Greenville Drive


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. 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. 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.
In, 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.
In 2009, Ryan Lavarnway played for the Drive, hitting 21 home runs and a.540 slugging percentage and 87 RBIs in 404 at bats.
On May 8, 2012 Greenville made history as three pitchers combined to toss the club's first ever no-hitter. Miguel Pena, Hunter Cervenka and Tyler Lockwood joined forces to defeat the Rome Braves, 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.

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: 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. 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.
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.

Season-by-season records

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

Capital City Bombers

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 in April; he was replaced by Stephenson.
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Greenville Bombers

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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.
SeasonDivisionRecordPct.Division
finish		League
rank		ManagerPlayoffs
2006Southern67–73.4796th11thLuis Alicea
2007Southern58–81.4177th14thGabe Kapler
2008Southern70–69.5044th8thKevin Boles
2009Southern73–65.5293rd5thKevin BolesLost in the league finals
2010Southern77–62.5542nd3rdBilly McMillonLost in the league finals
2011Southern78–62.5572nd4thBilly McMillon
2012Southern66–73.4756th9thCarlos Febles
2013Southern51–87.3707th14thCarlos Febles
2014Southern60–79.4325th10thDarren Fenster
2015Southern72–68.5143rd6thDarren Fenster
2016Southern70–69.5043rd 8th Darren Fenster
2017Southern79–60.5681st1stDarren FensterDefeated Charleston in semifinals, 2–1
Defeated Kannapolis in finals, 3–1
League Champions
2018Southern64–75.4607th12thIggy Suarez
2019Southern56–82.4066th13thIggy Suarez
2020Southern0-0.000TBDTBDIggy Suarez

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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

Notable Greenville alumni