The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrenceville address) in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. They are named for striped bass in reference to the popularity of fishing in the region. The team was established in 2009 after the International League's Richmond Braves relocated from Richmond, Virginia. Named the Gwinnett Braves after their major league affiliate, they adopted their current moniker in 2018. The Stripers moved from the IL to the Triple-A East in conjunction with MLB's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, but this league was renamed the International League in 2022. History In January 2008, the Atlanta Braves announced plans to relocate its Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate from Richmond, Virginia, to Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. The move came after years of trying to reach a suitable plan with the city of Richmond to finance the construction of a new stadium to replace The Diamond, which had been home to the Richmond Braves since 1985, or find a new location altogether. The relocated team was to begin play in 2009 at the newly constructed Gwinnett Stadium, renamed Coolray Field in 2010. Known as the Gwinnett Braves, they were members of the Triple-A International League (IL), as were the Richmond Braves who preceded them. The move to Gwinnett County marked a return home of sorts for the franchise, which traces its roots to the founding of the Atlanta Crackers in 1901. They became the top affiliate of the then-Milwaukee Braves in 1965. When the Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Atlanta in 1966, they moved the Crackers to Richmond, where the minor league franchise took the name of the parent club. The Gwinnett Braves played their first game on April 9, 2009, defeating the Charlotte Knights, 9–1, at Knights Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their first home game was played on April 17. With 10,427 people in attendance, the Braves lost to the visiting Norfolk Tides, 7–4. Their first home win occurred three nights later when Gwinnett defeated the Durham Bulls, 5–2. The Braves ended their inaugural season in second place in the South Division, two games behind Durham, at 81–63. Though failing to win the division title, they did qualify for the International League's wildcard playoff spot