Greenville Bombers

The Greenville Bombers are a minor league baseball team that plays in Greenville, South Carolina as a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and a member of the South Atlantic League. Before the 2005 season, the team was in the SAL, but played in Columbia, South Carolina, was affiliated with the New York Mets, and was known as the Capital City Bombers.

Contents

1 History 2 Stadium 3 Notable players 4 External link

History

The Bombers 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 honor members of the Doolittle Raiders, who had conducted their initial training in Columbia.

As of 2004, the team sought to relocate to either Wilmington, North Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, or Bowling Green, Kentucky due to the failure of Columbia City Council to foster a compromise between the Bombers and the University of South Carolina in attempts to build a joint-use stadium.

On February 11, 2005, Minor League Baseball announced that the Bombers had been granted permission to move to Greenville, where a new park will be built for them to open in 2006. The Bombers will play in Greenville's Municipal Stadium in 2005.

Also, 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.

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

Stadium

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 ballpark was also generally considered aesthetically displeasing.

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).

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, Dave Magadan , Guillermo Mota, Curtis Pride, Fernando Viña, and Preston Wilson .

External link

• Bombers official web site