| Reno Aces | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (2009–present) | ||||
| League | Pacific Coast League (2009–present) | ||||
| Division | West Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Arizona Diamondbacks (2009–present) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| Class titles(1) |
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| League titles(2) |
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| Conference titles(2) |
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| Division titles(5) |
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| Second-half titles(1) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Reno Aces (2009–present) | ||||
| Colors | Navy blue, white, red | ||||
| Mascot | Archie | ||||
| Ballpark | Greater Nevada Field (2009–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | SK Baseball | ||||
| General manager | Chris Phillips[1] | ||||
| Manager | Jeff Gardner | ||||
| Website | milb.com/reno | ||||
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TheReno Aces are aMinor League Baseball team of thePacific Coast League (PCL) and theTriple-A affiliate of theArizona Diamondbacks. They are located inReno, Nevada, and play their home games atGreater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. The Aces have been members of the PCL since 2009, including the 2021 season in which it was known as the Triple-A West. They won thePCL championship in 2012 and 2022. Reno went on to win theTriple-A National Championship Game in 2012.
The Aces were known as theTucson Sidewinders from 1998 to 2008. Before that, the team was first known as theTucson Toros. They wereTucson's Triple-A baseball club, playing atHi Corbett Field in midtown Tucson from 1969 to 1997. Part of the old ten-team configuration of the Pacific Coast League, the Toros won the PCL Championship in 1991 and 1993. The Toros were preceded by a number of other Tucson teams between 1915 and 1958, such as the Tucson Cowboys and the Tucson Lizards.
After the1998 Major League Baseball expansion, which added theArizona Diamondbacks inPhoenix andTampa Bay Devil Rays, the Toros moved toFresno, California, as theFresno Grizzlies. ThePhoenix Firebirds relocated to Tucson, briefly became the Tucson Toros (1997), and then became the Sidewinders (1998), the Triple-A affiliate of the new Diamondbacks. This was accomplished by what amounted to a swap in ownership in 1997, with Firebirds owner Martin Stone purchasing the Toros and Toros owner Rick Holtzman receiving interest in the Firebirds. The Tucson team retained management and staff primarily from the Toros, and traces its history from the Toros rather than the Firebirds.[2]
The Sidewinders had humble beginnings, as it was five years before they enjoyed their first winning regular season. They dominated the 2006 season, with the PCL's best record in the regular season and won the Pacific Coast League and National Championships in the postseason.
The Phoenix Firebirds played from 1958 through 1997 as an affiliate of theSan Francisco Giants. The franchise joined the Pacific Coast League as a charter member in 1903 as theSan Francisco Seals, relocating to Phoenix in 1958 when the major leagueNew York Giants moved to San Francisco. Seals alumni includeJoe DiMaggio.
The Tucson Toros have been affiliated with theChicago White Sox (1969–1972), theOakland Athletics (1973–1976), theTexas Rangers (1977–1979), theHouston Astros (1980–1996), and theMilwaukee Brewers (1997 only, with one Diamondbacks prospect,Travis Lee, playing with them by special arrangement).[2] At the time of the change in venue and affiliation (1998), the name Sidewinders was chosen from a contest.
The Toros became a member of the independentGolden Baseball League, adopting their previous Triple-A history from 1969 to 1997. The Aces adopted the Sidewinders' history from 1998 to 2008 before the franchise was moved to Reno. The Toros folded in 2011 after the AAAPortland Beavers moved to town to become theTucson Padres. The Padres moved again in 2014, this time to Texas to become theEl Paso Chihuahuas.
In 2006, the team was sold to Manhattan Capital Sports Fund led by Stuart Katzoff and Jerry Katzoff, later in 2007 it was formally announced that the Sidewinders would be moving toReno after the 2008 season. A new 9,100-capacity venue,Greater Nevada Field, was constructed for the team in downtown Reno.
The move forced theReno Silver Sox of the independent Golden Baseball League to fold.[3] The franchise dropped the name "Sidewinders" in place of a new identity. Some fans suggested that the team should adopt or purchase the rights to the Silver Sox name from the GBL for the new PCL club, but that was ruled out as that team was, at that point (prior to folding), likely to relocate toCarson City.[4] The Reno Aces introduced their new team name and logo at a press conference on September 23, 2008.[5] The nickname has a dual meaning: "ace" is a baseball slang term for a team's top pitcher, and the ace is the highest card in several card games (a reference to Nevada's gambling history). The logo features thediamonds symbol, which can be seen as another gambling reference, as well as to the diamond of a baseball field and their MLB affiliate's name.
The Reno Aces were due to begin their inaugural season in 2009 on the road against theSalt Lake Bees on Thursday, April 9. However, the game was postponed due to the death ofLos Angeles Angels'Nick Adenhart (a Salt Lake alumnus), who was killed by a hit-and-run driver earlier in the day. Adenhart had played for the Bees during the 2008 season, and was remembered the next day in what was originally the second game in a four-game series between the Aces and the Bees. The Bees beat the Aces 6–2 on Friday, April 10.[6] The Aces won their home opener atGreater Nevada Field on Friday, April 17, 11–1 against the Salt Lake Bees, to an over-capacity sell-out crowd of 9,167.[7]
The Aces made the playoffs for the first time in 2011, but lost the fifth and deciding game in the first round to theSacramento River Cats. The Aces made it back to the post-season the following year in 2012, defeated Sacramento in five games, and theOmaha Storm Chasers in four to win the PCL title. Reno then won theTriple-A National Championship Game, defeating thePawtucket Red Sox 10–3 atDurham Bulls Athletic Park inNorth Carolina.
