Bowling Green Hot Rods

Bowling Green Hot Rods
Founded in2009 Bowling Green, Kentucky
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A(2021–present)
League	South Atlantic League(2021–present)
Division	South Division
Previous leagues	Midwest League(2010–2020) South Atlantic League(2009)
Major league affiliations
Team	Tampa Bay Rays(2009–present)
Minor league titles
League titles(3)	2018 2021 2022
Division titles(4)	2007 2018 2021 2022
First-half titles(3)	2011 2018 2022
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
President	Eric Leach
General manager	Kyle Wolz
Manager	Rafael Valenzuela

Axle

Roscoe

Axle and Roscoe, the Hot Rods' mascots

TheBowling Green Hot Rodsare aMinor League Baseballteam of theSouth Atlantic Leagueand theHigh-Aaffiliate 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 ASouth Atlantic League in their inaugural season and played in the Class AMidwest Leaguefrom 2010 to 2020. There were elevated to the High-A classification and placed in theHigh-A Eastin 2021, but this was renamed the South Atlantic League in 2022.

History

The Hot Rods began life as theWilmington Waves,one of twoSouth Atlantic Leagueexpansion teams for the 2001 season. However, the Waves' stay atBrooks FieldinWilmington, North Carolina,lasted but a single season. They became theSouth Georgia Waveswhen the team was moved to thePaul Eames Sports ComplexinAlbany, Georgia,for the 2002 season. The team retained the moniker name when it again moved toGolden ParkinColumbus, 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 Greeneffective for the 2009 season under the new nickname "Hot Rods." Their firstmanageras the Hot Rods wasMatt Quatraro.

In 2010, the Hot Rods and theLake County Captainsmoved from theSouth Atlantic Leagueto theMidwest League,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. 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.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.

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-Ain 2021 as members of theHigh-A East.They won the Southern Division title by ending the season with a first-place 82–36 record.They then won the High-A East championship by defeating theGreensboro Grasshoppers,3–2, in a best-of-five series.Jeff Smithwon the league's Manager of the Year Award.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.

Season records

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

Playoffs

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

Main article:Bowling Green Ballpark

• Address:300 E 8th Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101
• Opened:April 17, 2009
• Seating capacity:4,559
• Dimensions:LF – 318 ft, CF – 400 ft, RF – 326 ft

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.

Media coverage

In addition to internet streaming coverage on MILB.tv, the Hot Rods are broadcast locally on radio stationWKCTAM 930 and translator W281BV (104.1 FM) since 2022.WBGNwas the original flagship station of Hot Rods baseball for the team's first 12 years in Bowling Green from 2009 to 2021.

Mascots

One of the Hot Rods'mascotsis 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 Retrieverwho was adopted into the Hot Rods family on December 13, 2019.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.

Roster

Bowling Green Hot Rodsroster

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 9Jake Christianson 23Alex Cook 36Aneudy Cortorreal 27Jonny Cuevas 30Yoniel Curet* 40Nate Dahle 33Duncan Davitt 16T.J. Fondtain 29Roel Garcia III 15Sandy Gaston 21JJ Goss 18Jeff Hakanson 39Sean Harney 24Jack Hartman 45Trevor Martin 28Gerlin Rosario 44Drew Sommers		Catchers 22Angel Galarraga 12Tatem Levins Infielders 19Elis Barreat 2Hunter Haas 11Xavier Isaac 6Kamren James 8Cooper Kinney 25Blake Robertson 13Ryan Spikes 20Brayden Taylor Outfielders 1Jhon Diaz 7Brock Jones 5Colton Ledbetter 3Chandler Simpson		Manager 10Rafael Valenzuela Coaches 26Braxton Martinez(hitting) 14Jim Paduch(pitching) 4Perry Roth(bench) 60-day injured list 57Ben Brecht 46Conor Dryer --Over Galue 97Nomar Rojas 7-day injured list * OnTampa Bay Rays40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Rosterupdated May 6, 2024 Transactions → More rosters:MiLB•South Atlantic League →Tampa Bay Rays minor league players

Alumni

The following are players inMajor League Baseballwho played, at one time, for the Hot Rods. Players are listed under the team they debuted for.

Tampa Bay Rays

• Matt Moore
• Alex Colome
• Tim Beckham
• Enny Romero
• Kevin Kiermaier
• CJ Riefenhauser
• Kirby Yates
• Ryan Brett
• Andrew Bellatti
• Luke Maile
• Blake Snell
• Taylor Motter
• Ryan Garton
• Dylan Floro
• Juniel Querecuto
• Austin Pruitt
• Jose Alvarado
• Ryne Stanek
• Hunter Wood
• Jacob Faria
• Yonny Chirinos
• Johnny Field
• Willy Adames
• Jaime Schultz
• Diego Castillo
• Justin Williams
• Brandon Lowe
• Nick Ciuffo
• Nate Lowe
• Michael Brosseau
• Brendan McKay
• Ian Gibaut
• Kean Wong
• Josh Fleming
• Shane McClanahan
• Kevin Padlo
• Brent Honeywell Jr.
• Taylor Walls
• Wander Franco
• Vidal Brujan
• Joshua Lowe
• Shane Baz

San Francisco Giants

• Albert Suarez
• Roberto Gomez
• Enderson Franco
• Joe McCarthy
• Sam Long

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Oscar Hernandez
• Merrill Kelly

Detroit Tigers

• Kyle Lobstein
• Ryan Carpenter

Los Angeles Angels

• Luis Rengifo
• Matt Ramsey
• Kenny Rosenberg

Texas Rangers

• Kyle Bird
• Brock Burke

Miami Marlins

• Derek Dietrich
• Jesús Sánchez

St. Louis Cardinals

• Genesis Cabrera
• Roel Ramirez

Kansas City Royals

• Wilking Rodriguez

San Diego Padres

• Chris Rearick
• Jake Cronenworth

Washington Nationals

• Felipe Vazquez

Baltimore Orioles

• Joey Rickard

Philadelphia Phillies

• Tyler Goeddel
• Cristopher Sánchez

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Andrew Toles

Colorado Rockies

• German Marquez

Toronto Blue Jays

• Taylor Guerrieri

Seattle Mariners

• Parker Markel

Oakland Athletics

• Jonah Heim

Minnesota Twins

• Joe Ryan

Cincinnati Reds

• Riley O'Brien

New York Mets

• Jake Hager

External links

• Official website