“Alas, all’s well that ends.” – WooSox ‘24 

The Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned 2024 World Series champions on October 30 after defeating the New York Yankees in five games. It was the Dodgers’ eighth World Series title and second in five years.

Mookie Betts and Ryan Brasier––both members of the 2018 Boston Red Sox championship team––earned their third and second titles, respectively. A champion again, Betts joins Kansas City Royals pitcher Will Smith as the only active players to win three World Series.

With the 2024 baseball season now over, clubs will consider how to improve their rosters as they hope to be the ones celebrating after the last game of the season. But before teams discuss offseason plans, they’ll reflect on all that led to this point––the good, the bad, and everything in between.

For the Worcester Red Sox, they can celebrate a memorable 2024 season in the Heart of the Commonwealth.

In their fourth season at Polar Park, the WooSox tied their franchise record with 79 wins––which included 25 victories in a 32-game stretch from August 7-September 12. Though the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate couldn't capture a postseason berth for the first time since the 2014 Pawtucket Red Sox, the 2024 WooSox were one for the history books.

Eleven different records were set, exciting new faces arrived in Worcester, fireworks filled the Friday night sky, feel-good stories surfaced left and right, and 500,000 tickets were sold for the third year in a row––all in a spectacular six months of baseball.

And now, a look back at WooSox ‘24.

A Somber Start

By the end of Spring Training, all eyes were on the Boston Red Sox’ minor league system with several of the sport’s top prospects ascending to the upper levels. Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel––the Sox’ top three and regarded by MLB Pipeline in their preseason rankings as top 50 prospects in baseball––were slated to begin the year at Double-A Portland.

While the trio donned Sea Dogs uniforms, the group playing about two hours south on I-95 were gearing up for Opening Day in Allentown, Pennsylvania against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Though Worcester lost a heartbreaker in game one on Rodolfo Castro’s walk-off grand slam, they responded to win the next two before making their way to Polar Park for the home opener.

But on that crisp, mid-40s day in April tragedy struck the WooSox organization and the baseball world. Larry Lucchino, the club’s principal owner and chairman, passed away early in the morning on April 2, 2024––the day of the home opener.

With the birth of a new season came the hardest of goodbyes to not just one of baseball’s greatest minds, but the man who became part of Worcester’s family by bringing the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate to the Heart of the Commonwealth.

As the Red Sox Hall of Famer would say, “Alas, all’s well that ends.”

After honoring Lucchino in pregame ceremonies, the WooSox dropped the home opener against the Buffalo Bisons in 10 innings, 2-0. Worcester went on to play .500 ball over the season’s first two months as the club entered the summer months with a modest 26-29 record.

Called Up the Minor League Ladder

The WooSox’ on-field performance was far from the biggest storyline in the first part of the 2024 season. Rather, it was the revolving door between Worcester and Boston that saw many WooSox make an impact on the big league roster.

In 2024 alone, 28 WooSox players earned a call-up to Beantown with 11 making their Major League debuts––fifth most in baseball behind only the Chicago White Sox (13), Oakland Athletics (13), San Francisco Giants (13), and Colorado Rockies (12). The Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, and Texas Rangers also had 11 players make their big league debuts.

Notably, Cam Booser earned his first call-up on April 19 after returning to professional baseball two years prior. Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent, the southpaw spent parts of five seasons in the minors before injuries forced him to retire. With his professional career in the rearview, Booser moved back to his hometown of Seattle, WA and became a carpenter.

A few years later, the Oregon State product rediscovered his mid-90s fastball on a youth ballfield and found himself back on a minor league mound. Not too long after, Booser was suiting up to pitch at Fenway Park.

Booser’s comeback tale is just one of many heartfelt stories that beat in the Heart of the Commonwealth during the 2024 season.

Jamie Westbrook, a Holyoke native who signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in December 2023, made his MLB debut on June 2 after spending 11 years patrolling the minor leagues with five different organizations. In two big league stints with Boston, Westbrook homered twice and drove in seven runs.

Nick Sogard followed with his first promotion to Beantown, making his debut on August 2 after spending two-and-a-half seasons in Worcester. Zach Penrod––who was in the Independent Leagues in 2023––appeared in seven games out of the bullpen for the Red Sox during the season’s final two weeks. Mickey Gasper, Richard Fitts, and Luis Guerrero also made their debuts in the final two months of the season, joining the train of WooSox to contribute at the Major League level in 2024.

The ladder between Worcester and Boston extended to Double-A Portland with the Sea Dogs sending 22 players to Polar Park over the course of the season. Including nine rehabbing Red Sox, the WooSox employed 84 players––breaking the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate’s record of 79 set just a year earlier.

