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Greenville Drive

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Greenville Drive
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassA
LeagueSouth Atlantic League
DivisionSouthern Division
Major league affiliations
TeamBoston Red Sox (2005–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (2)
  • 1998
  • 2017
Division titles (1)2017
Team data
NameGreenville Drive (2006–present)
Previous names
  • Greenville Bombers (2005)
  • Capital City Bombers (1993–2004)
MascotReedy Rip'it (2006-present)
Bomber the Mouse (1989-2005)
Ace the Eagle (2003-2005)
BallparkFluor Field at the West End (2006–present)
Previous parks
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
Craig Brown
General managerEric Jarinko
ManagerIggy Suarez

The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and a member of the South Atlantic League. Prior to the 2005 SAL season, the team played in Columbia, South Carolina, was affiliated with the New York Mets from 1993 to 2004, and was known as the Capital City Bombers. Their mascot is a frog named Reedy Rip'it. In 2017, the team defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 3 games to 1 to win the franchise's first championship since becoming the Greenville Drive in 2006. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West End.

History

The Drive began their history in 1993 as the Capital City Bombers. The name was chosen to honor members of the Doolittle Raiders, who had conducted their initial training in Columbia. The Bombers won the South Atlantic League championship in 1998.

Following the 2004 season, the Bombers changed affiliations and became the affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, who had previously been affiliated with the Augusta GreenJackets, also of the South Atlantic League. On February 11, 2005, Minor League Baseball announced that the Bombers had been granted permission to move to Greenville, where a new park opened in 2006. The Bombers would play in Greenville Municipal Stadium in 2005.

On October 27, 2005, the Bombers announced the team's name would change to the Drive.[1] The name was chosen due to the presence of BMW US Manufacturing and Michelin in the area and, more generally, due to Greenville's rich automotive past.[2] An alternative name was chosen after Shoeless Joe Jackson called the Joes but Major League Baseball vetoed the name due to his role in the Black Sox Scandal in 1919.[3]

In 2008, outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin became the first Drive player to be selected to the annual All-Star Futures Game, which took place on July 13 at Yankee Stadium. Lin hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw that helped the World team beat the US Team, 3–0. He finished 2-for-2 and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Former pitcher Clay Buchholz participated in the 2007 edition, a season after playing for the Drive.[4]

Ryan Lavarnway

In 2009, Ryan Lavarnway played for the Drive, hitting 21 home runs and a .540 slugging percentage (both tops for Red Sox minor leaguers) and 87 RBIs in 404 at bats.[5][6]

On May 8, 2012 Greenville made history as three pitchers combined to toss the club's first ever no-hitter. Miguel Pena (six innings), Hunter Cervenka (two) and Tyler Lockwood (one) joined forces to defeat the Rome Braves (Atlanta), 1–0. A solo home run by Keury De La Cruz off David Filak in the sixth inning counted for the only run of the game.[7]

Stadium

Capital City Stadium in downtown Columbia, was the home of the Bombers. The stadium was originally built in 1927, but was completely rebuilt in 1991. Capital City Stadium has a seating capacity for 6,000 spectators, has a grass surface and features the following fence dimensions: (LF) 330 ft., CF 400 ft., RF 320 ft.

The Bombers had sought assistance from the City of Columbia in building a new stadium located in the Congaree Vista area of Columbia. Efforts to construct a stadium to be shared with the University of South Carolina's baseball team fell through when the University demanded the Bombers pay $6 million in fees upfront.[citation needed] Following this, Bombers owner Rich Mozingo sought to relocate the team.

Mozingo's efforts paid off when, in 2005, the Bombers relocated to Greenville, South Carolina. Following the move, the Bombers played their home contests in Greenville Municipal Stadium in Greenville, then moved to Fluor Field at the West End, in the heart of downtown Greenville. The stadium was named "Ballpark of the Year" for the 2006 season by Baseballparks.com, beating out such stadiums as St. Louis's Busch Stadium and Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College, Pa.[8]

The stadium shares the dimensions of their parent club's major league park, Fenway Park, and boasts its own "Green Monster" complete with manual scoreboard and "Pesky's Pole" in right field.[9]

  • Marquee Sign
    Greenville Drive Scrolling Marquee Welcome Sign
  • Seating
    Seating at Fluor Field
  • Entrance at Fluor Field
    Entrance at Fluor Field
  • Team Store
    Greenville Drive Team Store
  • Snowy entrance
    Snow-covered entrance at Fluor Field
  • Snowy field
    Fluor Field covered with snow, February 12, 2010

Season-by-season records

What follows are records of the Greenville Bombers, and Greenville Drive for each season.[10]

Capital City Bombers

Season Division Record Pct. Division
finish		 League
rank		 Manager Playoffs
1993 South 64–77 .454 6th 10th Ron Washington  
1994† South 59–76 .437 5th 12th Ron Washington  
1995 South 72–68 .514 3rd 8th Howie Freiling  
1996 Central 82–57 .590 2nd 2nd Howie Freiling Lost to Asheville Tourists, 2–0
1997 Central 77–63 .550 1st 3rd Doug Mansolino‡
John Stephenson		 Lost to Greensboro Bats, 2–0
1998 Central 90–51 .638 1st 1st Doug Davis Defeated Piedmont Boll Weevils, 2–0
Defeated Hagerstown Suns, 2–1
Defeated Greensboro Bats, 2–1
League Champions
1999 Central 83–58 .589 1st 2nd Dave Engle Defeated Greensboro Bats, 2–1
Lost to Cape Fear Crocs, 2–0
2000 South 56–81 .409 7th 13th (t) John Stephenson  
2001 South 62–73 .459 6th 11th Ken Oberkfell  
2002 South 75–64 .540 3rd 6th Tony Tijerina Lost to Columbus RedStixx, 2–1
2003 South 73–65 .529 5th 7th Tony Tijerina  
2004 South 89–47 .654 1st 1st Jack Lind Defeated Charleston RiverDogs, 2–0
Lost to Hickory Crawdads, 3–0

