Fredericksburg Nationals
The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team that is the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and play their home games at New Fredericksburg Ballpark, with a capacity of 5,000 people.
Fredericksburg Nationals Founded in 2020 Fredericksburg, Virginia | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
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Class | Class A | ||||
League | South Atlantic League (from 2021) | ||||
Previous leagues | Carolina League (2020) | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Team | Washington Nationals | ||||
Team data | |||||
Name | Fred Nats | ||||
Colors | Red, white, blue | ||||
Mascot | Gus[1] | ||||
Ballpark | New Fredericksburg Ballpark | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Art Silber[2] | ||||
President | Lani Silber Weiss[2] | ||||
General Manager | Nick Hall[2] | ||||
Manager | Mario Lisson[3] | ||||
Media | WFVA[4] |
History
In June 2018, Potomac Nationals owner Art Silber announced that he had signed a letter of intent to build a new stadium in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that would open in April 2020.[5] The 5,000-seat multi-purpose stadium will include a 300-seat club facility and 13 suites.[6] In November 2018 the Fredericksburg city council unanimously gave final approval for the Silber family to finance, build and maintain the $35 million stadium with the city as an "anchor tenant" making an annual payment to the club of $1.05 million for 30 years.[7]
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 24, 2019,[8] but construction work did not begin until July[9] or August 2019.[10] On September 25, 2019, general manager Nick Hall said, "We're 100 percent planning on opening April 23."[11] MASN reported on January 13, 2020 that Hall had said that construction was on schedule and that he was confident the venue will be ready for the 2020 season.[12] With the 2020 season start postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nationals held a virtual opening day on April 23, 2020. Hall said that the stadium was baseball-ready though construction was not yet complete, even though, with construction deemed as essential business, "The construction progress has gone off without a hitch."[13][14] Construction was continuing at the start of June 2020.[15]
As part of a process to give the team a new name that included Fredericksburg,[7] a "Name the Team" contest that began in April 2019 received more than 2,400 responses on the team name, colors, mascots, and ways to incorporate local history and culture.[9] On October 5, 2019, the team announced that it had changed its name to the Fredericksburg Nationals for the 2020 season and that its marketing nickname for the team – "P-Nats" when the team was the Potomac Nationals – would change to "FredNats."[16][17][18]
The teams uniforms were revealed on November 16, 2019 along with a Mary Washington logo at an event on Mary Washington's 311th birthday.[19]
In March 2020, the team unveiled their new mascot, Gus, described as "fat and fluffy" with purple fur and bright green eyebrows.[1]
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being canceled on June 30.[20][21] With no minor league season to play, Fredericksburg became the alternate training site for the Washington Nationals, hosting players who were not on the active roster, as well as a number of minor league players and instructors, during the 2020 season.[22]
Before the Fredericksburg Nationals could play a game at the Class-A Advanced level, the team was notified in December 2020 that it would need to accept relegation to the lower Class-A level to continue play as an affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Silber confirmed the Fredericksburg Nationals will continue their affiliation with Washington at the new level for 2021 and beyond.[23]
Roster
Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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References
- LoMonaco, Joey (April 6, 2020). "Fredericksburg Nationals unveil new mascot: Gus". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- "Front Office". MiLB.com. Fredericksburg Nationals. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- Dougherty, Jesse (December 16, 2020). "Nationals choose their four minor league managers for 2021". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- "Fredericksburg Nationals ink radio deal". Potomac Local. Potomac Local Media, LLC. February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- Hambrick, Greg (June 26, 2018). "Potomac Nationals announce plans for Fredericksburg stadium". InsideNoVa.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- "P-Nats Announce First Fredericksburg Ballpark Founding Partnership". Ballpark Digest. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- Jett, Cathy (November 13, 2018). "Fredericksburg finalizes $35 million stadium deal with Potomac Nationals' owners". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- Spedden, Zach (February 26, 2019). "New Fredericksburg Ballpark Breaks Ground". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- "Fredericksburg Ballpark Site Work to Start Next Month". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "Moving dirt at the baseball stadium site in Fredericksburg". Fredericksburg Today. August 17, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- LoMonaco, Joey (September 25, 2019). "Fredericksburg Baseball confident in being ready for 2020 season". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- Kerr, Byron (January 13, 2020). "FredNats on schedule for new stadium opening April 23". MASN. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- Kerr, Byron (April 23, 2020). "Fredericksburg stadium baseball-ready for today's virtual opening day". MASN. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- LoMonaco, Joey (April 21, 2020). "FredNats dealing with 'hodgepodge' during COVID-19". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- Nawrotzky, Kirk (June 9, 2020). "With inaugural season on hold, Fredericksburg Nationals can't wait to take the field". WRIC-TV. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- Caputo, Phil (October 5, 2019). "Introducing the FredNats, by George!". SportsLogos.net. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- LoMonaco, Joey (October 5, 2019). "Fredericksburg minor league baseball team unveils new name". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- Hill, Benjamin (October 5, 2019). "Fredericksburg makes Nationals news". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- "Fredericksburg Nationals Unveil Team Jerseys and Mary Washington Logo". MiLB.com (Press release). Fredericksburg Nationals. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Reddington, Patrick (July 8, 2020). "Washington Nationals' Alternate Training Site in Fredericksburg Nationals' new home..." Federal Baseball. SB Nation. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- "FredNats to be the new Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals". Fredericksburg Today. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.