Displaying the spirit with which Flying Squirrels was picked as the name of Richmond's new baseball team, the Double-A franchise's general manager expressed outside-the-box approval yesterday.

"Let me be the first one to say: 'Let's go nuts!'" Bill Papierniak said.

Flying Squirrels, chosen by franchise owners and manage ment, was among more than 6,000 submissions in a name-the-team contest.

Flying Squirrels was the submission of Prince George County's Brad Mead. He won two season tickets for life, a jacket and a cap.

Mead's picture will appear in the 2010 program. He was unable to attend yesterday's announcement at the Richmond Times-Dispatch's headquarters downtown and was represented by his mother, Donna Nelson, and stepfather, Kyle.

Mead, a 30-year-old graduate of James Madison University, works as a magistrate in Hopewell. He is a fan of the Boston Red Sox and said he didn't attend many games at The Diamond after his 1997 graduation from Prince George High School.

Regarding his suggestion of Flying Squirrels, Mead said he considered the trend toward odd nicknames among minor-league teams and tried to come up with one that was "goofy or crazy."

To Chuck Domino, the club's chief executive manager, Flying Squirrels stood out because it is highly unusual. He heard from those who pushed hard for Rapids, Rebels, Virginians and other conservative options.

"Just didn't have the pizzazz," Domino said.

The Flying Squirrels name fits the approach that Domino and Todd Parnell, the Squirrels' vice president and chief operating officer, intend to take with the Double-A team of the San Francisco Giants.

Domino noted that the circus atmosphere at games is the job of franchise management; the Giants will handle the baseball. Games start April 15 at The Diamond.

The team is relocating from Connecticut, where it was known as the Defenders.

Domino acknowledged that the choice of Flying Squirrels -- which beat finalists Rock Hoppers, Rhinos, Flatheads and Hush Puppies -- probably would not receive immediate approval from Richmond-area residents.

"It's going to be rough. We're going to have to put on our seat belts," he said. "But we promised Richmond that we were going to be different, and I think this makes a statement that we are going to be different."

The Division III teams at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton are called the Fighting Squirrels.

"People think our name is funny, but we've also gotten a lot of good press because of it," said Sharon Spalding, the school's athletic director.

Mary Baldwin's nickname comes from the central figure in the crest of a school founder.

Domino is the former general manager of the Double-A Reading Phillies. Parnell is the former GM of the Double-A Altoona Curve. The franchises, both in Pennsylvania, were very successful under their leadership.

"They set the standard for what happens in minor-league baseball and the amusement," said Gary Green, part of the franchise's ownership group. "They set the standard, and everybody else follows. This is about fun. Minor-league baseball is anything but conventional."

According to Domino, each of the finalists had some support among the group that eventually agreed on Flying Squirrels. He added that Flying Squirrels received sufficient support in online voting for finalists "to affirm our decision."

Gauging merchandising potential was a part of the decision-making process, and yesterday Domino already was considering the possibilities of squirrel tails, squirrel nests and other squirrelly links. A team store will replace the restaurant at The Diamond.

The team logo will be ready by the end of next month. The franchise's new Web site is SquirrelsBaseball.com

Flying Squirrels soar into Richmond

Gliding rodents have prevailed.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Richmond Pro Baseball announced that the name of the city's new Eastern League team will be the Flying Squirrels. The moniker was one of six finalists chosen in a name-the-team contest which drew over 15,000 submissions.
The Flying Squirrels, San Francisco's Double-A affiliate, relocated from Norwich, Conn. (where they played as the Connecticut Defenders).

The club will play in The Diamond, which housed the International League's Richmond Braves until that team moved to Gwinnett County, Ga., following the 2008 campaign.

Flying Squirrels -- which was chosen by the team's owners, front office staff and marketing partners -- beat out Flatheads, Rhinos, Rock Hoppers, and Hush Puppies. The latter entry was a late "Wild Card" addition to the contest, chosen by CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell after he solicited name suggestions on his blog. An additional contender, Hambones, was removed from consideration earlier this week after the NAACP pointed out that "hambone" is the name of a foot-stomping minstrel show dance (the club had chosen it as a finalist in homage to Virginia ham).

"We are thrilled with the passion that selecting the name of the team has ignited within the community," said Richmond Professional Baseball chief executive manager Chuck Domino in a press release. "We have promised the baseball fans of Richmond a truly unique brand of fun. Out of all the tremendous entries we received, we believe the Flying Squirrels moniker provides the best representation of that brand, while giving us unlimited avenues to creatively explore the identity of this team."

In attendance at the press conference were Jason Klein and Casey White of Plan B Branding, who outlined the team's strategy in regards to the creation of a logo and branding strategy (The logo will be unveiled at a later date). Brad Mead, the fan who submitted "Flying Squirrels" in the name-the-team contest, was unable to attend. However, Mead's mother and step-father accepted the prize of two life-time season tickets on his behalf.

Speculation over the team name had been a hot topic of conversation in Richmond since the finalists were announced last week. Many fans reacted negatively to the choices, often citing a lack of seriousness and/or local connection as a reason. Todd Parnell, the Flying Squirrel's vice-president and COO, said that the passionate reaction of the fan base could only be seen as a positive.

"I think it's awesome, to know that the people of Richmond care so much," he said in a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon. "We will never shy away from getting people to talk, and having an opinion, so we haven't taken offense. Whether people are saying things that are good or bad, it's all good because they are talking about Richmond baseball as a family again. And, at the end of the day, who's going to turn away from fun?"

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