Chad Tracy Named WooSox Manager, Jose David Flores named Bench Coach for 2022
Tracy, who replaces Billy McMillon, and Flores, who replaces Bruce Crabbe, will join returning hitting coach Rich Gedman, along with pitching coach Paul Abbott and assistant hitting coach Mike Montville, who are all back with WooSox for 2022 season.
Tracy, who replaces Billy McMillon, and Flores, who replaces Bruce Crabbe, will join returning hitting coach Rich Gedman, along with pitching coach Paul Abbott and assistant hitting coach Mike Montville, who are all back with WooSox for 2022 season.
WORCESTER, MA—The Worcester Red Sox and Boston Red Sox are pleased to announce that Chad Tracy has been named as the new WooSox manager for the 2022 season while Jose David Flores has been hired as bench coach. Additionally, the clubs announced today that hitting coach Rich Gedman and pitching coach Paul Abbott will resume their roles on the Worcester coaching staff while Mike Montville has been named assistant hitting coach after serving as a coach for Worcester in 2021.
Boston Red Sox Director of Player Development Brian Abraham made the official announcement. The WooSox hope to introduce members of their coaching staff at Polar Park sometime after the new year.
Tracy, 36, spent the last seven seasons (2015-21) in the Los Angeles Angels organization, including three as a minor league manager with Low-A Burlington (2015) and High-A Inland Empire (2016-17). For the last four seasons (2018-21), he has served as the Angels’ Minor League Field Coordinator.
Born in Arlington Heights, IL, Chad spent most of his childhood in Sarasota, FL before moving to Claremont, CA at the age of 16. He starred at Claremont High School and Pepperdine University where he was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2005 when he led the WCC with a .367 batting average. In 2006 he was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award given to the top catcher in NCAA Division 1.
Tracy, who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, broke into pro ball as a catcher but the 6’3”, 210 lbs. right handed hitter spent most of his career as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. In nine professional seasons, all in the minor leagues (2006-13) and independent Atlantic League (2013-14), Chad hit .267 with 159 home runs and 706 RBI. He reached Triple-A in 2010 with Oklahoma City and in 2011 with Round Rock (both Texas Rangers’ AAA affiliates) and had his best season with the Express in 2011 with 26 HR, 109 RBI, and 80 runs scored in 134 games. He also played for other former Pacific Coast League clubs Colorado Springs (AAA-Rockies) in 2012 and Omaha (AAA-Royals) in 2013.
Chad played for the United States national baseball team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup and won a silver medal with the U.S. during the 2011 Pan American Games.
He began his managerial career in 2015 with Burlington (Iowa), the Angels’ low-A affiliate in the Midwest League. 1B/OF Trevor Gretzky, son of Wayne (and Janet Jones) was on that Burlington Bees team in 2015 along with Brockton, MA native lefty pitcher Sean Newcomb who went on to pitch for Atlanta.
In 2016 and 2017, Tracy was the skipper of the Inland Empire 66ers, the Angels’ high-A affiliate in San Bernardino, CA of the California League. Former Red Sox OF Daniel Nava was briefly on his 2016 club, while LA Angel star Mike Trout rehabbed with his 2017 Inland Empire team. Tracy managed current Angel starters such as 2B David Fletcher, 1B Jared Walsh, and OF Taylor Ward.
New WooSox manager Chad Samuel Tracy, born on the 4th of July in 1985, is not related to former Major League infielder Chad Austin Tracy who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2004-09 and the Washington Nationals from 2012-13. Worcester’s new skipper is indeed related to Jim Tracy, Chad’s father, who played in the Major Leagues and served as a big league manager for 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-05), Pittsburgh Pirates (2006-07), and Colorado Rockies (2009-12), earning National League Manager of the Year honors in 2009. Furthermore, Chad’s grandfather Jim Tracy, Sr. and his brothers Brian and Mark Tracy have all played baseball professionally.
