The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activit ...

. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from J ...

and were a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 325 Field. Opened in 1993, Legion Field held 2,588 fans. Before coming to Danville, they played at

Calfee Park Calfee Park is a stadium in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home ballpark of the Pulaski River Turtles in the Appalachian League, a summer collegiate baseball league. It was built in 1935 as a Work ...

in Pulaski, Virginia. On September 3, 2006, Danville won their first ever Appalachian League championship, defeating the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team pla ...

2 games to 1, in a best of three series. On September 3, 2009, Danville won their second Appalachian League championship, again defeating the Elizabethton Twins, this time two games to zero. The Danville Braves mascot was a large, green bird named Blooper. In 2019, they had an attendance of 30,000. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores. The Braves were replaced by the Danville Otterbots, a new franchise in the revamped league.

Notable players

Notable players who have played for Danville include: MG 6582 Jason Marquis

Manny Acosta Manuel Alcides Acosta Molinar (born May 1, 1981) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, and for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Profess ...

(2005) *

Ronald Acuña Jr. Ronald José Acuña Blanco Jr. (born December 18, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). After signing with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014, Acuña made his ...

(2015) *

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist ...

(2016) * Elvis Andrus (2005) * Wilson Betemit (1999) * Kyle Davies (2002) *

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

(1993) *

Jeff Francoeur Jeffrey Braden Francoeur (; born January 8, 1984), nicknamed "Frenchy", is an American former professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals ...

(2002) *

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, he ...

(1998) * Evan Gattis (2010) * Marcus Giles (1997) * Tommy Hanson (2006) * Matt Harrison (2004) * Jason Heyward (2007) *

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodg ...

(1994) * Craig Kimbrel (2008) *

Adam LaRoche David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbac ...

(2000) *

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Ariz ...

(1996) * Andy Marte (2001) * Kris Medlen (2006) * Kevin Millwood (1994) *

John Rocker John Loy Rocker (born October 17, 1974) is a former American relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves. Making his major league debut in 1998 as a member of the Braves, with whom he p ...

(1994) *

Andrelton Simmons Andrelton A. Simmons (born September 4, 1989) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago Cubs. D ...

(2010) *

Randall Simon Randall Carlito Simon (born May 25, 1975) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball first baseman. He has played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), LVBP and one in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) between 1997 an ...

(1993) * Julio Teherán (2008) *

Joey Terdoslavich Joseph Thomas Terdoslavich (born September 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman for the Bravos de León of the Mexican League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 2013 to 20 ...

(2010) *

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

(2000) * Esteban Yan (1993)

Playoffs

*2014: Defeated

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

2–0 in semifinals; lost to Johnson City 2–1 in finals. *2012: Lost to

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both t ...

2–1 in semifinals. *2011: Lost to Johnson City 2–1 in semifinals. *2009: Defeated

2–0 to win championship. *2007: Lost to

2–0 in finals. *2006: Defeated

2–1 to win championship. *2005: Lost to

2–1 in finals. *2004: Lost to Greeneville 2–1 in finals. *2000: Lost to

2–0 in finals.

References

External links

* Baseball teams established in 1993 Baseball teams disestablished in 2020 Defunct Appalachian League teams Danville, Virginia Professional baseball teams in Virginia Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates 1993 establishments in Virginia 2020 disestablishments in Virginia {{Virginia-baseball-team-stub