The Funnville Nine Richmond Flying Squirrels

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Richmond Flying Squirrels play-by-play broadcaster Trey Wilson chats with former Flying Squirrels manager and current San Francisco Giants Director of Player Development Kyle Haines. The chat includes Haines discussing his career path after playing ten seasons of professional baseball with the Giants, Cleveland Indians and independent teams, moving into managing in independent baseball with the Frontier Greys in 2014, landing with the Giants as a minor league manager in 2015, leading the Flying Squirrels for the 2017 season and eventually earning his current position as the Giants' farm director. The conversation also goes into how the Giants aimed to continue the development progression of their minor league players without having a traditional season in 2020, including at the Giants' alternate training site in Sacramento and in the upcoming fall instructional league. 

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Flying Squirrels play-by-play broadcaster Trey Wilson chats with former Flying Squirrels pitcher and Richmond native Connor Overton. An alum of Atlee High School in Hanover County, Virginia, just minutes north of the Flying Squirrels' home stadium at The Diamond, Overton has faced several challenges throughout his baseball journey, including injuries, releases and other uncertainties. Overton chats about how he's adjusted to working out with the 2020 MiLB season being canceled, his time playing college baseball at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, being selected by the Miami Marlins in the 2014 MLB Draft, starting his professional career with the Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League, being released by the Marlins a year into his professional career, signing with the Washington Nationals as a minor-league free agent, playing independent baseball in the American Association with the Sioux Falls Explorers, catching the eye of a San Francisco Giants scout and signing with them in 2016, having to undergo Tommy John surgery, playing for his hometown Flying Squirrels for the first time in 2018, reinventing himself as a pitcher during the 2019-2020 offseason, hitting 100 miles per hour for the first time, signing as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays, building a "pitching lab" in his parents' backyard and a whole lot more.

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Richmond Flying Squirrels play-by-play broadcaster Trey Wilson is joined by Flying Squirrels catcher and Richmond native, Matt Winn. A graduate of J.R. Tucker High School and Virginia Military Institute, Winn was the first player born and raised in Richmond to play for the Flying Squirrels when he debuted for the club in 2016. He has spent parts of four seasons with his hometown team. On this episode, we chat about Winn's work ethic, his early days in baseball, heading off to play college ball for VMI, being named as a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, recognizing the top catchers in NCAA Division I baseball, getting drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2015, climbing the minor-league ladder, his experience debuting for the Flying Squirrels, some of his memorable on-field moments, volunteering in his local community and much more.

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson catches up with former Flying Squirrels pitcher Daryl Maday, who was a part of the team during the franchise's first four seasons from 2010-2013. Maday discusses being on the mound for some of the biggest moments in the Flying Squirrels' franchise history, including the team's first-ever home opener at The Diamond in 2010, the franchise's first-ever playoff game in 2011 and closing out the first no-hitter in Flying Squirrels history in 2013. Maday also talks about his post-baseball career in taxidermy back in his home in Wisconsin, playing baseball in South Korea and much more.

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Richmond Flying Squirrels play-by-play broadcaster Trey Wilson discusses the "Class of 2019," the group of Flying Squirrels alumni who made their major league debuts during the 2019 season. The episode features San Francisco Giants pitchers Shaun Anderson, Sam Coonrod, Conner Menez, Sam Selman, Logan Webb and Tyler Rogers. Hear the stories of their first times taking the field as major leaguers in their own words, as told to Wilson during Spring Training with the Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz. back in February and March of 2020. 

On this episode of The Funnville Nine driven by AAA, Richmond Flying Squirrels broadcaster Trey Wilson catches up with 2019 Flying Squirrels pitcher and San Francisco Giants top pitching prospect Sean Hjelle. The conversation includes Sean discussing adjusting to new dad life, keeping his pitching skills sharp without games in 2020, moving to Lexington, Ky., growing up playing baseball and basketball in Minnesota, how he ended up going to the University of Kentucky for his collegiate career with the Wildcats in the SEC, cheering on the UK basketball team at Rupp Arena, the day the San Francisco Giants selected him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft, kicking off his professional career with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes that summer, opening 2019 in Single-A with the Augusta GreenJackets, the challenges of pitching in the California League with the San Jose Giants, getting moved up to Double-A along with fellow top prospects Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos in August of 2019, the growing pains of facing a higher level of completion in Double-A with the Flying Squirrels, getting an invitation to MLB spring training with the Giants in 2020 and working with catcher Joey Bart.