Gwinnett Stripers

From BR Bullpen

Gwinnett Stripers.png

Team History[edit]

The Gwinnett Stripers, of the International League and briefly in Triple-A East, are named for striped bass - spun off from the 2017 naming-contest submission Big Mouths for nearby Lake Lanier's largemouth bass. The Atlanta Braves farmhands play their home games at Coolray Field outside Lawrenceville, GA.

The Braves moved their owned-and-operated Triple-A Richmond Braves to Atlanta's most populous suburban county from Virginia, in 2009. After years of serious convincing of the big Braves' front office, the farm club ran the contest to abandon the parent brand. Its leadership said it was very hard to create separate buzz with the big-league Braves playing just a few miles away, and also cited cases of people buying tickets to one game and showing up at the other.

The Stripers are among the teams Endeavor Group Holdings acquired in late 2021 and put under its newly created Diamond Baseball Holdings subsidiary. Endeavor's announcement differentiated that it will "operate" the four Braves' teams, suggesting something other than an outright sale.[1] Endeavor, which was created in a merger of two talent agencies, also owns Ultimate Fighting Championship and Miss Universe. However, after the MLB Players Association threatened to block Endeavor talent agents from representing professional baseball players on the grounds that a talent agency owning baseball teams is a conflict of interest, Endeavor sold DBH to the equity firm Silver Lake Partners - a major investor in Endeavor.

Uniquely, before bringing the Braves/Stripers home, the Braves twice bumped their own top farm team: in 1953, when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, WI, and shifted the Brewers to Toledo, OH; and in 1966, when the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, GA and sent the Atlanta Crackers to Virginia.

The Fish play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Xolos de Gwinnett (Xolo is short for Xoloitzcuintli, the dog breed also known as a Mexican hairless).

Year-by-Year Record[edit]

Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Hitting coach Pitching coach Coach
2018 70-69 7th Damon Berryhill John Moses Reid Cornelius Jose Mota Billy Nicholson
2019 80-59 2nd Damon Berryhill Lost in 1st round Bobby Magallanes Mike Maroth Einar Diaz
2020 Season cancelled
2021 68-51 6th Matt Tuiasosopo 3-7 Carlos Méndez Mike Maroth Wigberto Nevarez
2022 69-79 15th Matt Tuiasosopo Carlos Méndez Mike Maroth Wigberto Nevarez, Devon Travis
2023 70-78 12th (t) Matt Tuiasosopo Carlos Méndez Craig Bjornson Wigberto Nevarez, Stevie Wilkerson
2024 72-78 11th (t) Kanekoa Texeira Dan DeMent Mike McCarthy Wigberto Nevarez

Further Reading[edit]

  • Dave Lezotte: "Gwinnett Braves Rebrand as Gwinnett Stripers: Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate unveils new name, logos and uniforms", Gwinnett Braves, December 8, 2017. [2]

Related Sites[edit]