Ballou on Baseball - April 9, 2025

By Bill Ballou

While from a personal standpoint, I am thrilled to have the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate here in Worcester, I have a lot of very good memories of the recently deceased McCoy Stadium.

For example:

— I saw the Double-A Pawtucket Indians play at McCoy a few times in 1966 and ’67. Don’t remember much beyond that we always had great seats and for some reason the home fans were merciless in criticizing a Pawtucket outfielder named Russ Nagelson.

— Also saw the Double-A PawSox several times after that. Also great seats, but weren’t they all back then? Favorite memory was a dramatic comeback ended by a two-out, come-from-behind walkoff double by catcher Tom Maggard late in the 1972 season.

Maggard died of a staph infection a year later at age 23. Best guess was that he developed the infection from an insect bite received in Pawtucket.

— On Sept. 21, 1973, my future wife Debbie and I watched Pawtucket beat the Tulsa Oilers, 5-2, to win the Junior World Series. The PawSox prevailed, 4 games to 1. Their attack that night was paced by Jim Rice, who hit a three-run homer.

— On July 18, 1982, PawSox outfielder Lee Graham was at bat in the bottom of the fifth with the count 1 ball, 0 strikes. As the next pitch was thrown, the lights died at McCoy Stadium, sending everyone ducking.

They came back on 10 minutes later. So did Graham and the PawSox. He eventually won the game with a grand slam in the seventh as Pawtucket beat Tidewater, 8-5. Fans who stayed to the finish got tickets to an upcoming game.

Also, one of the Tidewater runs came via a home run by Bruce Bochy, whose future achievements as a manager are likely to land him in the Hall of Fame.

— Some time in the 1990s, my daughters’ girl scout troop went to a PawSox game on a warm summer night. There was some sort of trivia question the girls were given a chance to answer. They didn’t have the answer but I did and told one or the girls, so we cheated and won a prize.

Proof that crime doesn’t pay? The prize was a case of turkey noodle soup.

— Things I wish I had seen but did not include the Longest Game in 1981, although at the time I probably would have wished it were over.

— Also, July 1, 1982, the night that Mark Fidrych beat Dave Righetti of the Columbus Clippers, 7-5, before a sellout (and maybe even more) crowd.

Fidrych was “The Bird” trying to return to the majors. Righetti was the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, down from the Yankees with George Steinbrenner in snit. The game ended with Fidrych striking out Columbus’ Butch Hobson.

— Finally, April 9, 1992; the PawSox opened at home versus Rochester and in the second inning, Rhode Island sportscaster Joe Rocco was doing a live shot in foul territory. The camera lights were bothering the batters and Rocco was thrown off the field, and off the air, by the home plate umpire.

That ump was Oxford’s Kevin O’Connor, a frequent visitor to Polar Park who is now an Umpire Supervisor for MLB and MiLB.

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CATCHING UP WITH…..

Three players who finished last season with Worcester have started this year with Charlotte. They are Bobby Dalbec, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth.

Dalbec was batting .158 with a homer and five RBIs through Monday. Meidroth’s batting average was .333 and his on-base percentage .500. Teel was at .235 and was the only man on the team to play in every game so far this season.

Charlotte is 6-3.

Perhaps the trio can help get the Knights over .500. They have not had a winning record since the WooSox began play in 2021. Charlotte and Worcester do not meet each other, though, in 2025.

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TRIPLE A TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. Which WooSox player led the team in innings played as an outfielder last season?
2. Who is the most recent Worcester batter to hit a home run in his first game with the WooSox?

Answers below.

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The promotions of Kristian Campbell and Hunter Dobbins make it 38 players who have made their major league debuts after playing for the WooSox. Fifteen of that group were signed to their first pro contracts by Boston, including Campbell and Dobbins.

Campbell is the first player from the 2023 draft to reach the big leagues.

Dobbins, Luis Guerrero and Niko Kavadas are all products of the 2021 draft.

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Is it just me or do Red Sox manager Alex Cora and first base coach — former WooSox third base coach —Jose David Flores look a lot like twins, and not the Minnesota variety. … It was not the kind of milestone that stops a game for a ceremony, but Roman Anthony’s triple at Jacksonville last Tuesday was the 100th in WooSox history. No surprise here, but Jarren Duran is the all-time team leader with nine. … Worcester’s 2-0 triumph at Jacksonville last Wednesday produced a minor milestone. The WooSox had just two hits, and it marked the first time ever a WooSox team won a game with less than three hits. They had been 0-14 prior to Wednesday. … Cal Ripken is safe, at least from a Worcester perspective. No WooSox player has gotten into every game this season, which is now eight games old.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. Mark Contreras played 811 innings in the outfield in 2024, most of them in center field, and was charged with only one error. He had a .995 fielding percentage.
2. Alex Binelas homered in the third inning at Lehigh Valley on Sept. 20, 2024. It was his second plate appearance in Triple-A and part of a 3 for 5 debut.

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Columbus is the WooSox’ opponent this week at Polar Park with the schedule in its standard mode. This is the Clippers’ third visit to Worcester and the first two have gone well for them. They are 8-4 here and have outscored Worcester, 97-52. Columbus was 6-2 in its first eight games overall this season.

Fast facts about the Clippers:

Their manager, Andy Tracy, is not related to WooSox manager Chad Tracy. The International League is not named after Columbus pitching coach Brandon League, nor vice-versa. Columbus is one of five International League teams based in a state capital. Des Moines, Nashville, St. Paul and Indianapolis are the others.