ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Isotopes General Manager John Traub said he got a call he wasn’t expecting.

“Whenever they announced the teams that win the Freitas awards, it really goes to the teams that are really the model franchises throughout the industry, and our staff works their tails off year-round,” he said.

The news was a home run for him. The Albuquerque Isotopes were just announced as the 2023 Bob Freitas Triple-A team winner.

Traub said the national award recognizes an organization that’s the best of the best, not just on the field, and he was honored to bring the award home to the Duke City.

“It starts from the fact that this is a great baseball community, it has been for decades, since the Isotopes came in in 2003, we’ve tried to operate at a certain level, we raise the bar from day one,” he said about winning the award.

The award comes from the organization Baseball America, and this year it said the Isotopes took home the honor for the unique New Mexican spin they put on games.

A few times a year they trade out the red and black to become the Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico, and it’s this celebration of culture and baseball that’s been a grand slam for the franchise.

Traub said people may come to watch the players, but it’s also hundreds of people behind the scenes that make The Lab such a great place for New Mexicans to watch a game.

“It’s really more than just wins and losses. It’s about the whole experience of what the franchise means to the community, the Isotopes have really become interwoven into the fabric of this community for two-plus decades now,” he said.

The season opener will be on March 29, 2024. The promotions schedule will be released early in the New Year.