The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team 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 team, which is a part of the

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� ...

, is the Double-A affiliate of the

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 ...

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. The Squirrels were previously known as the

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 ...

. 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 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 ( ...

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

Lawrenceville, Georgia Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. As of the 2020 census, the population of Lawrenceville was 30,629. In 2019, th ...

in 2009, where they are now called the Gwinnett Stripers.

History

On September 23, 2009, it was announced that the

would leave

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

for their current home at The Diamond 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 ...

, where they will continue seeking proposals for a new ballpark in the Richmond metropolitan area. The team name was changed to the "Flying Squirrels". The name the Richmond Flying Squirrels was chosen through a ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-h ...

'' readers' "name-the-team-contest," which ended on October 15, 2009. 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 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 (A ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Flying Squirrels were organized into the Double-A Northeast. 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.

Logo

The new Flying Squirrels logo was unveiled on December 1, 2009. It is a black, red, and grey flying squirrel with a patch in the shape of an "R" (for Richmond) on top of an acorn over its heart. 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 and the best minor-league logo by Baseball America in 2015.

Season records

**2010: 68–73 (5th), manager Andy Skeels **2011: 76–66 (2nd), manager

Dave Machemer David Ritchie Machemer ( ; born May 24, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1978 to 1979 for the California Angels and Detroit Tige ...

**2012: 70-71 (4th), manager

**2013: 70-72 (4th), manager

**2014: 79-63 (1st), manager

Russ Morman Russell Lee Morman (born April 28, 1962) is an American professional baseball coach, manager, and former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman/ outfielder who played for the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Florida Marlins betwe ...

**2015: 72-68 (3rd), manager

José Alguacil José Luis Alguacil (born August 9, 1972) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and a former infielder and manager. He served as first base coach of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB) for three seasons, after being n ...

**2016: 62–79 (5th), manager Miguel Ojeda **2017: 63–77 (5th), manager Kyle Haines **2018: 62–76 (6th), manager Willie Harris **2019: 55–84 (6th), manager Willie Harris **2020: Season canceled due to

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 ...

**2021: 57-56 (4th), manager Jose Alguacil **2022: 66-71 (5th), manager Jose Alguacil

Playoffs

*2014 season: Defeated Akron, 3–1, in first round; lost to

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

3–0, in championship round. *2022 season: Lost to

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tige ...

2-0 in first round

Roster

References

Notes Sources
Eastern League Announces Relocation to Richmond for the 2010 Season – Official Eastern League Press Release

Defenders relocating to Richmond – Minor League Baseball news story

External links

Official website
{{Virginia Sports Baseball teams established in 2010 Eastern League (1938–present) teams Sports in Richmond, Virginia Sports in Capital District (New York) Professional baseball teams in Virginia San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates 2010 establishments in Virginia Double-A Northeast teams Squirrels in popular culture