Monday, January 14, 2008
Departure of the Richmond Braves - Make a Deal with the Mets
Tonight I heard that since Richmond would not build a new stadium for the Richmond Braves, that therefore the Atlanta Braves are going to move the club to Gwinnett County, Georgia. That may be the place where my mother came from, but it's not the place I am currently living in, Richmond. So what do I think of this?
I have never been that much hep about the Braves. I actually rooted against them when I was young and in Rochester, New York, because the Braves were competing with the Red Wings for the International League pennant. That was in 1967, two years after the Braves arrived in Richmond as the AAA farm team of the Atlanta Braves. I moved to Richmond area in 1978, so now I had to root for them. I did get interested in them when they tore down decrepit Parker Field up by Hermitage and Boulevard and replaced it with The Diamond. At that time I recommended that the team change its name to the Richmond Diamonds (that would not do today because of the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Most minor league teams are in a contract with a major league team, and can tell that Jack of a team to hit the road when it feels like it. The Rochester Red Wings did that to the Baltimore Orioles when the Orioles were toying with the idea with moving the Wings or setting up a team in Bowie, Maryland instead, replacing the Baysox. But not the Braves. The Atlanta Braves outright own the Richmond Braves and can do whatever it wants with the team and the city of Richmond can't negotiate with them on that. That is one reason why I am sour on them. It is inflexible; a while ago, I found that Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore could save a lot of fuel money by switching around their AAA affiliates, but that could never happen with Atlanta.
But part of the fault in Richmond Braves moving may be with the City of Richmond itself, especially its mayor, Doug Wilder. There were several proposals to move the team but the city rejected all of them, and it may be now that the parent club are going to pick up the R-Braves and move them. They did that with the Greenville Braves when those Braves would not build a stadium. They are now the Mississippi Braves.
So what should the Richmond area do about the Braves? First of all, a new stadium needs to be built. If the Atlanta Braves don't want it, would you expect some other major league team to want it for their affiliate? Maybe if we get the stadium up, the Braves will keep the R-Braves in Richmond.
But if the R-Braves are lost, what shall the Richmond area do? I say talk with the New York Mets. It seems that the Ottawa Lynx got bought out by the Philadelphia Phillies, and the threw off the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, causing both New York teams to go after the Barons. The Yankees got them, and a five-way swap resulted, costing the Mets its Norfolk farm team and forcing them to put up with the far away New Orleans Zephyrs. I bet they would pipe up over a possibility to move that club to Richmond. The name would even match. I would recommend the new Richmond team call itself the Richmond Breeze, suggesting Richmond Braves, Sweet Virginia Breeze, and New Orleans Zephyrs all in one breath. Another possibility would be the Richmond Bears, after the bears that had to be euthanized. Above all, let's not have a Richmond Mets.
But I think the city should begin negotiations with the Mets soon. That's the best way to get a community-owned ball team in Richmond. And please lets build a new stadium and field. The old one is showing signs of age and it still uses the rutty and floody old Parker Field field.
I have never been that much hep about the Braves. I actually rooted against them when I was young and in Rochester, New York, because the Braves were competing with the Red Wings for the International League pennant. That was in 1967, two years after the Braves arrived in Richmond as the AAA farm team of the Atlanta Braves. I moved to Richmond area in 1978, so now I had to root for them. I did get interested in them when they tore down decrepit Parker Field up by Hermitage and Boulevard and replaced it with The Diamond. At that time I recommended that the team change its name to the Richmond Diamonds (that would not do today because of the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Most minor league teams are in a contract with a major league team, and can tell that Jack of a team to hit the road when it feels like it. The Rochester Red Wings did that to the Baltimore Orioles when the Orioles were toying with the idea with moving the Wings or setting up a team in Bowie, Maryland instead, replacing the Baysox. But not the Braves. The Atlanta Braves outright own the Richmond Braves and can do whatever it wants with the team and the city of Richmond can't negotiate with them on that. That is one reason why I am sour on them. It is inflexible; a while ago, I found that Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore could save a lot of fuel money by switching around their AAA affiliates, but that could never happen with Atlanta.
But part of the fault in Richmond Braves moving may be with the City of Richmond itself, especially its mayor, Doug Wilder. There were several proposals to move the team but the city rejected all of them, and it may be now that the parent club are going to pick up the R-Braves and move them. They did that with the Greenville Braves when those Braves would not build a stadium. They are now the Mississippi Braves.
So what should the Richmond area do about the Braves? First of all, a new stadium needs to be built. If the Atlanta Braves don't want it, would you expect some other major league team to want it for their affiliate? Maybe if we get the stadium up, the Braves will keep the R-Braves in Richmond.
But if the R-Braves are lost, what shall the Richmond area do? I say talk with the New York Mets. It seems that the Ottawa Lynx got bought out by the Philadelphia Phillies, and the threw off the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, causing both New York teams to go after the Barons. The Yankees got them, and a five-way swap resulted, costing the Mets its Norfolk farm team and forcing them to put up with the far away New Orleans Zephyrs. I bet they would pipe up over a possibility to move that club to Richmond. The name would even match. I would recommend the new Richmond team call itself the Richmond Breeze, suggesting Richmond Braves, Sweet Virginia Breeze, and New Orleans Zephyrs all in one breath. Another possibility would be the Richmond Bears, after the bears that had to be euthanized. Above all, let's not have a Richmond Mets.
But I think the city should begin negotiations with the Mets soon. That's the best way to get a community-owned ball team in Richmond. And please lets build a new stadium and field. The old one is showing signs of age and it still uses the rutty and floody old Parker Field field.
