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Fredericksburg Nationals

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Fredericksburg Nationals
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassClass A
LeagueSouth Atlantic League (from 2021)
Previous leagues
Carolina League (2020)
Major league affiliations
TeamWashington Nationals
Team data
NameFred Nats
ColorsRed, white, blue
     
MascotGus[1]
BallparkNew Fredericksburg Ballpark
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
Art Silber[2]
PresidentLani Silber Weiss[2]
General managerNick Hall[2]
ManagerMario Lisson[3]
MediaWFVA[4]

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.

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

Fredericksburg Nationals roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 18 Anthony Arguelles
  •    Merrick Baldo
  • 34 Merritt Beeker
  • 17 Adam Bloebaum
  • 28 Matthew Bollenbacher
  • 14 Alex Clemmey
  • 36 Robert Cranz
  • 27 Bubba Hall
  • 39 Alexander Meckley
  • 35 Johan Otanez
  •    Bryan Polanco ~
  • 10 Angel Roman
  • 11 Brayan Romero
  • 29 Bryan Sanchez
  •  8 Camilo Sanchez
  • 31 Travis Sthele
  • 39 Travis Sykora

Catchers

Infielders

  •  2 Kelvin Diaz
  •  7 Seaver King
  • 23 Jorgelys Mota
  • 13 Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva
  •  3 Rafael Ramirez Jr.

Outfielders

  •  1 Teo Banks
  • 12 Brenner Cox
  • 21 Elijah Green
  • 26 Nick Peoples
  • 24 Sam Petersen
  • 25 Brandon Pimentel
  • 30 Cristhian Vaquero

Manager

Coaches

  • 47 Mike Habas (hitting)
  • 16 Carmelo Jaime (development)
  • 33 Justin Lord (pitching)

60-day injured list

  • 40 Juan Abreu (full season)
  •  6 Gabriel Agostini (full season)
  •    Pablo Aldonis (full season)
  • 19 Tyler Baca
  •    Everett Cooper III
  •    Franklin Marquez (full season)
  •    Liam Sullivan (full season)
  •    Erik Tolman

7-day injured list
* On Washington Nationals 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated September 16, 2024
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Carolina League
 → Washington Nationals minor league players

References

  1. ^ a b LoMonaco, Joey (April 6, 2020). "Fredericksburg Nationals unveil new mascot: Gus". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Front Office". MiLB.com. Fredericksburg Nationals. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Dougherty, Jesse (December 16, 2020). "Nationals choose their four minor league managers for 2021". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Fredericksburg Nationals ink radio deal". Potomac Local. Potomac Local Media, LLC. February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Hambrick, Greg (June 26, 2018). "Potomac Nationals announce plans for Fredericksburg stadium". InsideNoVa.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "P-Nats Announce First Fredericksburg Ballpark Founding Partnership". Ballpark Digest. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Jett, Cathy (November 13, 2018). "Fredericksburg finalizes $35 million stadium deal with Potomac Nationals' owners". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  8. ^ Spedden, Zach (February 26, 2019). "New Fredericksburg Ballpark Breaks Ground". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Fredericksburg Ballpark Site Work to Start Next Month". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Moving dirt at the baseball stadium site in Fredericksburg". Fredericksburg Today. August 17, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  11. ^ LoMonaco, Joey (September 25, 2019). "Fredericksburg Baseball confident in being ready for 2020 season". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  12. ^ Kerr, Byron (January 13, 2020). "FredNats on schedule for new stadium opening April 23". MASN. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Kerr, Byron (April 23, 2020). "Fredericksburg stadium baseball-ready for today's virtual opening day". MASN. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  14. ^ LoMonaco, Joey (April 21, 2020). "FredNats dealing with 'hodgepodge' during COVID-19". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Caputo, Phil (October 5, 2019). "Introducing the FredNats, by George!". SportsLogos.net. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  17. ^ LoMonaco, Joey (October 5, 2019). "Fredericksburg minor league baseball team unveils new name". The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  18. ^ Hill, Benjamin (October 5, 2019). "Fredericksburg makes Nationals news". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "Fredericksburg Nationals Unveil Team Jerseys and Mary Washington Logo". MiLB.com (Press release). Fredericksburg Nationals. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  21. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  22. ^ Reddington, Patrick (July 8, 2020). "Washington Nationals' Alternate Training Site in Fredericksburg Nationals' new home..." Federal Baseball. SB Nation. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  23. ^ "FredNats to be the new Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals". Fredericksburg Today. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
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