Blaze, the mascot of the new Tri-City Chili Peppers baseball team
Following months of shutdown, baseball could return in May to Colonial Heights. The Tri-City Chili Peppers, part of a summer league for collegiate players, is scheduled to start its inaugural season, rescheduled from last year due to the pandemic. The team represents Hopewell, Petersburg and Colonial Heights and is part of the Coastal Plain League.
“2020 was initially going to be our inaugural season; we had plans to start in May,” General Manager Steve Taggart says. Then the pandemic hit, and he and owner Chris Martin reconsidered. “We both thought, ‘This isn’t right, this isn’t how we envisioned it, let’s come back next year a little bit bigger and better,’ ” he says.
A handful of CPL teams went forward with the 2020 season, but all of them are scheduled to play in 2021. The Tri-City Chili Peppers will join the league as one of several teams with a food-inspired moniker, such as the Savannah Bananas and Macon Bacon. Those two teams are known around the league for their fireworks displays and entertainment between innings and hosting events during the offseason, including car shows and holiday-themed celebrations.
“Those are the two teams that we feel like we want to emulate, so we liked the idea of kind of sticking in that food category,” Taggart says. The name was chosen out of several submitted in an online contest; other contenders included The Triceratops, Tacos, Nitty Gritties and Sliders. Online voters also picked the name of the team’s mascot, a red pepper named “Blaze.”
“You can do so many things with pepper colors and ideas of the heat, the fire, all of that just kind of rolled into one, and it was something that just kind of jumped out to us,” Taggart says.
Longtime friends Martin, a training coach at Rise Baseball Academy, and Taggart, a video producer, have ties to the area athletes that inspired the creation of the team. They began conversations with the league in April 2019 and signed a contract with the league that July.
The connections Martin has fostered while preparing young players for college careers at Rise were crucial in establishing the Chili Peppers. “Finding players to come into the league isn’t that much of a challenge,” says Martin, who coaches players from age 8 to 18. “You build such tight relationships with the kids … so the idea kind of came around that we’d love to keep them local,” he says.
The Chili Peppers’ roster isn’t final, but a handful of players are confirmed for the season. Many Chili Pepper players grew up competing against each other. Among them is Hunter Gillam, a Longwood University sophomore and first baseman. Gilliam grew up in Farmville and says he was drawn to the opportunity to play near his hometown.
“I’m super excited to build relationships with those guys and play at Shepherd Stadium, where my family and everyone can come out,” Gillam says.
Officials in Colonial Heights have been anticipating the Chili Peppers’ debut at Shepherd Stadium, which has hosted organized baseball since the 1930s, when the field had a wooden fence and was known as The Ballpark.
Colonial Heights’ Shepherd Stadium is the home of the Tri-City Chili Peppers.
“We’re very, very proud of it, it’s an icon of the city, and I think that Chris and Steve saw that. It’s just a unique field,” says Colonial Heights Mayor Greg Kochuba.
Following World War II, a resurgence in enthusiasm for baseball drew more teams to the park. It underwent major renovations in 1951 and was renamed in honor of former Mayor Fred R. Shepherd. American Legion Baseball was played at the stadium in the 1960s until the early 2000s, when the park hosted its first high school championships.
“It’ll really bring a sense of community, especially during these times.” —Hopewell Mayor Patience Bennet
According to Colonial Heights City Manager Doug Smith, the influx of spectators and athletes will support restaurants and hotels in the area, and Mayor Kochuba says he is excited for the Chili Peppers to provide an entertainment option for the soldiers at nearby Fort Lee.
“When they’re not on duty, they come into Colonial Heights, ... and this will be a really great thing for them,” Kochuba says.
Hopewell Mayor Patience Bennett looks forward to the togetherness the team will foster, and she doesn’t pass on a chance to mention her city’s recent sports triumph.
“It’ll really bring a sense of community, especially during these times,” she says. “Our [Hopewell Majors All-Stars] team was the champion of the 2019 Dixie World Series, so we’re very happy to have the Chili Peppers come to our town and give our kids something to look up to.”
