Fans excited new baseball team's in town

History of baseball in Richmond

World of Woody: Inside the updated Diamond

Quartet welcomes baseball’s return

When he was a kid, Jeff O'Flaherty liked to watch the first few innings of games at Parker Field and then hang out on the Boulevard chasing foul balls.

For O'Flaherty, those days of hunting down foul balls are long gone -- as is Parker Field and its tenants, the Virginians and the Braves -- but O'Flaherty still loves going to the ball yard.

When the Flying Squirrels debut tonight at The Diamond, you can find him in the seats behind home plate.

"I'm looking forward to seeing a full house and people having fun," said O'Flaherty, 57, who's in the banking business. "Baseball's back in Richmond."

O'Flaherty and three buddies from the box seats -- Ray Edwards, Ed Loyd and Tom Schaefer -- gathered at The Diamond on a recent afternoon to chat about the upcoming season.

The sun was shining, a tractor was tilling the infield dirt, and the lower deck's new, green seats -- equipped with cup holders -- were most comfortable.

All was right with the world.

"There's just something about sitting in a ballpark in springtime," O'Flaherty said.

The four were season-ticket holders for the Richmond Braves, and each has made the same investment for the Flying Squirrels.

They've become friends as they've watched games over the years, a tribute not so much to the pitches and hits on the field as to the power of the environment created by a leisurely paced game that lends itself to conversation.

"Always been a baseball fan," said Loyd, 69, who is retired from A.H. Robins Co. "But one thing I like is what we're doing now -- just sit and talk."

They missed getting together last summer at The Diamond after the R-Braves departed for a suburb of Atlanta, and the team that would become the Squirrels hadn't been secured.

"My wife found a lot for me to do around the house," Schaefer, 56, said with a laugh.

In truth, the guys occasionally traveled to see minor-league teams in other towns. Three of them took off to Arizona to watch some Fall League games, and Schaefer and Loyd went to spring training in Florida in March. These men are serious about their baseball.

But they also recognize that attending a ballgame should be fun, and they applaud the approach the Squirrels' ownership is taking toward promoting baseball at the ballpark and in the community.

"They're in the family-entertainment business," said Schaefer, who also is in banking. "You come in the door, you get greeted, you leave and say, 'Wow, that was a good time.' Even if the team loses 10-0.

"That's not really important. We're not in a race to win the World Series. It's a night out."

Said Edwards, 63, who's retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and was wearing a Flying Squirrels batting-practice cap: "We'd be here if they were 71-and-0, or 0-and-71."

The move to Double-A baseball compared with the Triple-A Braves and, before them, the Virginians, does not bother this quartet at all. In fact, they expect the players will be hungrier and more accessible to the fans.

And the Squirrels' affiliation with a team on the other coast, the San Francisco Giants, also is not an issue for them.

Schaefer remains an Atlanta Braves fan, and O'Flaherty has friends who remain New York Yankees fans because they were the parent club of the Virginians, who haven't played in Richmond in more than 45 years.

"We were sorry to see [the Braves] leave, but that's minor-league baseball," Schaefer said. "We understand how that works."

Edwards chimed in that he has been a Giants fan since Willie Mays roamed centerfield for them from the 1950s to the 1970s.

As the conversation veered into yesteryear, the four talked about players they remembered, for one reason or another, from years past: Horace Clarke, Felix Milan, Ralph Garr, Julio Navarro.

The list is almost endless. They hope to add new ones as the Squirrels create their own lore.

O'Flaherty's looking forward to seeing a lot of kids at The Diamond tonight. Schaefer is planning to bring his son to the game and eat a hot dog.

"I don't think there's any better place to be [tonight] than right here," Loyd said, "behind home plate."

Sold-out Diamond welcomes baseball back to Richmond

Lou DiBella led a group that purchased the Double-A Norwich Navigators in 2005 for about $10 million. During DiBella's five seasons as managing partner of the club renamed the Connecticut Defenders, there were only a handful of sellouts at 6,695-seat Dodd Stadium.

That's one reason DiBella said he looks forward to being at The Diamond tonight. Richmond's new Double-A franchise, relocated from Norwich and still owned by DiBella's group, will play its first home game in front of a sellout crowd. Reading, the Philadelphia Phillies' Double-A team, is the opponent of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

"This is going to be a highlight of my years in minor-league baseball," said DiBella, a resident of New York City. "I'm thrilled. I'm pumped up. I can't wait to get there."

