Ballou on Baseball

If you have not had a chance to see John Canavan’s recent video about the Whos, Whats and Wheres of WooSox players to date, find it and watch it. Canavan is the Director of WooSox Productions and when he made the video the team had employed 199 different players,

That number is up to 205 and there is no shortage of notes and data about all those players. With that in mind, here are some more but without the bells and whistles that Canavan provided:

— While the WooSox have employed 205 different players in parts of four seasons, their predecessor, the Pawtucket Red Sox, used only 76 different players in their first four full seasons from 1973-76.

— The first player in team history was Jarren Duran, who fouled off the first pitch at 7:03 p.m. on May 4, 2021 in a game at Thunder Ballpark in Trenton, N.J. A good omen considering Duran’s development into one of Boston’s most dynamic players. Another good omen? Worcester’s starting pitcher that night was Tanner Houck.

— Of the 205 WooSox players, 109 played in the majors before joining Worcester and 25 have made their big league debuts after being with the WooSox.

— The most common WooSox last name is Hernandez. That includes Kike, Darwinzon and Ronaldo. The most common first name is Ryan with six. That includes Ryan Zeferjahn on the current team and Brasier, Fernandez, Fitzgerald, Sherriff and Weber as well.

— For players who played college baseball, the most common institution is Arizona. Five WooSox have played there. That list includes Bobby Dalbec, Cam Cannon, Jett Bandy, Rio Gomez and Rob Refsnyder.

— No high school has produced more than two WooSox players, but the all-time roster has a definite Vatican theme. Five WooSox attended schools named after Cardinals, three after Archbishops and three after Bishops. So far, though, no Popes.

— Six players who were taken by Boston in the first round of the amateur draft have played in Worcester. They are Matt Barnes (2011), Michael Chavis (2014), Jay Groome (2016), Houck (2017), Triston Casas (2018) and Nick Yorke (2020).

— Nick Sogard has played the most games for Worcester, 237. He passed Ryan Fitzgerald(235 games) in that category Friday in Buffalo. Two players have appeared just once in a WooSox uniform. Bullpen catcher Oscar Rangel got into a game last year and Tyler O’Neill has, to date, played just one game for Worcester.

— The youngest WooSox player is Casas. He was 21 when he made his Triple-A debut on Sept. 4, 2022. The oldest is Chris Martin, who was 38 years, 14 days old when he pitched in Buffalo on Sunday.

— Finally, remembering that heights and weights are often approximate in sports, Martin is the tallest at 6-foot-8. Three players who have played for Worcester this season are the shortest at 5-foot-8 in Eddy Alvarez, Pablo Reyes and Ceddanne Rafaela. Isaiah Campbell is the heaviest at 270 pounds, Jeremy Rivera the lightest at 150.

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TRIPLE-A TRIVIA

Questions

1. Who holds the WooSox record for the most strikeouts in a game by a relief pitcher?

2. What two batters hold the Worcester Red Sox record for home runs hit in the most different ballparks.

Answers below.

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Boston’s series triumph over the Yankees last weekend was highlighted by its big victories on Saturday and Sunday. Former WooSox players dominated those games. Offensively, Duran, Rafaela, Jamie Westbrook, Enmanuel Valdez, Connor Wong, Rob Refsnyder, David Hamilton, Bobby Dalbec, Masataka Yoshida and Tyler O’Neill combined to go 24 for 54 (.444) with five doubles, a triple, nine stolen bases and 14 RBIs.

The only Sox position players in those games who have not worn a WooSox uniform were Rafael Devers and Dom Smith.

Boston used seven different pitchers in those games, four of them former WooSox. They were Cooper Criswell, Brennan Bernardino, Kutter Crawford and Zack Kelly.

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Mickey Gasper is off to a splendid start for the WooSox and hit his first Worcester home run in Buffalo on Sunday. That raised the question — who was the last New Hampshire native to hit a homer for a Boston Triple-A affiliate?

A lot depends on your definition of native.

Phil Plantier and Kevin Romine were both born in New Hampshire but their families moved to California when they were infants. Carlton Fisk was born in the hospital in Bellows Falls, Vt. but was home in Charlestown, N.H two days later.

Research is ongoing, but if the question is who was the last player who grew up in New Hampshire to hit a homer for a Boston Triple-A team it is probably Fisk. He homered for Louisville in 1971. The year before that, though, Fisk played for the Double-A Pawtucket Red Sox and hit 12 home runs.

The last New Hampshire product to play Triple-A ball for the Red Sox was pitcher Chad Paronto. He was with Pawtucket in 2010.

One more Gasper item: he began his WooSox career with a five-game hitting streak, which was a good start, but not the best ever. Not even close. Jorge Alfaro hit safely in his first 14 WooSox games last year.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. Stephen Gonsalves fanned nine batters in five innings of relief on May 30, 2021 in Worcester’s 2-0 victory over Lehigh Valley at Coca-Cola Park.

2. Bobby Dalbec and Ryan Fitzgerald have both hit home runs in 11 different ballparks including Polar Park. Dalbec has 46 career homers, Fitzgerald 31.

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THE WEEK AHEAD

The WooSox play host to Columbus for the second time in two seasons. Last year’s series did not go well for Worcester as the Clippers won five of six at Polar Park. Worcester has a chance to do some catching up on the International League’s western teams.

The WooSox are just 12-24 all-time versus the other division.

Columbus is 29-39 for the season but 7-3 in its last 10 games.

Worcester’s roller-coaster year continued in Buffalo last week as it split with the Bisons but carries a two-game winning streak into the homestand. The WooSox’ longest winning streak of the season to date is four games.

The Columbus roster includes outfielder Estevan Florial, who has hit more home runs off WooSox pitching than any other opposing player. He has 10, all coming when he was with Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.

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CATCHING UP WITH….

A trio of former WooSox hitters are prospering in the independent Atlantic League. Tyler Dearden (2023) plays for the Long Island Ducks along with ex-PawSox and Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Dearden is is one of the league’s best offensive players with 9 homers, 32 RBIs and a .360 batting average that is second best in the league.

The third best average belongs to Tyler Motter (2021) at .340, who played for the Staten Island FerryHawks. Motter has since left the Atlantic League for Mexico. Cole Kottam is with the Lexington (Ky.) Legends and is hitting .305 for that club.