| Bowling Green Hot Rods | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | High-A (2021–present) | ||||
| League | South Atlantic League (2021–present) | ||||
| Division | South Division | ||||
Previous leagues |
| ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Tampa Bay Rays (2009–present) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(4) |
| ||||
| Division titles(5) |
| ||||
| First-half titles(3) |
| ||||
| Second-half titles(1) |
| ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Name | Bowling Green Hot Rods (2009–present) | ||||
| Colors | Navy blue, orange, white | ||||
| Ballpark | Bowling Green Ballpark (2009–present) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Jack Blackstock[1][2] | ||||
| President | Eric Leach[1][2] | ||||
| General manager | Kyle Wolz[1][2] | ||||
| Manager | Rafael Valenzuela | ||||
| Website | milb.com/bowling-green | ||||
TheBowling Green Hot Rods are aMinor League Baseball team of theSouth Atlantic League and theHigh-A affiliate of theTampa Bay Rays. They are located inBowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games atBowling Green Ballpark, which opened in 2009. The team is named for the city's connections to the automotive and racing industries such as theNational Corvette Museum,Holley Carburetor,Beech Bend Raceway, and theBowling Green Assembly Plant.
Founded in 2009, they were members of theClass A South Atlantic League in their inaugural season and played in the Class AMidwest League from 2010 to 2020. There were elevated to the High-A classification and placed in theHigh-A East in 2021, but this was renamed the South Atlantic League in 2022.
The Hot Rods began life as theWilmington Waves, one of twoSouth Atlantic League expansion teams for the 2001 season. However, the Waves' stay atBrooks Field inWilmington, North Carolina, lasted but a single season. They became theSouth Georgia Waves when the team was moved to thePaul Eames Sports Complex inAlbany, Georgia, for the 2002 season. The team retained the moniker name when it again moved toGolden Park inColumbus, Georgia, just before the 2003 campaign. One year later, in 2004, the franchise changed names and became theColumbus Catfish.
In April 2008, ownership moved the team toBowling Green effective for the 2009 season under the new nickname "Hot Rods." Their firstmanager as the Hot Rods wasMatt Quatraro.[3]
In 2010, the Hot Rods and theLake County Captains moved from theSouth Atlantic League to theMidwest League,[4] a plan meant to alleviate travel expenses associated with routine road trips as well as player movement within the teams' respective organizations.
In December 2013, Art Solomon, owner of the Hot Rods for five years, sold the team to Manhattan Capital Sports headed by Stuart Katzoff.[5]The Hot Rods have been widely recognized for their promotional efforts. In 2009, the team's "What Could've Been Night" was named Promotion of the Year byMiLB.com.[6] In 2010, Hot Rods Assistant General Manager Greg Coleman was honored as Marketer of the Year by the Professional Marketing Association.
In September 2018, the team was sold to Jack Blackstock who had previously been a minority investor in the team.[7]
That year, the Hot Rods won 90 games and captured their first ever Midwest League title, under then managerCraig Albernaz.
Along withMajor League Baseball's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season, the Hot Rods were invited to remain a Tampa Bay affiliate but be elevated toHigh-A in 2021 as members of theHigh-A East.[8][9] They won the Southern Division title by ending the season with a first-place 82–36 record.[10] They then won the High-A East championship by defeating theGreensboro Grasshoppers, 3–2, in a best-of-five series.[11]Jeff Smith won the league's Manager of the Year Award.[12] 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.[13]
| Season | Affiliation | Manager | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rays | Matt Quatraro | 64–75, 3rd place South |
| 2010 | Rays | Brady Williams | 61–78, 6th place East |
| 2011 | Rays | Brady Williams | 77–63, 3rd place East |
| 2012 | Rays | Brady Williams | 80–60, 2nd place East |
| 2013 | Rays | Jared Sandberg | 82–56, 1st place East |
| 2014 | Rays | Michael Johns | 61–77, 8th place East |
| 2015 | Rays | Reinaldo Ruiz | 69–69, 6th place East |
| 2016 | Rays | Reinaldo Ruiz | 84–55, 1st place East (tie) |
| 2017 | Rays | Reinaldo Ruiz | 72–65, 3rd place East |
| 2018 | Rays | Craig Albernaz | 90–49, 1st place East |
| 2019 | Rays | Reinaldo Ruiz | 81–58, 2nd place East |
| 2020 | Rays | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | |
| 2021 | Rays | Jeff Smith | 82–36, 1st place South |
| Season | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | - | - | - |
| 2010 | - | - | - |
| 2011 | L, 2–0,Fort Wayne | - | - |
| 2012 | L, 2–0,Lake County | - | - |
| 2013 | L, 2–0,Fort Wayne | - | - |
| 2014 | - | - | - |
| 2015 | - | - | - |
| 2016 | L, 2–1,Great Lakes | - | - |
| 2017 | L, 2–0,Fort Wayne | - | - |
| 2018 | W, 2–0,Lansing | W, 2–0,West Michigan | W, 3–1,Peoria |
| 2019 | L, 2–0,South Bend | - | - |
| 2020 | - | - | - |
| 2021 | - | - | W, 3–2,Greensboro |
Bowling Green Ballpark was designed by architectural firm DLR Group. The right-centerfield wall in Bowling Green Ballpark is unique in that it is concave in right-center because of the shape of a pre-existing road behind the field. The scoreboard in right-centerfield measures 35-feet tall and 56-feet wide, with the ability to show scoring, live video, advertisements, player statistics, and more. Embedded in the left field wall is a 6-foot, 3inch tall by 68-foot wide LED display board, behind which is a picnic area. There are two grass lawn seating areas- one in left-center and one at the right field line. The kids play area boasts an inflatable car customized with the Hot Rods' logo, a carousel, and a playground, and a behind the batter's eye in centerfield, a splash-pad. The Performance Food Service Club is a bar located on suite level directly behind home plate. Also on the suite level are 10 suites, the Hall of Fame suite, and a party deck—The Coca-Cola Deck.
In addition to internet streaming coverage on MILB.tv, the Hot Rods are broadcast locally on radio stationWKCT AM 930 and translator W281BV (104.1 FM) since 2022.WBGN was the original flagship station of Hot Rods baseball for the team's first 12 years in Bowling Green from 2009 to 2021.[15]
One of the Hot Rods'mascots is an anthropomorphic bear named Axle. Debuting in 2009, he wears an orange Hot Rods uniform, number 00. The Hot Rods' furry, fun-loving bear has captivated crowds at Bowling Green Ballpark while making good on his promise to become a true community ambassador. Roscoe is the Hot Rods' second mascot, debuting during the 2010 season. He is a Grease Monkey who wears a navy Hot Rods jersey.
Turbo is aGolden Retriever who was adopted into the Hot Rods family on December 13, 2019.[16] He is currently training to become a "batdog", retrieving bats and balls and returning them to the Hot Rods' dugout, as well as delivering balls to the home plate umpire, for the 2021 season. Turbo is one of a few bat dogs in Minor League Baseball.
| Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
60-day injured list
| ||
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The following are players inMajor League Baseball who played, at one time, for the Hot Rods. Players are listed under the team they debuted for.
Sports teams based inKentucky | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  | ||||||||
| Football | |||||||||
| Basketball | |||||||||
| Roller derby | |||||||||
| Soccer | |||||||||
| Rugby | |||||||||
| Australian rules football | |||||||||
| College athletics |
| ||||||||
| Defunct | |||||||||
| Attractions |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | ||
| Education | ||
| Sports | ||
| Newspapers | ||
| Transportation | ||
South Warren High School has a Bowling Green address but is south of the city limits. | ||