Bill Papierniak, the Squirrels' general manager, said that ticket sales for the remainder of the seven-game home-stand have been strong, with a sellout possible for Sunday's 2:05 matinee. DiBella referred to the franchise's general reception as "enthusiasm unmatched compared to anything I've ever seen in minor-league baseball."

Connecticut finished last, or next to last, among Eastern League clubs in home attendance each year that DiBella's group owned the franchise, and in 2009 was last (2,859) despite an 83-59 record.

Bleacher banners -- advertisements that cover the top nine rows of the upper deck -- and new box seats on the lower level have reduced The Diamond's capacity from 12,134 to 9,560. But the Squirrels sold out their first home game about a week after single-game tickets became available on March 15. That's a very encouraging sign of support for the new franchise, according to club management and Joe McEacharn, the Eastern League president.

Tonight's game represents the return of professional baseball to Richmond, which was without a team last year. The Richmond Braves, Atlanta's Triple-A club, played here 1966-2008, then moved to Gwinnett County, Ga., due to dissatisfaction with The Diamond.

New ownership and the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, which owns the facility, during the off-season invested about $2 million in stadium upgrades. While the Flying Squirrels opened their season on the road with four games at Bowie and three at Altoona, work at The Diamond continued, and club operators maintained their marketing push that began Sept. 23, the day the franchise officially transferred to Richmond.

"If I had to give them a grade, it's a flat-out 'A'," McEacharn said. "They've absolutely met my expectations and probably even exceeded them."

Other members of the Squirrels' ownership group will be in attendance tonight, as will McEacharn and Tim Purpura, the executive vice president of Minor League Baseball. The Squirrels are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, who will be represented by Bobby Evans, vice president of baseball operations.

Clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s are expected. Gates open at 4:30 p.m., with a 7:05 first pitch.

Chuck Domino, Todd Parnell are Squirrels’ Barnum and Bailey

Chuck Domino and Todd Parnell are serious about their business.

But one reason they are successful in their business is that they never take themselves too seriously.

"Even when we have a rough day, we're able to put things into perspective," Domino said. "We don't carry problems to the next day."

Parnell, sitting across the office from Domino, nodded.

"That's right," Parnell said. "We just hammer them out."

And Parnell picked up the gavel he keeps at hand and pounded it on his desk several times.

That got Parnell going on another train of thought.

"He stole my gavel yesterday," Parnell said of Domino. "So I went and got a chain saw and started it up and threatened to cut his desk in half unless he gave it back."

"He really had a chain saw in the office," Domino said.

"And it was running and there were people out there . . . " Parnell nodded toward the ticket window outside his office at The Diamond.

"And they heard the 'ying, ying, ying,' of the chain saw," Parnell said.

Ah, just another day in the front office of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, starring Domino as the chief executive manager and Parnell as vice president and chief operating officer.

The Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League call The Diamond home.

Domino and Parnell are serious about their jobs. They work tirelessly to be successful. They are best friends.

Parnell, known as Parney, has promoted the team non-stop since his arrival.

And, as you might have guessed, they do things a bit differently from most minor-league baseball executives.

"They're incredibly hard working, and they're committed to do the right thing without taking themselves too seriously," said Chuck Greenberg, the incoming owner of the Texas Rangers.

Parnell worked for Greenberg in Altoona, State College, Pa. and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Greenberg knows Domino as a minor-league baseball colleague.

"They love to have fun," Greenberg said. "They love to see other people having fun, and they will go to great lengths to make that possible."

Domino, 50, and Parnell, 43, met in 1990 and soon became best friends.

"He was in my wedding," Parnell said. "His older son was the ring bearer in my wedding. Chuck was there when my kids were born.

"I was there when his second son was born. We're pretty close. We just don't act like it all the time."

Theirs is not an act, though. Their job is to make the Flying Squirrels successful. They don't control the product on the field. This year, that is the job of the San Francisco Giants.

Everything around the field, and even the field itself, is under the control of Domino and Parnell and the front office staff. And they settle for nothing less than first class.

The Diamond has undergone $2 million worth of renovations and upgrades since the franchise relocated.

That money was spent on a number of things, from new seats in the lower bowl, to an indoor air-conditioned batting cage, refurbished concession stands and a new souvenir store.

