Greenville Drive
Founded in1977 inShelby, North Carolina Based inGreenville, South Carolina since2005
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1977–2020)
League	South Atlantic League (1994–present)
Division	South Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Boston Red Sox (2005–present)
Previous teams	New York Mets (1981–2004) Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1980) Cincinnati Reds (1977–1978)
Minor league titles
League titles(5)	1986 1991 1998 2017 2023
Division titles(2)	2017 2023
First-half titles(1)	2023
Team data
Name	Greenville Drive (2006–present)
Previous names	Greenville Bombers (2005) Capital City Bombers (1993–2004) Columbia Mets (1983–1992) Shelby Mets (1981–1982) Shelby Pirates(1979–1980) Shelby Reds (1977–1978)
Colors	Red, midnight navy, gray, white, green
Mascot	Reedy Rip'it
Ballpark	Fluor Field at the West End (2006–present)
Previous parks	Greenville Municipal Stadium (2005) Capital City Stadium (1983–2004) Veterans Field (1977–1982)
Owner/ Operator	Craig Brown
General manager	Eric Jarinko
Manager	Liam Carroll
Website	milb.com/greenville

TheGreenville Drive are aMinor League Baseball team based inGreenville, South Carolina.^[a] They are theHigh-A affiliate of theBoston Red Sox and are a member of theSouth Atlantic League. They play their home games atFluor Field at the West End, and their mascot is a frog named Reedy Rip'it.

An affiliate of theNew York Mets from 1983 to 2004, the team played inColumbia, South Carolina as theColumbia Mets (1983–92) and then as theCapital City Bombers (1993–04). In the team's first season as a Red Sox affiliate, 2005, they were known as theGreenville Bombers.

The Drive began their history in 1977 as theShelby Reds, an expansion franchise in the league then known as the Western Carolinas League.^[2][3] In 1980, the league changed its name to the South Atlantic League, reflecting its expansion beyond the Carolinas into Georgia.^[4] After two seasons as a Pirates affiliate,^[4] and then two with the Mets,^[5] the franchise relocated to Columbia, South Carolina in 1983. The team played as the Columbia Mets from 1983 through the 1992 season, after which they were rechristened 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 club won the South Atlantic League championship in 1986, 1991 and 1998.^[6]

Following the 2004 season, the Bombers changed affiliations and became the affiliate of theBoston Red Sox, who had previously been affiliated with the SAL'sAugusta GreenJackets. 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 inGreenville Municipal Stadium in 2005.

On October 27, 2005, the Bombers announced the team's name would change to the Drive.^[7] The name was chosen due to the presence ofBMW US Manufacturing and Michelin in the area and, more generally, due to Greenville's rich automotive past.^[8] An alternative name was chosen afterShoeless Joe Jackson called the Joes butMajor League Baseball vetoed the name due to his role in theBlack Sox Scandal in 1919.^[9]

In 2008, outfielderChe-Hsuan Lin became the first Drive player to be selected to the annualAll-Star Futures Game, which took place on July 13 atYankee Stadium. Lin hit a two-runhome 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 pitcherClay Buchholz participated in the 2007 edition, a season after playing for the Drive.^[10]

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.^[11][12]

On May 8, 2012, three Greenville 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 theRome Braves, 1–0. A solo home run by Keury De La Cruz off of David Filak in the sixth inning accounted for the only run of the game.^[13]

In the 2017 postseason, the team defeated theKannapolis Intimidators, 3 games to 1, to win the franchise's first championship since becoming the Greenville Drive in 2006.

The Drive had an in-state rivalry with theCharleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of theNew York Yankees, while in the South Atlantic League. This particular rivalry was also fueled by the regional rivalry between the two parent clubs.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the team moved from being the Red Sox'Class A affiliate to being theirHigh-A affiliate, and became a member of theHigh-A East league; in a corresponding move, theSalem Red Sox moved fromClass A-Advanced toLow-A.^[14][15] In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.^[16]

Capital City Stadium in downtown Columbia, was the home of the Bombers. The stadium was originally built in 1927, but was completely rebuilt in1991. Capital City Stadium has aseating 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 theCongaree 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 ownerRich 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 inGreenville Municipal Stadium in Greenville, then moved toFluor 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, Pennsylvania.^[17]

The stadium shares the dimensions of their parent club's major league park, Fenway Park, and boasts its own (slightly shorter) "Green Monster" complete with manual scoreboard and "Pesky's Pole" in right field.^[18]

Below are the season records for the Capital City Bombers, Greenville Bombers, and Greenville Drive.^[19]

The team competed in the South Atlantic League (Class A).

† 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 playerTim Bishop in April; he was replaced by Stephenson.^[20]
Source:^[21]

The team competed in the South Atlantic League (Class A).

Source:^[21]: 720

The team competed in the South Atlantic League (Class A) through 2020, then moved up to the High-A classification in 2021 as members of the to theHigh-A East, which became the South Atlantic League in 2022.

Division finish and league rank columns are based on overall regular season records. The South Atlantic League utilized a split-season, with first-half winners and second-half winners of each division meeting in the playoffs; if the same team won both halves of the season, the team with the next best overall record was selected.^[22]

• Rabasco, Nick (September 15, 2017)."Cup of Coffee: Drive capture South Atlantic League title".SoxProspects.com. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2018.

• Official website
• Greenville, South Carolina Encyclopedia atBaseball Reference

• Greenville Drive
• South Atlantic League teams
• Baseball in Greenville, South Carolina
• Professional baseball teams in South Carolina
• Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates
• Sports in Columbia, South Carolina
• New York Mets minor league affiliates
• 1993 establishments in South Carolina
• Baseball teams established in 1993
• High-A East teams

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