| Worcester Red Sox | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A | ||||
| League | International League (2021–present) | ||||
| Division | East Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Boston Red Sox | ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Name | Worcester Red Sox (2021–present) | ||||
| Colors | Blue, red, yellow, white | ||||
| Mascots | Smiley Ball, Woofster the Wonderdog, Roberto the Rocket, Clara the Heart of the Commonwealth[1] | ||||
| Ballpark | Polar Park (2021–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | Diamond Baseball Holdings[2] | ||||
| President | Charles Steinberg[4] | ||||
| Manager | Chad Tracy[3] | ||||
| Media | Radio:WORC-FM (Wed–Sat games) andWWFX (Sun & Tue games)[5] Streaming:MiLB.TV TV:NESN+ (home games only) | ||||
| Website | milb.com/worcester | ||||
TheWorcester Red Sox (nicknamed theWooSox) are a professionalminor league baseball team based inWorcester, Massachusetts.[a] Beginning play in 2021, the team is theTriple-A affiliate of theBoston Red Sox, succeeding thePawtucket Red Sox. The team competes in theInternational League, known as the Triple-A East for the 2021 season,[7] and plays home games atPolar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In February 2015, a group ofNew England business leaders, led byLarry Lucchino, purchased thePawtucket Red Sox, aTriple-A affiliate of theBoston Red Sox since 1973.[8] By mid-April, ownership was exploring moving the team fromPawtucket toProvidence, Rhode Island.[9] In September,Governor of Rhode IslandGina Raimondo stated that the land in Providence being considered for a stadium, "was not suitable and there were too many obstacles that remained."[10] During 2016, a feasibility study was conducted on potential renovations of the team's Pawtucket ballpark,McCoy Stadium; and from mid-2017 to mid-2018, building a new ballpark in Pawtucket was explored.[11][12]
A financing arrangement for partial public-funding of new stadium in Pawtucket was rejected by team ownership, who announced on August 17, 2018, that the team would relocate to a new stadium inWorcester, Massachusetts, in April 2021.[13] While it was initially reported that team would be named the Worcester Red Sox, the club announced a "name-that-team" competition in November 2018.[14] The team name was officially announced on November 25, 2019,[15] and confirmed to be the Worcester Red Sox with "WooSox" as the nickname.[16]
Like Providence, Worcester fielded a short-lived major league ballclub in the early 1880s, theWorcester Worcesters, who competed in theNational League.[17]
The team's first mascot,Smiley Ball, was introduced in Worcester on October 2, 2020.[18] A dog mascot,Woofster, was introduced in Worcester on August 26, 2021.[19]Roberto the Rocket was also introduced in Worcester on May 19, 2022.[20] The red heart mascot,Clara the Heart of the Commonwealth, was unveiled on May 21, 2024.[21]
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Red Sox were organized into the 20-teamTriple-A East.[22]Billy McMillon, who had previously managed the Pawtucket Red Sox, was named Worcester's first manager.[23] The team's first games were originally planned for April;[24] however, the start of the Triple-A season was delayed into May.[25] The team released its debut roster on May 3,[26] and opened the season on May 4 with a loss against theBuffalo Bisons in a game played inTrenton, New Jersey.[27]
The team played select games as "Los Wepas de Worcester" when participating in theCopa de la Diversión, a Minor League Baseball celebration ofHispanic and Latino heritage.[28] In December 2021, team was named winners of the Copa de la Diversión series, and were awarded the "Fun Cup".[29]
In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as theInternational League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.[30] The 2022 WooSox used the most players by any Red Sox Triple-A team, 75, surpassing the prior record of 70 held by the Pawtucket Red Sox of 1995 and 2006.[31]
In November 2023, principal owner Larry Luchino stated he was actively looking to sell the team, explaining that at age 78 he wanted to "move on to blissful retirement."[32] Later that month, the team was purchased byDiamond Baseball Holdings, who also own the Red Sox's Double-A and Single-A franchises, thePortland Sea Dogs andSalem Red Sox.[2]
"Finish" represents the team's final position in its division at the end of regular-season play.
| Year | W | L | Pct. | Finish | League | Division | Manager | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | 54 | .578 | 3rd of 6 | Triple-A East | Northeast | Billy McMillon | see Note |
| 2022 | 75 | 73 | .507 | 6th of 10 | International League | East | Chad Tracy[33] | |
| 2023 | 79 | 68 | .537 | 4th of 10 | International League | East | Chad Tracy[34] | |
| 2024 | 79 | 71 | .527 | 2nd of 10 | International League | East | Chad Tracy[35] | |
| 2025 | 76 | 73 | .210 | 6th of 10 | International League | East | Chad Tracy[36] |
Note: In 2021, each Triple-A team played a 10-game extension to the season, branded as the "Final Stretch";[37] Worcester went 66–52 per their original schedule, then 8–2 during the Final Stretch, for a final record of 74–54.
A new ballpark was constructed for the team, opening for the 2021 Triple-A season.[13] The cost (including land acquisition) was $159 million, with over half of the amount paid by the City of Worcester.[38] With a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators, it was named Polar Park through a sponsorship andnaming rights agreement withPolar Beverages, which is headquartered in Worcester. The first Triple-A game was played at the ballpark on May 11, 2021, with Worcester hosting theSyracuse Mets.[39]
| Players | Coaches/Other |
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Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
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On December 4, 2019, the team announced thatuniform number 6 would be permanently retired, in honor of the sixWorcester Fire Department firefighters who perished exactly twenty years prior, in the line of duty while fighting theWorcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire.[40]
In March 2020,WORC-FM (an affiliate ofNash Icon) was named as the team's flagship radio station.[41] The broadcasters as of 2022 are Tyler Murray, Jim Cain, Mike Antonellis, and Cooper Boardman.[42] It was later announced that radio coverage would be split between WORC-FM andWWFX.[5] Select games are televised onNESN+.[43]
| Preceded by | Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate 2021–present | Succeeded by current |
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Nickname(s):The City of the Seven Hills,The Heart of the Commonwealth,Wormtown,Woo-town,The Woo | ||
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