The Silver Spring–Takoma Thunderbolts is a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team based in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL). The Thunderbolts play their home games at Montgomery Blair Baseball Stadium. The Thunderbolts are funded through ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise sales, donations, and other fundraising efforts at games.

History

In January 2000, Richard S. O’Connor purchased the charter rights to a collegiate summer baseball team in the Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League. The prior team was named the Southern Maryland Battlecats and played their home games in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

. Maryland Community Baseball, Inc., the parent corporation of the Thunderbolts was formed as a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

to promote youth baseball in the Silver Spring-Takoma area.Maryland Community Baseball Inc.
''Exempt Organization Select Check''.

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

. Retrieved July 12, 2017. The team began play in June 2000 at three locations in Silver Spring. In 2002, Maryland Community Baseball Inc. signed a 20-year license agreement with the

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. History The commission was formed in 1927 by the Maryland G ...

to play all home games at Blair Stadium. From 2000 to 2004, the Thunderbolts were members of the Clark Griffith Collegiate League. In 2005, the Thunderbolts became a charter member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. The Thunderbolts were the league's co-champions in 2005 and champions in 2006. They have also won the Montgomery Cup, boasting the best record of any Ripken League team in Montgomery County, twice since 2005. The Thunderbolts returned to the League Championship Series in 2019, after sweeping the D.C. Grays in the semifinal round. They then took a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three LCS against the

Bethesda Big Train The Bethesda Big Train is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of National Baseball Hall of Fame and ...

, needing just one more win to clinch their first league title in 13 years, but dropped two straight to Bethesda, coming up short.

Notable alumni

Jonathan Papelbon Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an Major League Baseball Al ...

, who was a closer for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. * Brett Cecil, in November, 2016 signed a 4-year, $30.5 million contract with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. For eight seasons he pitched for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. In 2013, he became the first Ripken League alum to play in an

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

. * Mike Chernoff, General Manager of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

. *Zach Clark, formerly a pitcher in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organization. *

Matt Mervis Matthew Jared Mervis (born April 16, 1998), nicknamed "Mash", is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Miami Marlins organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs. Mervis played colleg ...

, first baseman in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. *Adam Mills, formerly a pitcher in the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

organization. *Jake Taylor, with the

San Rafael Pacifics The San Rafael Pacifics are an American professional baseball team based in San Rafael, California, United States. They compete in the Pacific Division of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Min ...

in the Independent Pacific Association, was discussed in the book, ''The Only Rule Is It Has to Work,'' by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts Amateur baseball teams in Maryland Fan-owned baseball teams Silver Spring, Maryland 2000 establishments in Maryland Baseball teams established in 2000 Non-profit organizations based in Maryland