Chad currently lives in Fairfield, OH (just outside of Cincinnati) with his wife Emily and their 7-year-old daughter Avery and 3-year-old son Austin.
Flores, who will turn 51 on January 1st, has more than 20 years of experience as a coach or manager. Most recently, he spent the 2019 & 2020 seasons as the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Prior to that he spent one season as the first base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 under Gabe Kapler. He also served as the infield coach for both the Orioles and Phillies during those years. Prior to joining the major league ranks, Flores served as the Chicago Cubs’ Minor League infield coordinator from 2013-17.
A native of Puerto Rico, Jose managed the Puerto Rico National Team from 2011-12 during the PanAm Games and Baseball World Cup, then served on the coaching staff for Team Puerto Rico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. From 2004-11, he managed the Cidra Bravos of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation, where he won four national titles and was named 2005 Manager of the Year. Flores also managed Cleveland’s 2008 Dominican Summer League team, and since 2000 he has been a third base/infield coach in the Puerto Rico Professional Winter League.
Selected by the Houston Astros in the 1990 First-Year Player Draft, Flores spent his entire professional playing career as an infielder in Houston’s minor league system from 1990-94. A slick-fielding, switch-hitting middle infielder, Jose reached Double-A Jackson of the former Texas League in 1994.
Jose David Flores, the new WooSox bench coach, was born on January 1, 1971 in Cidra, Puerto Rico. He is not to be confused with former big leaguer Jose Flores who, ironically was also a coach on the 2018 Phillies – hence Worcester’s Jose Flores began to use his middle name!
Flores currently lives in Gurabo, Puerto Rico with his wife Luz (Lisa) and the couple’s two daughters Adrianna and Allison.
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame catcher Rich Gedman returns for his second season as WooSox hitting coach in his native hometown of Worcester. 2022 will mark his 8th season as Red Sox Triple-A hitting coach (dating back to Pawtucket in 2015) which is the longest tenure of any Red Sox Triple-A hitting coach in franchise history. “Geddy” helped guide the WooSox to a 74-54 record last season keyed by fine offensive seasons from INF Yairo Munoz (his .308 batting average was 3rd in Triple-A East and his 35-game hitting streak was the longest in Red Sox franchise history), OF Jarren Duran with 16 HR in just 60 games, and OF Franchy Cordero who hit .300 in 78 games.
Paul Abbott is back for his second season in Worcester and his fifth season as a pitching coach in the Red Sox system. The former big league hurler spent 11 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1990-2004. His 2021 WooSox pitching staff helped the club finish 20-games over .500 during their inaugural season. Starter Raynel Espinal tied for the Triple-A East lead with his 11 victories and his 3.44 ERA was 3rd best in the league. “Abby” also worked closely with former WooSox and current Red Sox standout Tanner Houck, along with several other hurlers who appeared for both Worcester and Boston in 2021.
Mike Montville, a Portsmouth, NH native, joined the WooSox as a coach last season. This season he will officially be the WooSox assistant hitting coach – the first such full-time position in Red Sox Triple-A history.
The WooSox will play their 2022 home opener at Polar Park on Tuesday, April 12 vs. the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) at 3:05 pm. Worcester will start the season one week earlier in Florida, where they will begin their first-ever series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) on April 5.
*The complete list of all-time Pawtucket and Worcester Red Sox managers… *
Darrell Johnson 1973
Joe Morgan 1974-1982
Tony Torchia 1983-1984
Rac Slider 1985
Ed Nottle 1986-1990
Johnny Pesky 1990
Butch Hobson 1991
Rico Petrocelli 1992
Buddy Bailey 1993-1996, 2002-2004
Ken Macha 1997-1998
Gary Jones 1999-2001
Ron Johnson 2005-2009
Torey Lovullo 2010
Arnie Beyeler 2011-2012
Gary DiSarcina 2013
Kevin Boles 2014-2018
Billy McMillon 2019 & 2021*
Chad Tracy 2022*
*Worcester manager
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