Greenville Drive

Greenville Drive Founded in 1977 Greenville, South Carolina
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
A
Minor league affiliations
South Atlantic League Southern Division
Major league affiliations
Boston Red Sox (2005-present) New York Mets (1981-2004) Pittsburgh Pirates (1979-1980) Cincinnati Reds (1977-1978)
Name
Greenville Drive (2006-present) Greenville Bombers (2005) Capital City Bombers (1993-2004) Columbia Mets (1983-1992) Shelby Mets (1981-1982) Shelby Pirates (1979-1980) Shelby Reds (1977-1978)
Ballpark
Fluor Field at the West End Greenville Municipal Stadium Capital City Stadium (1983-2004) Veterans Field (1977-1982)
Minor league titles
League titles	3 (1986, 1991, 1998)
Division titles
Owner(s)/Operated by: Craig Brown, Roy Bostock, Paul Raether
Manager: Billy McMillon
General Manager: Mike deMaine

The Greenville Drive is a minor league baseball team that plays 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, and was known as the Capital City Bombers. Their mascot is a frog named Reedy Rip'it.

History

The Drive began their history in 1960 in Shelby, North Carolina, as the Shelby Reds. In 1983, the team moved to Columbia, which had lacked a minor league team since the departure of the Columbia Reds in 1961. The team was originally known as the Columbia Mets and made their home at Capital City Stadium. In 1993, the team changed its name to the Bombers to honor members of the Doolittle Raiders, who had conducted their initial training in Columbia.

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,^{[citation needed]} the Bombers announced the team's name would change to the Drive. 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.^[1] Residents have criticized the new name for its lack of historical relevance and failure to reflect community traditions.^{[citation needed]} In fact, team owners reportedly wanted to call the team the "Joes," after Greenville County native Shoeless Joe Jackson. But Jackson is on Major League Baseball's permanent ineligibility list due to his role in the Black Sox Scandal in 1919.

The Bombers won the South Atlantic League championship in 1986, 1991, and 1998.

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]

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.^[2][3]

Stadium

Logo of the former Columbia/Greenville Bombers

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 stadium often proved inadequate for baseball due to poor field conditions.^{[citation needed]} Situated in a low-lying area, Capital City Stadium features poor drainage and heavy rains often resulted in a flooded infield.

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, (see above). 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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

Active roster

Greenville Drive rosterview · talk · edit
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 37 Miguel Celestino 19 Keith Crouch 36 Justin Erasmus 10 Jordan Flasher -- Andrew Jones 12 Tyler Lockwood 28 Dennis Neuman 17 Michael Olmstead 13 Garrett Rau 26 Manuel Rivera 35 Charle Rosario 40 Kyle Stroup 38 Scott Swinson 33 Tyler Wilson 32 Brandon Workman		Catchers 18 Carson Blair 15 Christian Vazquez Infielders 31 Michael Almanzar 23 Xander Bogaerts  5 Sean Coyle  3 Drew Dominguez 47 Drew Hedman 16 David Renfroe Outfielders 24 Brandon Jacobs 21 Matty Johnson 22 Lucas LeBlanc 25 Henry Ramos 34 Felix Sanchez		Manager 51 Billy McMillon Coaches 11 Luis López (hitting) 33 Dick Such (pitching) 7-day disabled list * On Boston Red Sox 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated July 31, 2011 Transactions → More rosters

Season-by-season records

The following is a list of the Greenville Drive's record for each season.^[6]

Year	Team Name	Wins	Losses	W-L %	Manager
2005	Greenville Bombers	72	66	0.453%	Chad Epperson
2006	Greenville Drive	67	73	0.479%	Luis Alicea
2007	Greenville Drive	58	81	0.417%	Gabe Kapler
2008	Greenville Drive	70	69	0.504%	Kevin Boles
2009	Greenville Drive	73	65	0.529%	Kevin Boles
2010	Greenville Drive	77	62	.554	Billy McMillon

References

1. ^ [1], Sox Prospects Wiki. Retrieved on 2008-06-22
2. ^ "Ryan Lavarnway Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=lavarn001rya. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
3. ^ Michael Vega (June 17, 2011). "Lavarnway swings into action with Pawtucket". Boston Globe. http://articles.boston.com/2011-06-17/sports/29670768_1_ryan-lavarnway-pawtucket-extra-bats. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
4. ^ [2], GreenvilleDrive.com Westend Park. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
5. ^ [3], GreenvilleDrive.com 2006 Stadium of the Year Article . Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
6. ^ Baseball Reference

External links

• http://www.ballparkdigest.com/visits/greenville.htm - Ballpark Digest visit to West End Field
• http://www.greenvilledrive.com - Official website of the Greenville Drive
• http://news.greenvilleonline.com/blogs/bwright/archives/2005_11.html - Bart Wright's criticism of name change to "Greenville Drive."
• Over The Monster :: A Boston Red Sox Blog