The Funnville Nine

For today's pregame conversation, Richmond Flying Squirrels relief pitcher Tyler Vogel sat down with broadcaster Trey Wilson to discuss hit path to Double-A, from growing up in Florida to heading off play JUCO baseball, Jacksonville University, being drafted and more.

For today's pregame conversation, Richmond Flying Squirrels pitcher Marques Johnson chats with broadcaster Trey Wilson about his journey through baseball to this point, growing up in Southern California before spending two years playing junior college baseball and then two years at Long Beach State. Johnson talked about being drafted by the Red Sox, traded to the Giants and climbing up to Double-A with Richmond this season.

For today's pregame conversation, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson sat down with pitcher Shane Rademacher to chat about his journey from Greenville, North Carolina, to Double-A with the San Francisco Giants today. Rademacher talked about pitching at NCAA DII Chowan University and summer ball with the Coastal Plain League's Wilson Tobs, signing with the Giants and his rise through the minors.

As the Richmond Flying Squirrels wind down the final weeks of games at The Diamond, former Richmond Braves pitcher Steve Shields returned to town for part of the team's Diamond Through the Decades series. Shields was with the R-Braves from 1984-1986, which included the final season at Parker Field and the first two years of baseball at The Diamond. He was the starting pitcher for the R-Braves' first home game when The Diamond opened on April 17, 1985. He also threw a complete-game shutout in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the 1986 Governors' Cup Championship Series at The Diamond as Richmond won the league title, as well as several other notable moments in that era. Shields sat down with Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson to talk about some of those moments in Richmond in the mid-80s.

As the Richmond Flying Squirrels celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Diamond and the ballpark's final season, fans voted for the All-Diamond Team, recognizing the best Richmond players who have come through The Diamond over the last four decades on their way to MLB stardom.

One of the fans' picks for starting pitcher on the All-Diamond Team was John Smoltz, who played for the Richmond Braves in 1987 and 1988 before starting his Hall of Fame career in the majors. 

Smoltz was back in Richmond and sat down with Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson to discuss the trade that brought him to Richmond and the Braves organization, his memories of The Diamond, getting called up to the majors and more.

For today's pregame conversation, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson caught up with outfielder Scott Bandura, who helped lift the team to a comeback win with a walk-off hit on Sunday evening. Bandura is having a breakout year in his second full professional season after starting the year in High-A with the Eugene Emeralds and earning a promotion to Double-A in July. Bandura chatted about growing up in Philadelphia playing for the Anderson Monarchs, his run with the Taney Dragons in the 2014 Little League World Series, heading off to play college baseball at Princeton University and more.

For the latest installment in our Debut Stories series, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson caught up with 2024 Richmond outfielder Grant McCray, who debuted with the San Francisco Giants on August 14, 2024. They chatted recently about McCray's surge in Double-A that led to him getting called up to Triple-A Sacramento in June of 2024, how he found out a couple months later that he was getting called up to the majors for the first time, his first couple days in the big leagues and more.

Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster sat down with pitcher Trystan Vrieling, who was traded over to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday just ahead of the MLB trade deadline as part of the deal for Camilo Doval. The Flying Squirrels are in Bridgewater, New Jersey this week to face the Somerset Patriots, and Vrieling made his final New York Yankees organization appearance against Richmond on Wednesday afternoon before being traded the next day. They chatted about the trade, his background and more. 

Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson sat down with Hall of Fame broadcaster Jon Miller to chat about the 1994 Governors Cup, when the Richmond Braves beat the Syracuse Chiefs to win the International League title. With MLB players on strike in 1994, Miller, Joe Morgan and the ESPN baseball crew carried minor league games throughout the end of the summer, including that year's Governors' Cup. Miller reflected on his visit to The Diamond that September for Game 3 of the title series.

For today's pregame conversation, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson sat down with infielder Diego Velasquez (with interpreting help from fundamentals coach Lipso Nava). Velasquez is 21 years old, one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, and he's ranked near the top of the league in hits, walks and on-base percentage as Richmond's leadoff hitter. They talked about switch-hitting, working on his defense at second base, growing up playing baseball in Venezuela and more.