By Tiffany Williams –
February flips. The countdown is real. Fifty-five days until first pitch at Polar Park, and while the players will sweat it out first in Fort Myers, the Worcester Red Sox are already lapping the field.
This isn’t optimism. This is hardware.
Back in December, the WooSox were named the 2025 Freitas Award winner as the best overall Triple-A organization in Minor League Baseball by Baseball America. Not a participation trophy. Not a regional pat on the back. The top operation in all of Triple-A. All 30 clubs. First year of eligibility. Straight to the top.
That alone should make the rest of the league uncomfortable.
The Freitas Award doesn’t care about box scores. It’s about how a franchise runs. Day in. Day out. Tickets. Operations. Community. Business. Gameday. Everything that either separates serious organizations from pretenders or exposes them. Named after Bob Freitas, a minor league lifer who preached excellence long before anyone tried to brand it, the award has been around since 1989. You don’t stumble into it.
“Our Freitas Award is one that honors excellence in the entirety of a minor league baseball team’s operation,” said Baseball America’s Executive Editor J.J. Cooper. “From the ticket takers to the general manager, it’s an honor we bestow on clubs that have a reputation for going above-and-beyond the expected. The WooSox have also made a strong commitment to reaching out to the community, a quality Bob Freitas always preached.”
Translation: Worcester isn’t just good at baseball. Worcester is good at everything.
WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg didn’t deflect the moment or downplay it.
“We are so very proud of this honor,” Steinberg said, “Because it’s a reflection of the heart and passion of the people of Worcester. Our organization could not have received this ultimate accolade without the vibrant, emotional connection we feel with this hidden gem of a community. We have something special going on in Worcester, and we are pleased for the baseball world to now know about it.”
Hidden gem? Not anymore.
Executive Vice President and General Manager Brooke Cooper pointed directly at the grind.
“We are grateful to Baseball America for this honor, and we are grateful to our exceptional staff—both year-round and game day, for bringing our ballpark to life each day and for building relationships with fans who are attending game after game and event after event. And to our fans, we thank you the most.”
Ownership didn’t whisper either.
“The WooSox have set a remarkable standard at Polar Park, blending operational excellence with a relentless commitment to the City of Worcester,” said Diamond Baseball Holdings Executive Chairman Pat Battle and CEO Peter Freund. “This recognition underscores the exceptional leadership and the work of the entire WooSox front office, whose creativity and dedication have shaped a best-in-class Triple-A franchise. From record-setting attendance to industry-leading community engagement, the organization has built a model that reflects both the ambition of its staff and the passion of its fan base.”
That model isn’t theoretical. It’s people. Ticket operations. Corporate events. Group sales. Merchandising. Facilities. Field maintenance. Names that don’t trend but make everything work. Samantha Saccoia-Beggs. Ryan Sheahan. George Tremblay. Tom Steiger. Jack Ingalls. Jiwon Choi. Suizee Bailey. Robert Malone. Dan Fontaine. Matt Diggins. Mario Oliveira. Ryan Lefler. Quiet excellence, every day.
Then there’s the fan-facing backbone. Jim Cain. George Lorin. Alexis Dill. Ben DeCastro. Emerson White. Brendan Black. Jordan Sealey-Ashford. Bill Wanless. Add food and beverage. Security. Ballpark Ambassadors. Ushers. The stuff fans feel before they ever notice it.
Baseball America correspondent John Manuel nailed it, writing that the WooSox tapped into Worcester’s “habits, points of pride, idiosyncrasies” to build something that actually belongs to the city. Five years. Strong gates. Winning seasons. A direct pipeline feeding Boston’s resurgent player development program.
This is what happened when the Pawtucket Red Sox left Rhode Island, crossed state lines, and opened Polar Park on May 11, 2021. Five seasons later, the verdict is in. Worcester didn’t inherit Triple-A baseball. Worcester upgraded it.
And they’re not slowing down.
On January 16, as the organization geared up for 2026, the WooSox announced their field staff. Continuity. Stability. Accountability.
Chad Tracy is back. Fifth season. Same seat. Same standard.
Tracy earned the 300th win of his Worcester managerial career on August 31, 2025, in Durham. His record since taking over in 2022 stands at 309-285. Four seasons. Four winning records. First Red Sox Triple-A manager to do that dating back to at least the 1930s.
He’s now one of six managers in modern Red Sox Triple-A history to reach 300 wins. Joe Morgan. Buddy Bailey. Ron Johnson. Kevin Boles. Ed Nottle. Now Chad Tracy. He also owns 485 career managerial wins including his time in the Angels’ system.
Players move. Tracy wins anyway.
Under his watch, Worcester has been a launchpad. Roman Anthony. Marcelo Mayer. Connelly Early. Payton Tolle. Promotions to Boston keep coming. The list of Red Sox who passed through his clubhouse reads like a current roster core.
Pitching coach Dan DeLucia returns for a third season. Hitting coach Collin Hetzler is back. Defensive coach Iggy Suarez. Bullpen coach Noah Junis. Player development hitting advisor Rich Gedman. Athletic trainers Scott Gallon and Nick Kuchwara. Strength and conditioning coach Nick LaRue. Johnny Reina steps in as assistant hitting coach while Brendan Connelly moves up to Boston as Assistant of Player Development.
It’s not turnover. It’s progression.
The WooSox open their sixth season at Polar Park on Friday, March 27, hosting the Syracuse Mets at 4:05 p.m. The earliest start ever for a Red Sox Triple-A team. Seventy-five home games. Another full summer of noise.
Opening Day won’t be subtle either.
Roger Clemens is coming. Ceremonial first pitch. Rich Gedman catching it. Forty years after the 20-strikeout game. UniBank Fireworks. Tickets starting at five bucks. Polar Park turning into a pressure cooker before the first pitch is thrown.
And while the on-field product keeps producing, the ballpark keeps evolving. A new canopy over the Hanover Deck. A finished Polar Park Patio atop the Worcester Wall. New pavers. New food and beverage options coming. All driven by fan feedback.
“The entire design of our ballpark has derived from ongoing dialogue with our fans,” Steinberg said.
That’s how you win off the field. That’s how you win awards. That’s how you build something that lasts.
The WooSox aren’t chasing relevance. They already have it. They’re setting the pace.
Fifty-five days until first pitch. Triple-A baseball doesn’t just pass through Worcester anymore.
It answers to it.