Bruce Baldwin, the former Richmond Braves general manager who became the Gwinnett Braves’ general manager when the franchise relocated to Gwinnett. Ga., folowing the 2008 season, will step down from his position once a replacement is named, the Braves recently announced.

The difference between major-league ownership of a minor-league team and semi-local ownership of a minor-league team was readily apparent yesterday. The Atlanta Braves, owners of the former Richmond Braves, weren’t willing to invest much in The Diamond. The semi-local ownership of the new Richmond minor-league team will sink $1.5 million into upgrading The Diamond.

They arrived at The Diamond about 90 minutes before the first pitches of Richmond Braves’ games. To the edges of the dugouts they gravitated for autographs and chats with players after batting practice. A half-dozen or so Diamond die-hards, almost all season-ticket holders, would then take their seats in the last couple of rows in the lower deck, behind home plate, and talk. About their kids. About the weather. About corked bats or wine corks. About where a new ballpark should go, or if Richmond really needs one.

Connecticut has several well-regarded young prospects, especially on its pitching staff, and is led for the first season by Steve Decker, a former big-league catcher.

Those involved in plans to bring a professional baseball franchise to Virginia’s capital recognize the Richmond area as a quality minor-league market. Is it? “I’ve had conversations with the executives of Minor League Baseball as well as the [Class AA] Eastern League, all of whom suggest that Richmond is a very desirable location for professional baseball, and that a team would be successful here,“ said Mike Berry, general manager of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns and operates The Diamond.

Others: Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA), PCL, 4,392; b-Tucson Sidewinders (AAA), PCL 3,552; Connecticut Defenders (AA), EL 3,014
SOURCE: Ballparkdigest.com
a-moved to Gwinnett County, Ga., this season; b-moved to Reno, Nev., this season
  Key: PCL (Pacific Coast League), IL (International League), EL (Eastern League), TL (Texas League), SL (Southern League), MWL (Midwest League), NYPL (New York-Penn League), SAL (South Atlantic League), NWL (Northwest League), CarL (Carolina League)

*-since the IL expanded from 10 franchises to 14 for 1998
  P revious average home attendance at The Diamond

The departed Richmond Braves christened their new ballpark Friday with fireworks, Atlanta Braves dignitaries and Chopper, the team’s hyper groundhog mascot. The Class AAA Gwinnett Braves fell 7-4 in their home opener against the Norfolk Tides before a capacity crowd of 10,427, but that mattered little to Mohammed and Malissa Fahmy. They watched the game—and its steady flow of zany promotions—from a berm overlooking the outfield as their three young children played nearby. They snapped a family photo and left before the final out, having discovered a new place to spend their spring and summer evenings.

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Dr. Marion Rice, 88 and a retired physician, owned season tickets for the Richmond Virginians’ games from 1957-64. He was a Richmond Braves season-ticket holder from 1966-2008. Rice was recognized by the Richmond Braves in 1996 as the season-ticket holder with the longest tenure and awarded a lifetime pass to games at The Diamond. 

A Richmond group hopes to buy a franchise that belongs to the Class AA Eastern League, the Connecticut Defenders, and move it to Richmond, according to sources familiar with the situation. Bryan Bostic said the goal of Richmond Baseball Club LC, the organization he chairs, is to purchase a franchise by early April. Minor League Baseball rules prohibit Bostic from discussing the league or the franchise, he said. Bostic earlier this week confirmed that Richmond Baseball Club LC has made formal application to Minor League Baseball to acquire a specific team.