The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

affiliate 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 ...

from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the R-Braves, they played their home games at a stadium called The Diamond on Richmond's Northside built for them in 1985, and before then Parker Field on the same site. The franchise moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia in 2009 to play in the newly built

Coolray Field Coolray Field (formerly known as Gwinnett Stadium) is a 10,427-seat minor league baseball park in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a mailing address in Lawrenceville). It is the home field of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A ...

as the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

. The R-Braves came to Richmond in 1966 after the Braves' top affiliate, the Atlanta Crackers, moved to Virginia. The then-Milwaukee Braves had bought the Crackers as part of their planned move to Atlanta in 1965; under MLB rules of the day, they bought the Crackers in order to obtain the major league rights to Atlanta. However, an injunction forced the Braves to play a lame-duck season in Milwaukee in 1965, leaving them to operate the Crackers in Atlanta for one more season. When searching for a new home for the Crackers, they landed in Richmond, where Parker Field had been left open by the previous year's move of the Richmond Virginians, a

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

affiliate that moved in 1965. At the time of the R-Braves' departure to Gwinnett, only the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and their

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 ...

affiliate, the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields, Nicaragua *Bluefields, Jamaica Bluefields is a settlement in Westmoreland Parish on the Carib ...

, had held a longer affiliation agreement in a single city than Atlanta/Richmond's 43 seasons. The Braves played their final game on September 1, 2008, against their long-time intrastate rivals, the Norfolk Tides. Richmond won, 9–3, in front of a sellout crowd of 12,167. After the game players and alumni threw balls and other keepsakes to fans in the stands, and fans were able to walk onto the field. In 2010, the Double-A

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

Connecticut Defenders 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 ...

, a

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

affiliate (but independently owned), moved to Richmond to play as the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Titles

The R-Braves won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the International League, five times, and played in ten championship series. *1966 – Lost to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

*1976 – Lost to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

*1978 – Defeated Pawtucket *1981 – Lost to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

*1983 – Lost to

Tidewater Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...

*1986 – Defeated Rochester *1989 – Defeated

*1994 – Defeated

*2004 – Lost to Buffalo *2007 – Defeated Durham; lost to Sacramento (PCL) in AAA Championship Game

Alumni

Tommie Aaron Tommie Lee Aaron (August 5, 1939 – August 16, 1984) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball. Aaron was the younger brother of Hall of Fame member Hank Aaro ...

* Jim Acker * Steve Avery * Dusty Baker *

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams between 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 ...

Howard Battle Howard Dion Battle (born March 25, 1972) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. Battle spent parts of three seasons in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an Ame ...

Rob Belloir Robert Edward Belloir (born July 13, 1948), is a former professional baseball player. Born in Heidelberg, West Germany, he was the 25th German-born player in Major League Baseball. Belloir attended Southwest High School in Atlanta where he playe ...

* Bruce Benedict * Wilson Betemit * Jeff Blauser * Pedro Borbón, Jr. * Joe Borowski *

Jim Breazeale James Leo Breazeale (born October 3, 1949) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. Standing tall and weighing , he batted left-handed, and threw right-handed. Breazeale was a highly regarded amateur player at Sam Houston High ...

* Brett Butler * Francisco Cabrera * José Capellán * Vinny Castilla * Chris Chambliss * Bruce Chen * Román Colón * Bobby Cox * Kyle Davies *

Mark DeRosa Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cu ...

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 ...

* Gary Eave * Yunel Escobar *

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternat ...

Sal Fasano Salvatore Frank Fasano (; born August 10, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played for nine different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams over his 11-year big league career. Upon retiring as a player, he became a coach ...

* Ron Gant * Ralph Garr * Marcus Giles * Ed Giovanola * Tom Glavine *

Tony Graffanino Anthony Joseph Graffanino (; born Graffagnino, June 6, 1972) is a former American Major League Baseball second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop. Career Graffanino was primarily a contact hitter (just 481 strikeouts in 2787 big-league at-b ...

* Tommy Greene *

Wes Helms Wesley Ray Helms (born May 12, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. During his 13-year playing career, Helms played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies. He played primarily as ...

* Jason Heyward * Tom House * Tyler Houston * Glenn Hubbard * Chuck James * Kelly Johnson *

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 ...

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the List of first ov ...

Brian Jordan Brian O'Neal Jordan (born March 29, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and National Football League safety. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, while he played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los An ...

David Justice David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989–1996), Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), New York Yanke ...

Ryan Klesko Ryan Anthony Klesko (born June 12, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. He attended Westminster High School in Westminster, C ...

* Ryan Langerhans *

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 ...

* Tony La Russa * Mark Lemke * Kerry Ligtenberg * Grady Little *

Javy López Javier "Javy" López Torres (born November 5, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1992–2003), Baltimore Orioles (2004–2006) and Boston Red Sox (2006). He batted and threw right- ...

Mickey Mahler Michael James Mahler (born July 30, 1952) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during eight seasons at the major league level for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Texa ...

Rick Mahler Richard Keith Mahler (August 5, 1953 – March 2, 2005) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1979–1988, 1991), Cincinnati Reds (1989–1990) and Montreal Expos (1991). His brother Mickey was a major ...

* Jason Marquis * Andy Marte * Kent Mercker * Kevin Millwood * Charlie Morton *

Mike Mordecai Michael Howard Mordecai (born December 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played for the Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since 2010, he has worked in the Tor ...

* Dale Murphy * David Nied *

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 ...

* Santiago Rosario * Chico Ruiz *

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

Jason Schmidt Jason David Schmidt (born January 29, 1973), is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. In his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2009), San Francisco Giants (2001–06), Pittsburgh Pirates (1996–2001) and Atlan ...

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 ...

* Pete Smith * John Smoltz * Mike Stanton * Tony Tarasco * Billy Taylor * Scott Thorman *

Andy Tomberlin Andy Lee Tomberlin (born November 7, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played mainly at right field for five different teams between the 1993 and 1998 seasons. Listed at , 160 lbs, he batted and threw left-hande ...

* Turk Wendell * Mark Wohlers * Earl Williams *

Ned Yost Edgar Frederick Yost III (; born August 19, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He played for the Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos. Early life Yost was born o ...

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Richmond Braves 1966 establishments in Virginia 2008 disestablishments in Virginia Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Virginia Defunct International League teams Baseball teams established in 1966 Baseball teams disestablished in 2008 Sports in Richmond, Virginia