The Gwinnett Stripers are a
Minor League Baseball team of the
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 ( ...
(IL) and the
Triple-A 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 B ...
. They play their home games at
Coolray Field in unincorporated
Gwinnett County, Georgia
Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulto ...
(with a
Lawrenceville address) in suburban
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
. They are named for
striped bass
The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
in reference to the popularity of fishing in the region.
The team was established in 2009 after the International League's
Richmond Braves relocated from
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
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. Named the Gwinnett Braves after their major league affiliate, they adopted their current moniker in 2018. The Stripers moved from the IL to the Triple-A East in conjunction with MLB's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, but this league was renamed the International League in 2022.
History
In January 2008, 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 B ...
announced plans to relocate its
Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate from
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
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, map_caption = Location within Virginia
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, pushpin_label = Richmond
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, to
Gwinnett County in suburban
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
. The move came after years of trying to reach a suitable plan with the city of Richmond to finance the construction of a new stadium to replace
The Diamond, which had been home to the
Richmond Braves since 1985, or find a new location altogether.
The relocated team was to begin play in 2009 at the newly constructed Gwinnett Stadium, renamed
Coolray Field in 2010.
Known as the Gwinnett Braves, they were members of 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 ( ...
(IL), as were the Richmond Braves who preceded them.
The move to Gwinnett County marked a return home of sorts for the franchise, which traces its roots to the founding of the
Atlanta Crackers
The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966.
History
Atlanta played its first ...
in 1901. They became the top affiliate of the then-Milwaukee Braves in 1965. When the Braves moved from
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, to Atlanta in 1966, they moved the Crackers to Richmond, where the minor league franchise took the name of the parent club.
The Gwinnett Braves played their first game on April 9, 2009, defeating the
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...
, 9–1, at
Knights Stadium in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
. Their first home game was played on April 17. With 10,427 people in attendance, the Braves lost to the visiting
Norfolk Tides
The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...
, 7–4. Their first home win occurred three nights later when Gwinnett defeated the
Durham Bulls, 5–2. The Braves ended their inaugural season in second place in the South Division, two games behind Durham, at 81–63. Though failing to win the division title, they did qualify for the International League's wildcard playoff spot under
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
Dave Brundage. They were eliminated in the semifinals by the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 3–1.
From 2010 to 2012, a trio of Gwinnett players won the
International League Rookie of the Year Award.
First baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...
Freddie Freeman
Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...
won the honor in 2010. At the time of his selection, he led the IL with 147
hits and 240
total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...
, was second in
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average i ...
(.319),
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
(RBI) (87),
doubles (35) and
extra-base hit
In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...
s (55), and led all first baseman with a .994
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
. In 2011,
Julio Teherán, who also won the
Most Valuable Pitcher Award, was the Rookie of the Year after leading the league with 15
wins WINS may refer to:
*WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City
*WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City
*World Institute for Nuclear Security
*Windows Internet Name Service
*WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems
*Wireles ...
and a 2.22
ERA in 24 games. First baseman
Ernesto Mejía, who led the circuit with 91 RBI, 148 hits, and 253 total bases at the time of his selection, was the 2012 Rookie of the Year.
Despite narrow second-place finishes in 2011 and 2015, the Braves did not return to the postseason until 2016. Manager
Brian Snitker
Brian Gerald Snitker (born October 17, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and former player who is the manager of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Snitker has been in the Braves organization in different roles si ...
led the team until May 17 when he was promoted to manage the major league club in Atlanta. Rick Albert and
John Moses, his replacements on an interim basis, led the 2016 Braves to win the South Division title with a 65–78 record. They defeated the
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...
, 3–1, in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the
Governors' Cup playoffs in which they lost the International League championship versus the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 3–1.
The Braves rebranded as the Gwinnett Stripers prior to the 2018 season. The moniker refers to
striped bass
The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
, which are fished out of nearby
Lake Lanier
Lake Lanier (officially Lake Sidney Lanier) is a reservoir in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the Chestatee ...