The Reno Aces hosted theTriple-A All-Star Game on July 17, 2013.
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Aces were organized into theTriple-A West.[8] Reno ended the season in second place in the Western Division with a 69–49 record.[9] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.[10] However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.[10] Reno finished the tournament in 28th place with a 1–5 record.[11] In 2022, the Triple-A West became known as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[12]
ManagerGil Velazquez led the 2022 Aces to win the Western Division title with a league-best 85–63 record.[13] They then defeated theEl Paso Chihuahuas, winners of the Eastern Division, in a single playoff game, 6–2, to win their second PCL championship.[14] Reno faced theDurham Bulls for the Triple-A championship, but they were defeated, 10–6.[15]
On April 27, 2023, the Aces defeated theSugar Land Space Cowboys by a score of 24–2. The 22-run margin of victory marked the Aces' largest in a game in team history, and the 24 runs fell 1 run short of the club record. All nine offensive starters recorded a hit, withDominic Fletcher,Buddy Kennedy,Phillip Evans,P. J. Higgins,Dominic Canzone, andJake Hager enjoying multi-hit nights.[16] The 2024 Aces won the second-half title, earning them a playoff berth,[17] but they lost the PCL championship to Sugar Land, 2–0, in the best-of-three series.[18]
| League | The team's final position in the league standings |
|---|---|
| Division | The team's final position in the divisional standings |
| GB | Games behind the team that finished in first place in the division that season |
| ‡ | Class champions (2009–present) |
| † | League champions (2009–present) |
| § | Conference champions (2009–2020) |
| * | Division champions (2009–2022) |
| ^ | Postseason berth (1962–present) |
| Season | League | Regular-season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 2009 | PCL | 79–64 | .552 | 3rd | 2nd | 7 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [19] |
| 2010 | PCL | 69–74 | .483 | 11th | 3rd | 9+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [20] |
| 2011 * | PCL | 77–67 | .535 | 5th | 1st | — | 2–3 | .400 | Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.Sacramento River Cats, 3–2 | Arizona Diamondbacks | [21] |
| 2012 * § † ‡ | PCL | 81–63 | .563 | 3rd | 1st | — | 7–3 | .700 | Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Sacramento River Cats, 3–2 WonPCL championship vs.Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–1 WonTriple-A championship vs.Pawtucket Red Sox[22] | Arizona Diamondbacks | [23] |
| 2013 | PCL | 60–84 | .417 | 15th | 4th | 18 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [24] |
| 2014 * § | PCL | 81–63 | .563 | 1st (tie) | 1st | — | 5–4 | .556 | Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Won Pacific Conference title vs.Las Vegas 51s, 3–1 LostPCL championship vs.Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–2 | Arizona Diamondbacks | [25] |
| 2015 | PCL | 70–74 | .486 | 10th | 3rd | 14+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [26] |
| 2016 | PCL | 76–68 | .528 | 4th | 2nd | 5+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [27] |
| 2017 * | PCL | 80–62 | .563 | 3rd | 1st | — | 0–3 | .000 | Won Pacific Conference Northern Division title Lost Pacific Conference title vs.El Paso Chihuahuas, 3–0 | Arizona Diamondbacks | [28] |
| 2018 | PCL | 72–68 | .514 | 6th (tie) | 2nd | 10+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [29] |
| 2019 | PCL | 66–74 | .471 | 10th | 2nd | 7 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [30] |
| 2020 | PCL | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[31] | Arizona Diamondbacks | [32] | |||||||
| 2021 | AAAW | 69–49 | .585 | 3rd | 2nd | 3 | 1–5 | .167 | Lost series vs.Albuquerque Isotopes, 4–1 Lost series vs.Las Vegas Aviators, 1–0 Placed 28th in the Triple-A Final Stretch[11] | Arizona Diamondbacks | [9] |
| 2022 * † | PCL | 85–63 | .574 | 1st | 1st | — | 1–1 | .500 | Won Western Division title WonPCL championship vs.El Paso Chihuahuas, 1–0[14] LostTriple-A championship vs.Durham Bulls, 1–0[15] | Arizona Diamondbacks | [13] |
| 2023 | PCL | 88–62 | .587 | 3rd | 1st | — | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [33] |
| 2024 ^ | PCL | 79–70 | .530 | 4th | 3rd | 2+1⁄2 | 0–2 | .000 | Won second-half title[17] LostPCL championship vs.Sugar Land Space Cowboys, 2–0[18] | Arizona Diamondbacks | [34] |
| 2025 | PCL | 63–87 | .420 | 9th | 5th | 23 | — | — | — | Arizona Diamondbacks | [35] |
| Totals | — | 1,195–1,110 | .518 | — | — | — | 16–21 | .432 | — | — | — |
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders | Manager Coaches
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| Level | Team | League | Location | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple-A | Reno Aces | Pacific Coast League | Reno, Nevada | Blake Lalli |
| Double-A | Amarillo Sod Poodles | Texas League | Amarillo, Texas | Shawn Roof |
| High-A | Hillsboro Hops | Northwest League | Hillsboro, Oregon | Vince Harrison |
| Low-A | Visalia Rawhide | California League | Visalia, California | Javier Colina |
| Rookie | AZL D-backs | Arizona League | Scottsdale, Arizona | Rolando Arnedo |
| DSL D-backs 1 | Dominican Summer League | Boca Chica,Santo Domingo | Jaime Del Valle | |
| DSL D-backs 2 | Ronald Ramirez |
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