Fredericksburg Nationals
The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and will play their home games at New Fredericksburg Ballpark which is scheduled to open in 2020 and will hold 5,000 people.
Fredericksburg Nationals Founded in 2020 Fredericksburg, Virginia | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
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Class | Class A-Advanced | ||||
League | Carolina League | ||||
Division | Northern Division | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Team | Washington Nationals | ||||
Team data | |||||
Nickname | Fred Nats | ||||
Colors | Red, white, blue | ||||
Mascot | Gus[1] | ||||
Ballpark | New Fredericksburg Ballpark | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Art Silber[2] | ||||
Manager | Tripp Keister[3][4] | ||||
General Manager | Nick Hall[2] | ||||
President | Lani Silber Weiss[2] | ||||
Media | WFVA[5] |
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.[6] The 5,000-seat multi-purpose stadium will include a 300-seat club facility and 13 suites.[7] 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.[8]
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 24, 2019,[9] but construction work did not begin until July[10] or August 2019.[11] On September 25, 2019, general manager Nick Hall said, "We're 100 percent planning on opening April 23."[12] 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.[13] 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."[14][15] Construction was continuing at the start of June 2020.[16]
As part of a process to give the team a new name that included Fredericksburg,[8] 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.[10] 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."[17][18][19]
The teams uniforms were revealed on November 16, 2019 along with a Mary Washington logo at an event on Mary Washington's 311th birthday.[20]
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 cancelled on June 30.[21][22] Thusly, the FredNats may not begin to play until at least 2021.
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.
- "Field Staff". MiLB.com. Fredericksburg Nationals. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- "Washington Nationals Announce FredNats 2020 Coaching Staff". MiLB.com. Fredericksburg Nationals. December 19, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 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.