Diamond Baseball Holdings Donates to WooSox Scholars Class of 2024

On December 5, 2023, Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) purchased the Worcester Red Sox. The ownership group, which was formed in 2021 by Peter Freund and Pat Battle to support, promote, and enhance the sport of baseball, has acquired 33 Minor League Baseball teams to date.

As part of their mission, DBH aims to drive the sport forward through experiences that impact local communities. During the WooSox' home opener on April 2, DBH made its first initial commitment to the Worcester community by donating $40,000 to the WooSox Scholars Class of 2024.

A key facet of the WooSox Foundation’s Education pillar, the WooSox Scholars program provides four annual college scholarships to eighth grade students in Worcester Public Schools. Each recipient is awarded $10,000 that is to be spent on tuition or books at a college of their choice.

This year’s winners, who will be celebrated at Polar Park in June, know that their scholarship has been generously donated by Freund, Battle, and everyone at Diamond Baseball Holdings.

“Pat Battle and Peter Freund have been consistent in their acquisition of ball clubs that they want to connect with the community and retain the essence of community baseball,” WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg said. “They saw that the WooSox Foundation is a growing philanthropic force, with one of its central features being a commitment to the children of the City of Worcester to make sure education is affordable.”

The WooSox Foundation, which was established before a pitch was thrown at Polar Park, is a dedicated “thank you” to the greater Worcester community. With its four pillars––Education, Social Justice, Conquering Cancer, and Diamond Sports––the Foundation’s philanthropic efforts in the community have transcended what occurs on the field of play.

Community dedication is of the utmost importance to Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. To recognize the charitable efforts of major league clubs, MLB created the Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence. The Boston Red Sox Scholars program was the first recipient of the award in 2010.

With Red Sox Scholars serving as an example, DBH saw the WooSox Scholars program as an exceptional investment to further advocate for the greater Worcester community.

Dr. Steinberg continued, “[DBH] knew WooSox Scholars is a program that works, has an excellent track record, and impacts more than just the students, but their families as well. They wanted to make a goodwill gesture that will improve lives––which the WooSox Foundation does generally and the WooSox Scholars program does specifically.”

To the WooSox President, seeing the club’s new ownership group take action in the community is a welcoming sight. While DBH is altering the landscape of Minor League Baseball, it is evident that the group has not lost their vision of furthering community-oriented baseball.

“Freund, Battle, and everyone at DBH are committing more to the future of Minor League Baseball than anyone has ever done,” Dr. Steinberg said. “By making a generous donation to the education of Worcester’s middle schoolers, they are demonstrating a profound understanding as well as honoring the commitment they had described.

“When they demonstrate an understanding that Minor League Baseball is community baseball––that Minor League Baseball is local in its core, but global in its potential––then they reassure the people in the community that their ball club is their ball club.”

The WooSox will honor this year’s scholarship recipients of the WooSox Scholars program on June 8 against the Rochester Red Wings. Thanks to Freund, Battle, and Diamond Baseball Holdings, four eighth grade students will know that they are supported as they chase their dreams.