrels was chosen through a Richmond Times-Dispatch readers' "name-the-team-contest," which ended on October 15, 2009. [2] The name was submitted by Brad Mead of Prince George, Virginia. Other finalists were the Rock Hoppers, Hambones, Rhinos, Flatheads, and Hush Puppies. (The name Hambones was later ruled out of the contest after the city's uproar and the NAACP finding that "the Hambones" could be seen as a derogatory term directed towards the African-American community.)
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Flying Squirrels were organized into the Double-A Northeast. [3] In 2022, the Double-A Northeast became known as the Eastern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. [4]
The new Flying Squirrels logo was unveiled on December 1, 2009. [5] It is a black, red, and grey flying squirrel meant to look like the outline of Virginia with a patch in the shape of an "R" (for Richmond) on top of an acorn over its heart, roughly where Richmond is located in Virginia. The logo was designed by San Diego-based sports branding firm Brandiose. It was named the logo of the year by Ballpark Digest in 2010 [6] and the best minor-league logo by Baseball America in 2015. [7]
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The Eastern League (EL) is a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) sports league that has operated under that name since 1938, with the exception of the 2021 season, during which the league operated under the moniker Double-A Northeast. The league has played at the Double-A level since 1963, and consists primarily of teams located in the Northeastern United States.
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The Diamond is a baseball stadium located in Richmond, Virginia, USA, on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. It is the home of Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League and the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team. From 1985 to 2008, it was the home of the Richmond Braves, the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. The Diamond seats 12,134 people for baseball; however, for Flying Squirrels games, advertising banners cover up the top rows of the upper deck, reducing seating capacity to 9,560.
The Connecticut Defenders were a Minor League Baseball team based in Norwich, Connecticut. The team, which played in the Eastern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major-league club from 2003 until following the 2009 season, when the Defenders relocated to Richmond, Virginia and are now known as the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
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