A mix of familiar and fresh faces will pilot the Greenville Drive for the upcoming 2022 season. During the Drive’s first season as the Red Sox High-A affiliate, they posted the second-best record in franchise history while also leading the High-A East in attendance.
Manager Iggy Suarez will return for his fourth season at the helm of the Drive, while pitching coach and Greenville, SC native Bob Kipper resumes his role on the Drive coaching staff for the fourth straight season, and Nate Spears returns to Greenville for his second season as the team’s hitting coach. Bobby Stachura also returns for this third straight season serving as the club’s head athletic trainer.
Joining the 2022 staff are development coach Joe Cronin, assistant coach Matt Wheeler, and strength and conditioning coach Donny Gress, all of whom are marking their first season in Greenville.
“We can’t wait for baseball to return to Fluor Field in 2022,” said Drive Owner and Team President Craig Brown. “The Red Sox have a proven track record of player development success, evidenced by the 97 players that have worn a Drive uniform and gone on to play in the major leagues, as well as all 10 teams in the 2021 MLB playoffs featuring a Drive alumnus. Iggy, Bob, Nate, and Bobby, have all played an instrumental role in this success over the years, and we look forward to having them back in Greenville, while also welcoming Joe, Matt, and Donny.”
In the Drive’s first season as the Red Sox High-A affiliate in 2021, the club posted a 67-53 record, good for seventh best among the 30 High-A clubs across Minor League Baseball. Under the direction of Suarez, Kipper and Spears, the team’s winning percentage ranked second highest in franchise history, trailing only the 2017 Drive that went on to capture the South Atlantic League Championship.
With Suarez at the helm of the Drive in 2018-19, nine members were selected to the South Atlantic League All-Star game, in addition to having Red Sox top-prospect Triston Casas named an end-of-season All-Star in 2019.
The 40-year-old Suarez joined the Drive following two seasons managing the Lowell Spinners for two seasons. He led the Spinners to 47-29 record and the New York-Penn League’s Stedler Division title in his first season as manager in 2016.
Prior to his appointment as manager in Lowell, Suarez served as the Spinners hitting coach in 2015. A 24th round selection by the Red Sox from Texas State in 2003, he played seven seasons in the Boston organization, reaching AAA-Pawtucket in 2009. He also played four seasons in the independent Atlantic League from 2010-2013 before his coaching career.
“Greenville has become like a second home to me,” noted Suarez. “Fluor Field, the Drive fan base and Downtown Greenville are second-to-none in Minor League Baseball. The entire staff is excited for the start of another season and are looking forward to once again being in Greenville, representing the Drive and the Red Sox.”
Kipper’s recent three-year stint as the Drive’s pitching coach has been extremely successful. The 2021 pitching staff led all High-A clubs with 1,315 strikeouts, while ranking fourth in the High-A East in Earned Run Average.
In addition, Denyi Reyes was named the 2018 South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year, the first time a Drive pitcher has won the prestigious league award in franchise history. The 55-year old previously served as the Drive’s pitching coach in 2005-2006, as well as 2008-2009. Kipper was the pitching coach for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox in 2015-2017, and he spent 2010-2014 as the Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach. He also served on the Red Sox major league staff as the bullpen coach in 2002.
A former first-round pick (8th overall) by the California Angels in 1982 out of high school, Kipper spent eight seasons in the major leagues, with seven of those coming with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His best season came in 1989 with the Pirates, where he logged a 2.93 ERA in 52 appearances out of the bullpen.
Spears returns to Greenville for his second season as hitting coach, after having spent the previous three seasons in the same role for the Lowell Spinners. Prior to his time in Lowell, Spears was the assistant coach for the Drive in 2016 in his first season as a coach in the Red Sox organization.
The 2021 Drive belted 153 home runs, shattering the franchise’s previous mark of 125 that stood for a decade. The team also ranked amongst the High-A East in runs scored (4th, 659), hits (4th, 1,751), doubles (2nd, 218), triples (3rd, 28), on-base percentage (T-3rd, .337) and RBI (4th, 614).
Spears played 12 seasons of professional baseball as an infielder from 2003-14, including 2010-12 in the Red Sox organization. He played for four other MLB organizations, but his lone major league appearances came with the Red Sox from 2011-12.
As the final returnee of the staff, the 2022 season will mark Stachura’s third as the Drive’s head athletic trainer. He joined the Red Sox system in 2017 after spending the previous four years as an athletic trainer at the University of Rhode Island.
Cronin enters his second season with the Red Sox organization, after serving as a player development intern at the JetBlue Park complex in Fort Myers, Florida during 2021. He spent five seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization as a player, after being selected in the 34th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. A graduate of Boston College, Cronin’s final year in the minors was in 2019 as a member of the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Wheeler joins the Drive after spending the 2021 season with the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate, the Worcester Red Sox, focusing on analytics and data integration. A native of Santa Rosa, California, Wheeler played collegiately at Monterey Peninsula College and San Francisco State, before going on to play professionally for two seasons in the independent leagues. He also served as the associate head coach at Monterey Peninsula College, beginning in 2015, where the team made three consecutive playoff appearances.
Rounding out the new faces, the 2022 season will mark Gress’ first year in Boston’s organization. He spent the previous four years at the University of Kentucky, first as a graduate assistant (2018-2020), before becoming a coaching assistant with the Wildcats’ Olympic Strength and Conditioning staff.
“We’re looking forward to another exciting year of Drive baseball at Fluor Field in just a few short months,” added Drive General Manager Eric Jarinko. “With the return of Iggy, Bob, Nate, and Bobby, as well as the addition of Joe, Matt and Donny, the 2022 Drive will be a fun team for fans to watch. Last year’s club was one of the most productive in franchise history, and this year’s team will once again be led by some of the best when it comes to player development.
Prepared by the Greenville Drive.