Gwinnett County, Georgia - The Land of the Free and the Home of the Braves

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you learned the R-Braves were leaving R? I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was in my car. I think I was on the cell phone at the time. I've only recently begun using the cell phone while driving. But since I heard that drivers who use cell phones drive more slowly than drivers who don't, and they also don't change lanes as often, it seems like using the cell phone while driving is the safe thing to do.
Anyway, I digress. So the Braves are leaving town. Wow! I feel like I've been blindsided. No, wait! It was Richmond city officials who were blindsided. They didn't see this coming. Huh? My Uncle Earl could have seen this coming and he's been dead for 25 years.
I'll tell you who I feel the most sorry for. Charlie Diradour. He's a Richmond real estate investor, who was quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch as saying, "What do I tell my 6-year-old who says, 'I want to go to a baseball game.'? I have to say, 'Honey, there are no baseball games.'"
Oh the humanity! I can't imagine any parent having to endure something like that. I'm glad my daughter is grown.
But, anyway, the Braves are leaving town. There are some positives to that, you know. For one thing, now that Mayor Governor Wilder doesn't have to worry his pretty little head about such things as building new ball parks, the entire city government along with the entire Braves organization can get back to the real National Pastime...pointing fingers.
I don't really blame Mayor Governor Wilder. He can't go around building ball parks for every minor league franchise that's been playing ball in the city for over four decades. Who do the Braves think he is...Daddy Warbucks?
And, I also have to say that Bruce Baldwin, GM for the local team, can be one of the most abrasive, arrogant individuals I've ever had the pleasure to meet. That's one of the good things about the Braves leaving...saying, "Bye-bye Bruce."
But, there are some negatives to this whole thing, even from the perspective of someone as positive as myself. I remember 1965. That was the last year with no baseball in the city. I was just a kid at the time and a huge baseball fan. The Yankees had their Triple-A farm team, the Virginians, who called Parker Field, "home." But after the 1964 season, the Yanks yanked the Virginians and moved them to Toledo. Shortly after that, the Milwaukee Braves announced that they were moving to Atlanta and that their farm team, the Atlanta Crackers would be relocated here. In 1966, the Atlanta Crackers became the Richmond Braves. But, 1965 was a very bad year for pimply-faced, fat teenage boys who didn't date, but who spent every Summer evening either at the ball park, or with their respective ears glued to the game on the radio.
So, I guess the real victims here are today's youngsters, pimply-faced and otherwise. I don't follow the Braves as faithfully as I did in 1966 and for many years thereafter, but I've always been glad they were a part of the city. I loved Parker Field, even when I did sit behind one of those poles that blocked my view. I love the Diamond, even when the concrete rains upon my head. But, most of all, I love baseball. There's something very special about sitting at the park with your friends and family, drinking a big orange soda, eating a five dollar hot dog, and whooping it up for the home team.
It's hard to imagine the Diamond going dark in 2009. The Mayor says we will have baseball. At least, I think that was the Mayor I heard on the soundbite on the radio. It sounded more like Weezie Jefferson, but Paul Bottoms assured us it was Mayor Wilder.
Maybe we will have baseball, but I think the chances are pretty good we won't. I'd be greatly surprised if we ever get Triple-A baseball back in the city. It really doesn't matter who is at fault here. Maybe no one. Maybe everyone. What matters is that come 2009 a bunch of strangers in Gwinnett County, Georgia will be sitting in some fancy ball park rooting for our Richmond Braves. Somehow that just doesn't seem right.
Oh yeah, I guess there is one more good thing that comes from all this. We won't have to listen to a bunch of local whiners asking, "What's Charlotte got that we don't?" From now on, we'll listen to them whining, "What's Gwinnett County got that we don't?" And, of course, the answer to that is simple...The Richmond Braves.