Ad
Isotopes named best Triple-A franchise in 2023
Published
Modified
The best Triple-A baseball franchise is right here in Albuquerque.
The Isotopes have been honored as the 2023 Bob Freitas award winner for best overall Triple-A organization in Minor League Baseball, announced Thursday by Baseball America. The Albuquerque Isotopes, who celebrated their 20th season in 2023, also won the award in 2007.
The award recognizes overall franchise excellence, community engagement and long-term success as a business operation, according to a news release.
Albuquerque Isotopes General Manager John Traub, who has been with the Isotopes since Day 1, said the organization is “tremendously humbled” by the “prestigious award.”
Traub noted he’s continually having conversations with other minor league franchises about best practices in the industry. And the best practice?
“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “We try to provide the best customer service experience for our fans.
“We listen to the fans … and implement the things they are telling us to the best of our ability.”
Fans seem to be appreciative. The Isotopes led the Pacific Coast League in attendance with a cumulative tally of 521,521 fans during the 2023 season at Isotopes Park. Additionally, the club led the PCL in average attendance with 7,048 fans per game. Albuquerque finished with the fifth-highest attendance in all of Minor League Baseball, or MiLB..
On any given game day, there are about 400 employees (including contractors) at Isotopes Park. Staff include parking lot attendants, ticket-takers, ushers, food vendors and security in addition to front-office employees who aim to create a fun and wholesome experience that’s relevant to the community, Traub said. “It’s always someone’s first game” is a mantra around the office.
In October, Diamond Baseball Holdings purchased the Isotopes. The franchise will remain the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, and Traub and the current front office staff will remain in their roles.
Ad
Traub said fan experience will be “just as amazing as always” under the new ownership.
More about the franchise and award
Award honors MiLB ambassador: The annual accolade is named after longtime MiLB ambassador Bob Freitas , who died in 1989, the same year the award debuted.
Triple the awards: Baseball America names one winner from each of MiLB’s classification levels — Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A. The Isotopes were selected over 29 other Triple-A clubs.
Campeóns, tambien: Albuquerque also was named — for the third time in the past five seasons — MiLB’s 2023 Copa de la Diversión Campeón for the popular Mariachis de Nuevo México brand, a MiLB initiative to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with MiLB team’s local U.S. Hispanic communities.
Community service: The Isotopes hosted three baseball clinics, including an adaptive skills clinic for kids with special abilities. The staff and fans also helped raise more than $5,000 for the Maui Humane Society after the devastating fire on the island. Isotopes players volunteered at the New Mexico Academy of Rock and Blues and Roadrunner Food Bank, plus other events. Nonprofit organizations earned more than $400,000 cumulatively from their efforts volunteering in the concessions stands in 2023. Isotopes front office staff has combined for more than 200 hours of community service.
On the field: Though the Isotopes missed the playoffs with a 68-82 record in 2023, the team set a franchise record with 959 runs scored, and its 173 stolen bases were second most in club history.
Ticket sales, schedules and more: Go to abqisotopes.com or call the Isotopes Administrative Offices at (505) 924-2255. The team opens the 2024 season at Isotopes Park on March 29 vs. El Paso.
A day at the ballpark: Albuquerque Isotopes host Oklahoma City Dodgers