, and serves as a nod to the popularity of outdoor activities in the region. A name-the-team contest was held to select the nickname. Among the finalists were "Big Mouths", "Buttons", "Gobblers", "Hush Puppies", "Lambchops", and "Sweet Teas". The selection committee initially chose Big Mouths, referring to
largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, b ...
, but decided Stripers would be a better fit for their vision of the team's identity.
The 2019 Stripers won the South Division title with a 80–59 record under
Damon Berryhill. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the semifinals by Columbus, 3–1.
Berryhill was selected to win the
International League Manager of the Year Award
The International League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League ...
.
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 identified ...
before being cancelled on June 30.
Following the 2020 season,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
assumed control of Minor League Baseball in a move to increase player salaries, modernize facility standards, and reduce travel. The Braves retained Gwinnett as their Triple-A affiliate. However, the International League disbanded, and the Stripers followed the rest of the IL teams into the
Triple-A East.
Gwinnett ended the season in third place in the Southeastern Division with a 68–51 record.
No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.
However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.
[ Gwinnett finished the tournament in 25th place with a 3–7 record.] In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
The Stripers are located only from their parent club's home stadium, Truist Park
Truist Park (originally SunTrust Park) is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened i ...
in Cobb County
Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county s ...
, the third-shortest distance between a Triple-A team and its major-league parent. Only the St. Paul Saints, based east of Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...
, and the Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...
, based south of Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, are closer to their MLB parent clubs. The 2021 season marked the 57th season of affiliation between the Braves and Stripers (and their predecessors), the longest-running affiliation agreement in Triple-A.
Season-by-season records
Logos and uniforms
From 2009 to 2017, the colors of the Gwinnett Braves were navy blue and red, the same as their Atlanta parent. The primary logo resembled the Atlanta Braves' primary logo, but with a silver outline and "Gwinnett" centered above. The home jersey had the classic Braves' wordmark centered on the front, with the "Gwinnett" underscore underlining it. However, unlike Atlanta's jersey with navy blue and red piping, Gwinnett's jersey featured red sleeves with blue stripes.
Along with the Braves' 2018 rebrand as the Stripers, the team adopted new colors and logos. Their primary colors became dark blue and sea green, with red retained as an accent color. The new logos feature a green striped bass
The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
.
Radio and television
From the inaugural 2009 season through 2019, Tony Schiavone
Noah Anthony Schiavone (, ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling Commentator (professional wrestling), commentator and podcaster currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a play-by-play commen ...
, former voice of the Atlanta Braves, Charlotte Knights, World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Natio ...
, and World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
, was the play-by-play announcer. Dave Lezotte has been the lead broadcaster since the beginning of the 2021 season.
All Stripers home and road broadcasts are broadcast on My Country 99.3 WCON-FM.[ Live audio broadcasts are also available online through the station's website as well as on the team's website and the MiLB First Pitch app. Games can be viewed through the MiLB.TV subscription feature of the official website of Minor League Baseball, with audio provided by a radio simulcast.
]
Roster
Achievements
Retired numbers
The Stripers have not honored any players from their franchise history in Gwinnett by retiring
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
their uniform numbers. When a number is retired, only the player with the retired number can wear that number if he returns to that team as a player or coach. This ensures that the number will be associated with one player of particular importance to the team. However, they have honored former Richmond Braves player and manager Tommie Aaron, brother of Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
, by retiring his number 23 on April 12, 2012. Additionally, Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...
's number 42 was retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997.
Awards
Three players and one manager won International League awards in recognition for their performance with Gwinnett.
Managers
Gwinnett has had seven managers
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
since their inaugural 2009 season.
References
External links
*
Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''
{{Atlanta Sports
2009 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates
Baseball teams established in 2009
International League teams
Stripers
Professional baseball teams in Georgia (U.S. state)
Triple-A East teams