Potomac Nationals

Potomac Nationals
Founded in 1984
Woodbridge, Virginia
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Current Class A-Advanced
Minor league affiliations
League Carolina League
Division Northern Division
Major league affiliations
Current Washington Nationals (2005–present)
Previous
Minor league titles
League titles (4)
  • 1989
  • 2008
  • 2010
  • 2014
Division titles (9)
  • 1989
  • 1991
  • 1995
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2010
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2018
Team data
Nickname
Colors Red, white, blue
              
Mascot Uncle Slam
Ballpark Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium (1984–present)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Art Silber
Manager Tripp Keister
General Manager Bryan Holland & Aaron Johnson
President Lani Silber Weiss

The Potomac 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 Woodbridge, Virginia, and play their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium which opened in 1984 and holds 6,000 people.

History

The Alexandria Dukes moved from Alexandria, Virginia, to Woodbridge for the 1984 season and were renamed the Prince William Pirates. Since then, the team has been named the Prince William Yankees, Prince William Cannons, Potomac Cannons, and now the Potomac Nationals.

The team has been affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and now the Washington Nationals. Since moving to Woodbridge, the franchise has played all its home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium, with an announced seating capacity of 6,000 people.[1] The team mascot is Uncle Slam, a blue creature resembling Uncle Sam in hair and attire.[2]

Relocation efforts

The team has been seeking a better ballpark for at least twenty years. When Prince William County officials rejected a 1998 proposal for a $150 million sports and entertainment complex on the Cherry Hill Peninsula by the Potomac River, team owner Art Silber changed the team name from Prince William Cannons to Potomac Cannons and announced an effort to move to Fairfax County.[3] In 2000, the team proposed a $250 million stadium and apartment complex next to Fairfax County's Dunn Loring Metro station,[4] but county officials rejected it in 2001. In 2002, the team and Prince William County officials reached an agreement to build a new $10 million stadium tentatively sited next to Pfitzner Stadium.[5] In 2005, the team announced preliminary details about construction of the stadium, due to open in 2007, but with the site undecided.[6]

The most recent ballpark proposal began as early as 2010.[7] In 2011, Silber said he was looking for a site along I-95 in Prince William and that a stadium would be privately funded.[8] By 2012 the proposal was focused on a site on I-95 in Woodbridge. The team and the county were reported to be close to a deal in December 2016. The county would raise $35 million in municipal bonds, lease the site, pay for site preparation, construct the stadium, and lease it to the team for thirty years. The team would cover the county's annual debt service and site lease costs. The county also would build a 1,400-space parking garage next to the stadium for stadium and commuter parking. The county has been seeking state funding for the garage since 2012, but the extent and status of funding has remained unclear, as has the final cost of the garage.[9] Silber said that Minor League Baseball required the team to be out of Pfitzner Stadium by the end of the 2018 season.[10][11] The team opposed attempts to put the deal on the November 2017 general election ballot, saying that would delay the deal for too long.[12]

On July 13, 2017, the Nationals withdrew the proposal for the new stadium in Woodbridge after it was clear it did not have the votes to pass.[13] Silber indicated that the team may be sold to buyers outside the Northern Virginia area, but that he would prefer to keep it local if possible. Potential locations include the cities of Alexandria (former home of the team when they were the Alexandria Dukes) and Fredericksburg, as well as Loudoun, Spotsylvania,[14] and Fairfax counties.[15] Maryland and Arlington County have been ruled out as possibilities, and Silber indicated it is unlikely the team will find another site in Prince William, either.[14] Alexandria indicated it wasn't interested in February 2018.[16]

In January 2018, Silber announced an extension of the team's lease at Pfitzner Stadium through 2020, though Minor League Baseball must still approve playing there past the end of the 2018 season.[17][18] Silber said he remains interested in moving the team and building a new stadium, in Northern Virginia—including Prince William County—or another nearby locality.[17][18] Silber said he was not currently pursuing a sale.[17]

Silber announced in June 2018 that he had signed a letter of intent to build a new stadium in Fredericksburg, Virginia that would open in April 2020.[19] The 5,000-seat multi-purpose stadium will include a 300-seat club facility and 13 suites.[20]

