Greenville Drive unveils 2021 schedule

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Greenville’s minor league team will be taking to the field again late this spring after an unwelcome 20 months on the bleachers.

The Greenville Drive, a Boston Red Sox affiliate, will launch its 2021 season on May 4 as a reboot of the team’s 15^th anniversary season.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for quite some time,” Drive General Manager Eric Jarinko said in a news release. “Over the last year and a half, we’ve been working closely with Major League Baseball and the Red Sox on a realignment of many aspects of the minor league baseball player development system.   The new alignment brings major and minor league baseball closer together and allows for increased sharing of technology and other resources, all of which are designed to help grow the game of baseball.”

Opening day, sponsored by TD Bank, will start the season with 12 straight home games against teams including the Bowling Green Hot Rods and Brooklyn Cyclones, according to the release. The 120-game schedule will minimize travel and feature as many home games as matches away.

The Drive will play in the newly formed High-A League, as members of the Southern Division, according to the release.  Other rivals playing at Fluor Field will include the Asheville Tourists, Hickory Crawdads, Winston-Salem Dash, Aberdeen IronBirds, Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Rome Braves.

“This is an incredibly exciting day for the Drive organization, Craig Brown, owner and president of the Drive, said in the release. “We are very proud to be a recognized partner in the Boston Red Sox system and we will continue to do what we do best — create a best-in-class fan experience, develop Major League ballplayers while continuing to create memories and support the Upstate Community.”

With capacity limitations and social distancing in place, fans can reserve seating through a ticket package starting at $99 for several games.

“Our staff have worked diligently over the last 20 months to create a healthy and safe environment as we prepare to welcome fans back to Fluor Field,” Jarinko said in the release. “We will continue to consult with state and local government and health officials to ensure the ballpark is exceeding all expectations relative to cleanliness and sanitization standards.”