The Gwinnett Stripers, formerly known as the Gwinnett Braves, are a professional minor league baseball team based in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia, within the Atlanta metropolitan area. The team plays in the South Division of the International League, and they are the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located northeast of their parent club's stadium, Truist Park in unincorporated Cobb County—the second-shortest distance between a Triple-A team and its major league parent. The 2018 season was the 54th season of the affiliation between Richmond/Gwinnett and the major league Braves, the longest-running affiliation in Triple-A.
History
The team was based in Richmond, Virginia, for 43 seasons, where it had been known as the Richmond Braves. They relocated to Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta in 2009. They continued as the Gwinnett Braves through the 2017 season, after which they were renamed to the Stripers. The move to Gwinnett County marked a return home of sorts, as the team began as the Atlanta Crackers in 1901. They became the top affiliate of the then-Milwaukee Braves in 1965. When the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, they moved the Crackers to Richmond, where the minor league franchise took the name of the parent club.
From 2009 to 2017, the official colors of the Gwinnett Braves were navy blue and scarlet, the same as their Atlanta parent. The primary logo resembled the Atlanta Braves primary, but with silver outline and with the word "Gwinnett" centered above. The home jersey had the classic Braves' wordmark centered on the front, with the "Gwinnett" underscore underlining it. However, unlike Atlanta's jersey with navy blue and scarlet piping, the Gwinnett team's jersey featured scarlet sleeves with blue stripes. The Gwinnett Braves announced a plan to rebrand for the 2018 season by adopting a name that had a significance to the area and its population. A name-the-team contest was launched to determine candidates for the new moniker. The six finalists announced were "Buttons," "Big Mouths," "Gobblers," "Hush Puppies," "Lamb Chops," and "Sweet Teas." On December 8, 2017, the club announced its new name as the "Stripers", in reference to striped bass found in nearby Lake Lanier.
