Greenville Drive

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.

1 History
2 Stadium
3 Notable players
4 External links

[edit] History

The Drive began their history in 1977 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, the Bombers announced a team name change to the Drive. The name was given due to both the strong presence of the automobile industry (specifically BMW) in the area and the strong entrepreneurial spirit in the business community. The current name change has not been accepted by the community, however, as many residents have criticized the new name for its lack of historical relevance and failure to reflect community traditions.

The Bombers had a rich history within the South Atlantic League, winning the league championship in 1986, 1991, and 1998.

[edit] Stadium

Logo of the former Columbia/Greenville Bombers

Capital City Stadium, at 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. 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 $6,000,000 in fees upfront. Since then, Bombers owner Rich Mozingo had sought to relocate the team, finally becoming successful in 2005 (see above). The Bombers played their home contests in Greenville Municipal Stadium in Greenville.

The Drive (formerly the Bombers), now play at West End Field in downtown Greenville. The stadium shares the dimensions of their parent club's major league park, Fenway Park.

[edit] Notable players

More than 100 members of the Mets/Bombers have gone on to the major leagues, the standouts include Endy Chávez, Brian Daubach, Alex Escobar, Scott Kazmir, Dave Magadan, Guillermo Mota, Curtis Pride, Fernando Viña, and Preston Wilson. The current top player on the team is Michael Bowden.

[edit] 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://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051130/COLUMNISTS05/51130002/1043/SPORTS0102 - Criticism of name change to "Greenville Drive."
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