The Diamond, to become home to Giants affiliate

The Diamond, former home to the AAA-Richmond Braves, was a fond memory for me, since it was the closest thing to the real Atlanta Braves I could actually see while still living out in Virginia. Unfortunately, more people saw the Diamond as this dated dump of a baseball venue, known for it's shoddy construction, and the one time scare of a giant chunk of concrete falling off of it. So the the AAA-Braves were moved from Richmond to Gwinnett, and has been more or less used exclusively for college (VCU) baseball.

Until 2010, when the AA level's Eastern League has decided to do a little bit of expanding, and create a new team, whose home will be the Diamond. Name, and which division they'll be in is unknown yet, but they will be affiliated with the San Francisco Giants.

Whether or not this will create some future fandom towards the Giants is yet to be known, but at least for my former fellow Virginians, more baseball is coming back in the void left by the R-Braves.

over 2 years ago royhobbs 10 comments 0 recs |

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I hate the Giants

Yankees are the worst, but the Giants aren’t far behind. I’ve never liked any of their players.

Frank Wren for GM of the Year.
"Wait, bait and bash." - Jason Heyward's personal philosophy.

by Scott Coleman on Sep 24, 2009 1:41 AM EDT reply actions

How can you hate on the Panda?

7/10/09-A New Dawn.

by !Vive la Francoeur! on Sep 24, 2009 1:48 AM EDT up reply actions

He's not bad I guess...

Frank Wren for GM of the Year.
"Wait, bait and bash." - Jason Heyward's personal philosophy.

by Scott Coleman on Sep 24, 2009 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions

This is very good. I loved the Richmond Braves. They’re the reason why I’m a Braves fan. It may be the Giants affiliate and a level lower but I’m glad to have baseball back in Richmond.

by Rich Town on Sep 24, 2009 2:54 AM EDT reply actions

Sweet! So we go from Atlanta and NY teams to SF and Baltimore.

I get Baltimore, but SF? Really?

The SF execs are going to fly across the country everytime they want to see their boys play? That doesn’t make a ton of sense.

But, as one of the many Virginians here, I am glad that more baseball is coming back!

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Sep 24, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions

The Giants already had the AA team in Conneticut for the last like 8 years, so this isn’t really that big of a difference. Their contract with the team ends after next year, so it seems likely they might try to hook on with a Texas League team after that, but at least for a year it won’t be any different than what they’ve been doing.

I’m personally very excited about this, since it means only an hour and a half drive to see the Eastern League rather than the three and a half that it takes to get to Bowie. Hell, I didn’t even go to Bowie this year at all. Of course, this also means way to many options for baseball next year, but that’s a pretty good problem.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Sep 24, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I am jealous. I have a minimum 2.5 hour drive to see ANY baseball (Midland is the closest to me, followed by Arlington).

Gosh, I can’t wait to get back to Va…or the East Coast in general.

Do you make trips to virtually every minor league each year?

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Sep 24, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I pretty much keep it on the East Coast. Obviously, I get the International League here in Norfolk, and then I also get the Southern League in Zebulon, NC (Carolina Mudcats, 2.5 hour drive), the Carolina League in Woodbridge, VA (Potomac Nationals, 2.5 hour drive), and the South Atlantic League in Salibury, MD (Delmarva Shorebirds, 2.5 hour drive), as well as the independent Atlantic League in Waldorf, MD (Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, 2.5 hour drive).
Occasionally I’ll get up to see the Eastern League in Bowie, MD (Baysox, 3 hour drive), but I actually didn’t this year, though Richmond will make it a lot more likely I’ll be seeing some games in this league next year. And I also try to catch Danville at least once a year, either in Danville (4 hour drive) or maybe in Burlington, NC (Royals, 4.5 hour drive).
So I definitely don’t hit every league, but I hit every level of the minors. I keep wanting to make a trip down to check out the Florida State League and one to see Gwinnett, Mississippi, and Rome, but those haven’t worked themselves out yet.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Sep 26, 2009 2:49 AM EDT up reply actions