Fans at The Diamond sign opening day banner
Up one flight of steps through The Diamond’s stands, autograph seekers transformed into autograph signers.
A group of fans requested signatures from members of the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils outside of their third-base dugout an hour or so before the first pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Then some of those fans headed up to The Diamond’s concourse to sign the wall-sized banner celebrating 2023 opening day.
Large placards such as this one are attached to the walls throughout the ballpark concourse. The background is generally a team logo or various images of mascots Nutzy and Nutasha. Each banner celebrates a season-opening game. One is dedicated to the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game played at The Diamond.
From the 2023 opening day banner in the third-base concourse were strung multi-colored Sharpies for fans to use for signing, drawing a small picture or writing a short message.
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On Saturday, Addie Blackburn, 2, was held so she could make her mark. Other young children followed behind her, adding their names low on the white banner to hundreds above.
At times Saturday, there was a line of aspiring signers waiting for a Sharpie.
Some of the messages apart from the autographs: Happy New Year! Win it All in 23 RFS! Go Nutz! Go Steelers! Go Giants! Go Braves! A few are in Spanish.
At some point in the Flying Squirrels’ April schedule, the 2023 display will be covered as its predecessors are, with a clear, hard plastic protector, and left on the wall as a tribute to the time they were signed and those who did the signing.
“At the very beginning, we started by commemorating the first (Flying Squirrels’) game ever, and then it just continued,” said Todd Parnell, the Double-A franchise’s CEO. “It’s a tradition.”
What the Flying Squirrels have found, according to Parnell, is fans come back years after they signed a particular opening day banner and take pictures in front of that year’s placard. Maybe five years later, maybe 13 years later, fans return to see their signatures and often take photos of their children to reflect growth, such as annual greeting cards that do the same.
“It’s a small thing but has become part of the fan experience for opening day,” Parnell said Saturday evening. “Thank you for asking me this question because I haven’t signed this year’s yet.”
The tradition started with the Flying Squirrels’ front office bringing the idea to Richmond from other minor league franchises. The 2010 banner commemorating opening day is particularly special because that was the Flying Squirrels’ first season in Richmond.
“It was something we tried, and people loved it,” said Parnell, who has been with the franchise since its inception.
If and when there is a new ballpark to replace The Diamond, the Flying Squirrels’ plan is to transfer several commemorative items from the current stadium that opened in 1985 to its successor.
Among them are the opening day banners, as well as placards with opening-day starting lineups from year to year, and the “Road to the Show” displays, which salute each former Flying Squirrel who elevated to the major leagues. So far, about 80 former Richmond players became big leaguers.
Parnell referred that projected aspect of a potential new ballpark as “the historical section.”
Sunday’s game: The Flying Squirrels ran their record to 3-0 with a 7-3 win over Reading at The Diamond, where infielder Brett Auerbach had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI, and Richmond’s bullpen dominated after the Fightin Phils’ two-run first inning.
In the second game of Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader, Flying Squirrels starting pitcher Nick Zwack limited Reading to one hit in four scoreless innings and struck out nine as Richmond won 3-2 following a 4-3 victory in the first game.
The nightcap featured two Flying Squirrels’ runs scored on bases-loaded walks, and an RBI single by infielder Tyler Fitzgerald, the team’s 2022 MVP.
The Flying Squirrels are off Monday and on Tuesday begin a six-game road trip to Harrisburg (Washington Nationals).