Domino, Parnell and their staff oversaw each improvement.

Parnell is employed by the Flying Squirrels and oversees day to day operations.

Domino is an independent contractor. He also oversees the Triple-A team in Lehigh Valley, Pa.

During the formative stages of the operation, Domino has been in Richmond on a weekly basis. Once the season begins, his visits will be less frequent.

"We are constantly in touch," Domino said. "Texting, e-mailing, phoning. We share the same office."

Parnell interrupted.

"No, no, no," he said. "This is my office. I allowed you to have a corner."

"Yeah," Domino said, "a corner."

"And he tells me to get on my side of the office every day," Parnell said.

Especially when Parnell is revving up a chain saw.

The two met when Domino had an opening for a sales and marketing director with the Reading Phillies. The interview went well, but Domino did not offer Parnell the job, not immediately anyway.

"Another person was recommended to me by someone I highly respected in the business," Domino said. "I interviewed him on the phone and hired him sight unseen because of the recommendation."

That man was supposed to start work on a Monday. He called Domino to let him know he was leaving Topeka, Kan., on Friday.

He never showed up. When Domino finally tracked him down, the man said he had changed his mind.

"I immediately called Parney and said if you're available, you're hired," Domino said. "He said, 'I'll be there in a minute.'"

Parnell laughed.

"I'm not good at hiding desperation," he said.

That began seven years of working side by side in Reading. In 1997, Parnell left to become general manager of the minor-league team in Kannapolis, N.C.

Soon after arriving in Kannapolis, Parnell wondered if he had made the right decision.

Parnell said as much to Domino one day in a 7 a.m. call.

"I said, 'I don't know. These people aren't listening to me. I'm trying to be like you, trying to do this, trying to do that, but these people are doing things the same old way,'" Parnell said

"He said, 'All right, dude, do this and this and this.' Nine hours later, outside my office, I hear, 'What's up you . . . ' and he called me a name we call each other that can't be put in the newspaper. He had driven nine hours to North Carolina because he was worried about me."

Soon, everyone was on board with Parnell in Kannapolis. Life was good. Parnell, his wife and two daughters lived in a house on Lake Norman.

Then, Greenberg, who had acquired the Altoona franchise, called. Domino had recommended Parnell for the general manager's job in Altoona.

Parnell took the job, even though it meant leaving Lake Norman.

When the Altoona franchise was sold, Parnell ran Greenberg's teams in State College, Pa., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Parnell was on the road almost constantly.

Then, Domino called about Richmond.

"I've been doing this for 28 years, and the seven years that were the most fun were the years we were in Reading together," Domino said.

Parnell nodded.

"I've watched the Richmond story long enough to know it's a great market," Parnell said. "But the bottom line is it was Chuck Domino who called.

"This was a chance to start a franchise from nothing with your best friend. There's not too many people who get that opportunity. We felt like it was too much to look past."

Once the deal was struck to move the Connecticut Defenders to Richmond, Domino and Parnell went to work the only way they knew how to work.

"We're a little unorthodox in how we get things done," Domino said. "But we get things done better than most in our unorthodox way."

Nothing typifies that unorthodox thinking better than the name-the-team contest.

Parnell and Domino were overcome with traditional names such as Virginians, Rapids, Ravens, Raiders and Rivermen.

When the five finalists were announced, "traditional" was nowhere among them.

The list consisted of Flying Squirrels, Hambones, Rockhoppers, Flatheads and Rhinos.

Hush Puppies was added a few days later.

What were these guys thinking?

It soon became obvious Domino and Parnell would make the decision based on the name that got the biggest reaction, positive or negative, and offered the best marketing opportunities.

The fans' votes were more a guideline than a binding agreement.

Domino and Parnell knew from experience -- have you heard of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs? -- that even if people hated the name at first, eventually they would embrace it.

"They are incredibly creative," Greenberg said. "And that comes by letting go, not taking themselves too seriously, not judging others and letting the ideas fly."

Domino and Parnell enjoy their jobs so much and have so much fun that it is easy to overlook how hard they work.

Domino has no hobbies. He rarely takes days off, let alone a vacation. Domino and Parnell begin their days by 7 a.m. and end them . . . well, some days never seem to end.

"We have an insatiable desire to succeed," Parnell said. "There's a drive that not a lot of people have, and that drive is from my mentor over there."

