Drive Proudly
Most major league baseball teams used to have a “bullpen car” to drive relief pitchers from beyond the outfield fences down the foul line so they would have a short walk to the mound.
In recent years, teams started making their pitchers trot the 100 yards or so. After all, it’s the least they could do considering all the millions that they earn.
But the 2007 World Series champions Boston Red Sox are reviving for fans the concept of a team automobile with a commemorative Volvo.
Showcasing its new C30 model priced at an inviting $29,465, Volvo is issuing 107 — the total number of Red Sox wins last year — limited-edition models in the team’s familiar red. Inside dashboard plaques, authenticated by Major League Baseball, highlight a particular memorable game.
New England Volvo dealers were barraged with inquiries in the wake of press coverage and a full-page ad in Boston magazine, Volvo spokesman James Hope says.
That’s the sort of response Volvo was counting on to fuel what could become a recurring theme.
“This is kind of a first for us,” Hope says. “We hope it will open the door to do other special-edition vehicles.”
Only one of the cars will not be for sale. The Red Sox will auction off the C30 bearing the plaque in honor of the 107th World Series winning-game for charity during the season.
The special edition was a “natural fit,” since Volvo has had a long-standing relationship with the Red Sox, Hope says.
Like the Red Sox, Volvo has a strong fan base in the northeast where extreme weather conditions make Volvo’s all-wheel drive profile particularly appealing.
The intense Red Sox fan affinity is sure to sell out the C30 special editions.
“It’s a really good way to draw attention to the C30, one of our newest cars, and to give something back to the fans,” Hope says.
The Volvo is another way for long-suffering Red Sox fans to savor the team’s second world championship in four years after a near century-long drought. In the mind of Red Sox fans, victory can be fleeting.
According to the annals of baseball history, in 1950 the Cleveland Indians became the first team to introduce a bullpen car, reported ESPN.com last October. In 1995, the Milwaukee Brewers debuted a bullpen motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson equipped with a sidecar for the pitcher to sit in. It was Major League Baseball’s last bullpen vehicle.