The revolving door between Portland, Worcester, and Boston also led to a record 281 player transactions, surpassing the 2023 WooSox’ mark of 271 for most by a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate.

League-Leading Bats Can’t Buy Wins

With new faces filling the clubhouse each day, the WooSox struggled to string together a winning stretch. Through July, the club’s longest winning streak was four games (April 14-19) with several three game streaks mixed in. By the end of July, the WooSox held a 48-55 record after a 35-40 finish to the first half.

Though the team’s on-field record didn’t reflect it, the WooSox’ offensive production was among the International League’s best.

Entering August, the WooSox led the IL in OBP (.369) and walks (533) while ranking second in runs scored (591). Their +54 run differential was third best out of 20 IL teams, behind only Syracuse (+97) and Omaha (+98).

Chase Meidroth––who was crowned team MVP during the final homestand of the year––was the WooSox’ leading offensive contributor all season long. The former fourth round pick hit .299/.441/.401 through July with 97 hits and 69 runs scored in 88 games. His 105 walks at years end set the single season record for any Red Sox Triple-A affiliate player––breaking the previous mark (92) set by Mike Twardoski of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1992.

Nevertheless, the offense couldn't overcome a myriad of one-run and two-run defeats. By the end of July, Worcester had a league worst 5-14 record in one-run games and were only 7-13 in two-run affairs––earning them an abysmal 12-27 mark in contests decided by two runs or less at the time.

As the calendar flipped to August, the team welcomed Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas on rehab assignment and hoped he could provide a jolt to a team whose season was slipping away.

Notable Debuts

With Casas’ bat now in the fold, the WooSox got off to a 5-5 start to August in their first 10 games. It wasn’t before long, though, that Worcester would add a few more highly touted bats.

Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel were each promoted to Worcester from Double-A Portland on August 12 ahead of the WooSox’ homestand against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. At the time, the trio were regarded as the organization’s top three prospects according to MLB Pipeline, respectively.

Though an injury sustained in Portland prevented Mayer from making his Triple-A debut, Anthony and Teel impressed in their first taste of the International League.

Recently ranked as Baseball America’s No.1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No.3, Anthony hit .345/.406/.598 with nine multi-hit efforts in his final 20 games with Portland––a scorching hot stretch he carried into Triple-A. In 35 games with the WooSox, the 20-year-old outfielder posted a .983 OPS with 16 extra-base hits and 33 runs scored.

Though he got off to a bit of a slow start in Worcester, Teel’s offensive production returned in September. Over the final month of the season, the Virginia University product hit .375 with a .516 OBP––collecting multiple hits in seven of 14 games. Following his first full season in professional baseball, MLB Pipeline listed the New Jersey native as the third best catching prospect in the sport and 25th overall.

Only a week after Mayer, Anthony, and Teel earned their promotions, fast-riser Kristian Campbell joined the trio in Worcester. Selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, Campbell burst onto the scene in 2024––compiling 55 extra-base hits in 115 games across three minor league levels.

Ending the year with a .330/.439/.558 slashline, the Georgia Tech product was awarded as Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. With the recognition, Campbell joined Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (2021) and Baltimore Orioles infielders Gunnar Henderson (2022) and Jackson Holiday (2023) as recent winners.

The influx of the game’s top prospects––coupled with rehabbing big leaguers Triston Casas, Liam Hendriks, and Trevor Story––provided the spark the WooSox had been looking for as the 2024 baseball season reached the dog days of summer.

The Run

Entering August 7, the WooSox were 50-59 overall––a season worst nine games under .500 with 41 games to play. Their 15-19 second half record left them 8.5 games back of the Columbus Clippers for the top spot in the International League, who seemed to be on their way to clinching a postseason berth.

Then came the run.

From August 7-September 12, Worcester won 25 of their next 32 contests and came within 1.5 games of Columbus for the top spot in the IL. While the WooSox’ offense continued its torrid season long production––scoring an average of 6.4 runs per game in those 32 games––the winning stretch was sparked by the bullpen’s resurgence.

Led by Luis Guerrero, who tallied 22 strikeouts during a 12.1 scoreless innings streak from August 4-30, the WooSox’ stable of arms were flat out dominant in the club’s turnaround. In 125.2 innings, the ‘pen pitched to a 3.02 ERA while amassing 150 strikeouts––good for 10.78 K/9.

The stretch brought the WooSox on the precipice of their first postseason appearance in franchise history and first since the Pawtucket Red Sox clinched a wild card berth in 2014. Nevertheless, a 4-5 finish to the year snatched Worcester’s hope of a trip to Omaha as their season came to an end.

