Worcester Red Sox

From BR Bullpen

Worcester Red Sox.jpg

Team History[edit]

The Worcester Red Sox, of the Triple-A International League and briefly in Triple-A East, are owned by a group led by 2002-2015 Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino. The Red Sox farmhands play their home games at Polar Park in Worcester, MA.

Given their proximity and Lucchino's status as BoSox president emeritus, the partnership likely has a long future; its long past dates to the 1965 Toronto Maple Leafs.

Worcester, however, has a very short Organized Baseball history - although, before its 1902 beginning, the Worcester Ruby Legs played in the National Association and the National League.

In August 2018,[1] after Pawtucket Red Sox owners couldn't get two different Rhode Island cities to build them a new ballpark[2], they responded to months of wooing from Worcester. The Lucchino group, which was then led by James Skeffington, had purchased the club from the estate of longtime owner Ben Mondor, who died in 2010. Skeffington died after the move was decided but before it was completed.

The group first asked Providence, RI, and then Pawtucket, RI, to replace then 75-year-old McCoy Stadium, but all attempts failed. In November 2019, the team unveiled the name and logos.[3] Some logos and mascot Smiley Ball salute Worcester as the birthplace of the smiley face.

On July 9, 2022, the WooSox paid homage to their former home city by playing in PawSox jerseys and caps on "PawSox Heritage Day" - and also saluted the most significant event in PawSox history, professional baseball's longest game ever. They have also assumed the alternate identity of the "Worcester Wicked Worms", after another one of Worcester's nicknames - "Wormtown".

The WooSox play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Los Wepas de Worcester. The term doesn't have a direct translation but is used to express positive reactions such as excitement or delight. It was perhaps heard in the Woo when Worcester won the 2021 Copa competition.

Year-by-Year Record[edit]

Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs Notes Hitting coach Pitching coach Coach
2021 66-52 7th Billy McMillon 8-2 Rich Gedman Paul Abbott Bruce Crabbe, Michael Montville
2022 75-73 9th Chad Tracy Rich Gedman Paul Abbott Brendan Connolly, Jose David Flores, Michael Montville
2023 79-68 7th Chad Tracy Rich Gedman Paul Abbott Brendan Connolly, Jose David Flores, Michael Montville, Matt Wheeler

Further Reading[edit]

  • Melanie Heller: "Boston's Triple-A affiliate goes underground as Wicked Worms", mlb.com, August 26, 2023. [4]

Related Sites[edit]