Playoffs

  • 1982 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 1–0, in semifinals; defeated Durham, 3–1 to win championship.
  • 1989 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–1, in semifinals; defeated Durham, 3–1 to win championship.
  • 1991 season: Lost to Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals.
  • 1995 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2–0, in semifinals.
  • 2004 season: Lost to Wilmington, 2–1, in semifinals.
  • 2008 season: Defeated Wilmington, 3–0, in semifinals; defeated Myrtle Beach, 3–1 to win championship.
  • 2010 season: Defeated Frederick, 3–1, in semifinals; defeated Winston-Salem, 3–1 to win championship.
  • 2011 season: Lost to Frederick, 3–2, in semifinals.
  • 2013 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals; lost to Salem, 3-0 in finals.
  • 2014 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 2–0, in semifinals; defeated Myrtle Beach, 3–1 to win championship.
  • 2016 season: Lost to Lynchburg 2-1 in semifinals.
  • 2018 season: Defeated Lynchburg, 3-2, in semifinals; lost to Buies Creek, 1-0 in finals.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the Mariners/Pirates/Yankees/Cannons/Nationals include:

Roster

Potomac Nationals roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 18 Joan Baez
  • -- A.J. Bogucki
  • 28 Grant Borne
  • 38 James Bourque
  • 40 Ben Braymer
  • 24 Wil Crowe
  • 17 Matthew Crownover
  • 35 Matthew DeRosier
  • 31 Steven Fuentes
  • 21 Taylor Guilbeau
  • 34 Hayden Howard
  • -- José Jiménez
  • 44 Gabe Klobosits
  • 30 Jeremy McKinney
  • 39 Jordan Mills
  • 45 Jorge Pantoja
  • 30 Tommy Peterson
  • 22 Nick Raquet

Catchers

  • 33 Tres Barrera
  • 12 Jakson Reetz

Infielders

  •  6 Brandon Boggetto
  • 29 Aldrem Corredor
  • -- Grant DeBruin ‡
  • 10 Edwin Lora
  •  8 David Masters
  •  2 Bryan Mejia
  •  1 Ian Sagdal

Outfielders

Manager

  •  7 Tripp Keister

Coaches


7-day disabled list
* On Washington Nationals 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated June 27, 2018
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Carolina League
 → Washington Nationals minor league players

References

  1. ↑ Pahigian, Josh (2007). The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip: A Fan's Guide to AAA, AA, A, and Independent League Stadiums. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-1-59921-024-7 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Meet Uncle Slam | Potomac Nationals Fans". Potomac Nationals. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  3. ↑ Shear, Michael D. (March 21, 1998). "Cannons Aim for Stadium in Fairfax". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ Eggen, Dan (November 1, 2000). "Cannons Set Sights on Fairfax". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ Weiss, Eric M. (July 4, 2002). "Stadium Deal to Keep Cannons in Pr. William". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ Campbell, Rich (February 14, 2005). "Cannons Make Name Change; New Stadium Also Will Be Built for the Potomac Nationals". The Washington Post. p. D04. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ Reichard, Kevin (September 27, 2010). "P-Nats, Prince William County working on new ballpark plan". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved January 3, 2017. After making several runs at a new ballpark in several years, [...] yet another new ballpark plan.
  8. ↑ Buske, Jennifer (August 1, 2011). "Aging Potomac Nationals' stadium field to get a makeover". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ Koma, Alex (December 14, 2016). "Potomac Nationals, Prince William County nearing stadium agreement". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ Koma, Alex (December 30, 2016). "New Potomac Nationals stadium construction may face hurdles". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  11. ↑ Rist, Hugh (February 16, 2016). "Potomac Nationals face 2018 deadline for new stadium". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ Koma, Alex (June 21, 2016). "Prince William's $35M stadium deal avoids referendum". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  13. ↑ Goff, Karen (July 13, 2017). "Potomac Nationals No Deal With Prince William For New Stadium". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  14. 1 2 Foley, Dennis (July 17, 2017). "Possible new homes for Potomac Nationals being considered". WTOP-FM. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  15. ↑ Maese, Rick (July 13, 2017). "Potomac Nationals say they might leave Woodbridge after stadium deal falls through". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  16. ↑ Koma, Alex (February 1, 2018). "Alexandria not interested in Potomac Nationals". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 Hansen, Drew (January 22, 2018). "Potomac Nationals owner still pursuing relocation, inside or out of Prince William". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Koma, Alex (January 29, 2018). "Potomac Nationals owner in stadium talks outside of Prince William". InsideNoVa.com. Leesburg, Virginia: Northern Virginia Media Services. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  19. ↑ Hambrick, Greg (June 26, 2018). "Potomac Nationals announce plans for Fredericksburg stadium". InsideNoVa.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ "P-Nats Announce First Fredericksburg Ballpark Founding Partnership". Ballpark Digest. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
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