A Record-Setting Year

Despite the disappointing finish, the WooSox closed out their 2024 campaign with club records in a number of statistical categories, surpassing all previous Red Sox Triple-A affiliates.

With Meidroth’s 105 walks leading the way, Worcester amassed 786 free passes as a team––shattering the ‘23 WooSox single season record of 721. The tally was not just the most in the International League, but it topped all of Minor League Baseball. The next closest teams were the Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, each drawing 718 free passes. The Toledo Mud Hens had the second most walks in the IL with only 679.

It’s the first time a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate has led the IL in the category since the 2008 Pawtucket Red Sox, who drew 540 walks.

The club also––painfully––broke the ‘23 WooSox record for hit by pitches (85), taking 94 for the team in 2024.

Between the walks and hit by pitches, the WooSox outpaced all of Minor League Baseball with a .369 OBP. The next closest was the Modesto Nuts of the California League (Single-A) who finished one one-thousandth below Worcester at .368 while the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders .358 OBP ranked second in the IL.

Worcester also set club records for runs scored (869) and RBIs (808), surpassing the marks previously set by the ‘96 PawSox (840 runs, 790 RBIs). By the season's end, the WooSox were the sole leader in the IL in runs scored and tied with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for RBIs.

Compared with all other IL teams, the WooSox ranked third in both run differential (+112) and OPS (.795). The club also finished sixth in Minor League Baseball in average attendance, reporting 6,852 fans per game at Polar Park.

Lastly, the WooSox sold their 500,000th ticket in 2024 on September 1, becoming the only club out of 120 Minor League Baseball organizations to sell 500,000 tickets in each of the last three years––an impressive milestone for the team and the “best fans in baseball,” according to Rich Gedman, the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate’s hitting coach of the last 10 years.

Inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame Induction

Prior to the 2024 Polar Park finale, the WooSox enshrined Gedman, former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus, and their late Principal Owner and Chairman Larry Lucchino into the WooSox Hall of Fame as the club’s inaugural class.

Born and raised in Worcester, Gedman was signed by the Boston Red Sox out of Saint Peter-Marian High School in 1977 before making his MLB debut in 1980. The catcher went on to have a 13-year playing career where he was a two-time All-Star as a member of the Red Sox. With his induction into the WooSox Hall of Fame, Gedman is now a WooSox and Red Sox Hall of Famer.

Now serving as Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities for Massachusetts, Augustus played a pivotal role in bringing the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate to Worcester from Pawtucket, Rhode Island––its home since 1973. Through perseverance and determination, Augustus and the city of Worcester won the WooSox and with it, an economic redevelopment plan for the Canal District.

“When people know I’m from Worcester, almost without exception they tell me what a great place Worcester is, and they talk about having visited Polar Park,” Augustus said during his Hall of Fame induction speech. “It is music to my ears because that's what we always envisioned this would be.”

No one understood the impact of an old-fashioned ballpark on a community more than Larry Lucchino. The club’s late principal owner and chairman passed away on April 2, 2024––the same day as the home opener at Polar Park.

Lucchino was a baseball visionary and an architect. During his Hall of Fame career, he built Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Petco Park, and JetBlue Park and renovated Fenway Park, creating a family-friendly environment that prioritized the fan experience. His fifth and final ballpark was Polar Park––built in the city known as the Heart of the Commonwealth and the one that held a special place in Lucchino's heart.

“In my family, Worcester is known as the city that stole Larry Lucchino's heart,” said Larry’s nephew, David Lucchino, who spoke in place of his uncle during the Hall of Fame ceremony.

In early July, the WooSox introduced a navy-blue patch with a red “LL” stitched in the middle to honor their late chairman. The patch was worn on their “home white” and “home red” jerseys for the remainder of the year.

A four-time World Series champion on the field and a community hero off it, Lucchino embodied the drive for excellence in all his endeavors. Now, he stands permanently enshrined on the newly named Lucchino Lane at Polar Park with Gedman and Augustus.

The game that followed the inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame ceremony ended in perhaps the most fitting way: a come-from-behind walk-off walk by the newest Greek god of walks, Chase Meidroth.

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As baseball enters the cold winter months of the offseason, the memories of WooSox ‘24 remain prevalent in the minds of Worcester and its surrounding towns.

Children played catch under the setting sun on summer Saturdays and every emotion was felt under the heart shaped light towers of Polar Park. There were snow outs and walk-offs, broken records and exciting debuts, and plenty of heartwarming player-fan interactions.

All here at Polar Park.

The crack of the bat won’t be gone for long, though. WooSox ‘25 is scheduled to begin on March 28 in Worcester––the earliest start to a season that a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate has ever had.

As for WooSox ‘24, “Alas, all’s well that ends.”