And Parnell nodded toward Domino.

"One thing that gets to me sometimes," Parnell said, "is that my personality is so goofy people think all there is to me is stealing gavels and starting chain saws."

And wearing an adult diaper.

"When we first started in Altoona, we wanted to show people we were going to do things differently," Greenberg said. "Parney challenged a non-profit to raise $25,000. And he told them that if they did it, he'd sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' wearing only an adult diaper.

"The non-profit came up short, but they worked really hard and did a good job. So, one night, Parney stood along the first-baseline, wearing only an adult diaper and sang. It wasn't a pretty sight, but he did it."

A few days later, Greenberg received an unusually large piece of mail. It was a photo of Parnell from that night, sent by Parnell.

"And he wrote, 'Chuck, Thanks for letting me operate the team in a first-class manner'" Greenberg said.

Domino has an almost relentless work ethic. Parnell is right there with him.

In March 1993, a huge snowstorm hit Pennsylvania. The governor told everyone to stay home unless there was an emergency.

Domino called Parnell and said he'd pick him up in 30 minutes.

"I said, 'Chuck, there's no way,'" Parnell said. "The governor told us to stay at home. He said, 'The governor doesn't have a ballgame in 30 days. We're going to work.'

"He picked me up and somehow we drove sideways to the ballpark and got to work."

How hard does Parnell work? Well, it seems as if he never stops working. He is in constant demand as a speaker. He will leave the office at the end of the day only to return at 11:30 that night and work for several more hours. And he still will be back at 7 a.m.

"Sleep seems to be the enemy of Parney," Greenberg said. "He's in the office every morning at 7. Sometimes, that's because he's never left the office from the night before. Sometimes, it means he's only been gone for a few hours.

"Parney and Chuck wouldn't know how to mail it in if you showed them. No matter is too small for their attention. To have been in the business as long as they have and to still sweat the details the way they do is a great predictor for success.

Greenberg expects nothing but success for the Flying Squirrels.

the Diamond Update

Callaghan is local link for Squirrels’ ownership team

Minor League Baseball wanted a local investor in the ownership group of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. So did Lou DiBella, the Double-A franchise's president and CEO. Brian Callaghan filled the slot.

DiBella introduced Callaghan, 39 and a 1993 Virginia Tech graduate, Thursday at The Diamond during a Squirrels' event set up to display ballpark improvements.

"He made a significant investment in the team," DiBella said of Callaghan, founder and co-CEO of Apex Systems, Inc., a Richmond-based company that provides temporary and temporary-to-permanent technical staffing. "He is now part of what we call the Chairman's Council, which is sort of like the board of directors of the team. We wanted a Richmond voice on that board."

Callaghan attended Lake Braddock High School in Burke and worked in Northern Virginia, Oregon and New York prior to settling in Richmond. He founded Apex Systems in 1995.

DiBella, who lives in New York City, leads an ownership group of about 35 investors. Callaghan chose not to reveal the amount of his investment, but said he was one of the larger minority investors, and characterized his role as the local link for the ownership group.

"You have to have somebody who's on the ground, who understands what it's like to be in the community," Callaghan said. He added that he is in position to speak with business and community leaders on a regular basis, "and I think it's important for an operation like the Squirrels to have that kind of connection."

When the Richmond market was vacated by the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A franchise following the 2008 season, Minor League Baseball pushed for majority local ownership of the new Richmond team. That plan dissolved when Richmond Baseball Club LC, due to lack of funds, failed to close the $15-million deal for DiBella's franchise.

"That gave us an opportunity, and when we got that opportunity, we jumped on it," DiBella said.

Minor League Baseball granted DiBella permission to transfer the franchise to Richmond. Minor League Baseball selected the franchise, which was the Connecticut Defenders, as a candidate for relocation primarily because of attendance issues in Norwich, Conn.

Callaghan formally joined the ownership group in January.

"Watching the [management] team that they've assembled, watching the way they approached it, was something that really hooked me," he said. "I remember an early conversation with them, talking about it as an investment, and they said, 'You need to understand, you're not in the baseball business, you're in the family-entertainment business.'

"That type of attitude to me was the hook that I really think we needed."

DiBella said he has no intention of relinquishing his role as head of the ownership group. He said there is a possibility of adding other Richmond-area residents as investors