† The team was known as the "Columbia Bombers" during the 1994 season.
‡ Mansolino resigned on June 18, at the request of the Mets, following the alcohol-related death of player Tim Bishop in April; he was replaced by Stephenson.[11]
Source:[12]

Greenville Bombers

Season Division Record Pct. Division
finish		 League
rank		 Manager Playoffs
2005 North 72–66 .522 2nd (t) 6th (t) Chad Epperson  

Source:[12]: 720 

Greenville Drive

Division finish and league rank columns are based on overall regular season records. The South Atlantic League utilizes a split-season, with first-half winners and second-half winners of each division meeting in the playoffs; if the same team wins both halves of the season, the team with the next best overall record is selected.[13]

Season Division Record Pct. Division
finish		 League
rank		 Manager Playoffs
2006 Southern 67–73 .479 6th 11th Luis Alicea  
2007 Southern 58–81 .417 7th 14th Gabe Kapler  
2008 Southern 70–69 .504 4th 8th Kevin Boles  
2009 Southern 73–65 .529 3rd 5th Kevin Boles Lost in the league finals
2010 Southern 77–62 .554 2nd 3rd Billy McMillon Lost in the league finals
2011 Southern 78–62 .557 2nd 4th Billy McMillon  
2012 Southern 66–73 .475 6th 9th Carlos Febles  
2013 Southern 51–87 .370 7th 14th Carlos Febles  
2014 Southern 60–79 .432 5th 10th Darren Fenster  
2015 Southern 72–68 .514 3rd 6th Darren Fenster  
2016 Southern 70–69 .504 3rd (t) 8th (t) Darren Fenster  
2017 Southern 79–60 .568 1st 1st Darren Fenster Defeated Charleston in semifinals, 2–1
Defeated Kannapolis in finals, 3–1
League Champions[14]
2018 Southern 64–75 .460 7th 12th Iggy Suarez  
2019 Southern 56–82 .406 6th 13th Iggy Suarez  
2020 Southern 0-0 .000 TBD TBD Iggy Suarez  

Source:[15]

Rivals

Charleston RiverDogs

The Drive have an in-state rivalry with the Charleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of the New York Yankees. This particular rivalry is also fueled by the regional rivalry between the two parent clubs.

Roster

Greenville Drive roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 15 Cooper Adams
  • 31 Max Carlson
  • 23 Noah Dean
  • 17 Zach Fogell
  • 12 Yordanny Monegro
  • 16 Hayden Mullins
  • 30 Jedixson Paez
  • 24 Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz
  •  6 Dalton Rogers
  • 35 Adam Smith
  • 34 Isaac Stebens
  • 18 Jeremy Wu-Yelland

Catchers

  • 48 Enderso Lira
  •  3 Juan Montero
  • 11 Hudson White

Infielders

  • 36 Fraymi De Leon
  • 41 Luis Ravelo
  •  5 Justin Riemer

Outfielders

  •  9 Miguel Bleis
  • 37 Juan Chacon
  • 10 Zach Ehrhard
  •  4 Eduardo Lopez
  • 38 Nelly Taylor
  •  8 Will Turner
  • 19 Miguel Ugueto

Manager

  • 10 Iggy Suarez

Coaches

  •  1 JP Fasone (hitting coach)
  • 13 Bob Kipper (pitching coach)
  • 45 Alex Reynolds (development coach)
  •  7 Ty Snep (coach)

60-day injured list

  • 24 Cade Feeney

7-day injured list
* On Boston Red Sox 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated September 17, 2024
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • South Atlantic League
 → Boston Red Sox minor league players

Notable Greenville alumni

References

  1. ^ Andrews, Mike (October 28, 2005). "Greenville Bombers Change Name". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Sox Prospects Wiki". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  3. ^ "Greenville welcomes the Drive". MILB. October 27, 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Che-Hsuan Lin Selected to the MLB Futures Game". 26 June 2008.
  5. ^ "Ryan Lavarnway Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  6. ^ Michael Vega (June 17, 2011). "Lavarnway swings into action with Pawtucket". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  7. ^ "Rome vs. Greenville - May 8, 2012 - MiLB.com Box - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com.
  8. ^ [1], GreenvilleDrive.com Westend Park. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
  9. ^ [2], GreenvilleDrive.com 2006 Stadium of the Year Article . Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
  10. ^ "Greenville, South Carolina Encyclopedia - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "Mets fire coaches for alcohol death concerns". The Tennessean. New York Times News Service. June 23, 1997. p. 6. Retrieved October 25, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007). Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 9781932391176.
  13. ^ "Playoff Procedures". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  14. ^ "2017 South Atlantic League - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. ^ "Greenville Drive". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2018.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greenville_Drive&oldid=961188852"