Ballou on Baseball - May 7, 2025

By Bill Ballou

Minor league records are rarely broken these days because players who are on a pace to break records generally get promoted.

That will likely be the case with WooSox infielder Marcelo Mayer, who had 34 RBIs through the season’s first 32 games. That projects to more than 150 for the year and would break the Red Sox all-time Triple-A record in that category.

Ted Williams had 142 for the Minneapolis Millers in 1938.

Prospects stayed in the minor leagues longer back in the day. The last Red Sox Triple-A player with 100 RBIs in a season was Earl Snyder, who had 104 for Pawtucket in 2004.

Clutch hitting is one of those offensive arts that seems impossible to teach. Some analytical types think it is a myth, that all at-bats are created equal. Perhaps they are too young to remember David Ortiz.

WooSox manager Chad Tracy believes in clutch hitting.

“There is the school of thought that RBIs happen because people get on base in front of you,” he said. “Me being someone who hit pretty well with men in scoring position, I think you’ve still gotta get a hit. There are plenty of hitters out there who get up with the bases loaded, with men on, and they hit .210, and there are plenty of guys out there who hit .250 but they hit .330 with people on base.”

“So in my mind, (clutch hitting) exists. There are guys out there who want every part of it — just get me up there with somebody on base.”

Through the weekend, Mayer had hit seven homers. Somebody was on base for every home run. Those home runs had produced 18 RBIs. Along with Roman Anthony, Mayer is looking more and more like one of those “enjoy him while you can” players.

Things have changed since 1942.

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TRIPLE-A TRIVIA

Questions

1. Which pitcher holds the WooSox record for most games lost in a season?

2. Who is the Worcester record holder for most games played in a career without recording a stolen base?

Answers below.

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CATCHING UP WITH….

Ronaldo Hernandez, among the all-time leaders in many WooSox offensive categories, is with the Yankees Triple-A team in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre after spending 2024 with Reno in the Pacific Coast League. Hernandez is batting .212 in limited action.

One of Hernandez’ teammates with the RailRiders is pitcher Colten Brewer who has played with four minor league teams, two big-league teams and in Japan since his stint here in 2021. He has no decisions and a 5.25 ERA in nine appearances.

The WooSox record for most wins in a season belongs to Raynel Espinal, who was 11-4 for Worcester in 2021. Espinal has been all over the place since then and is currently with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the Atlantic League. He is 0-0 with a 9.53 earned run average thus far in 2025.

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One of the lowlights of that nasty 20-12 loss to Syracuse on the recent homestand was the fact for just the second time in team history, WooSox pitching allowed a team to homer for the cycle— solo, 2-run, 3-run, grand slam. The other was against Scranton-Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 20, 2020. The list of RailRiders who homered in that game included Jamie Westbrook, who hit the two-run shot. … The return of Zack Kelly makes him the only player who has been with the WooSox in all five of their seasons here. Nick Sogard and Bryan Mata have played in four Worcester seasons, both not being here in 2021. Josh Winckowski was not with the WooSox in 2023 has played for them in four different campaigns. … Kelly is 7-5 in 75 games with Worcester. … Connor Wong set one of those obscure but interesting records with his home run versus Toledo Thursday night. It had been 972 days since his last homer in a Worcester uniform. That one happened on Aug. 31, 2022 also in Polar Park. It was Wong’s 24th for the WooSox, tying him with Wilyer Abreu for ninth on the team’s all-time list. … Another reason to hate the balls-strike challenge system is that, if it existed in the 1880s, “Casey at the Bat” would never have been written and a huge piece of Worcester baseball history would be gone. … Games lost via blown saves somehow feel worse than any other defeat, but bullpen stats are almost useless in the minors considering the way pitchers are used. As a whole International League bullpens are just 128 of 232 (55.2 percent) converting saves in 2025. The WooSox are 6 of 9 (66.7 percent) and that’s a good mark. Rochester is 0 for 8, Norfolk 4 for 12.

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Just one opinion here, but offensive numbers compiled against position players who pitch — not the Ohtanis of the game — should have a special notation like empty net goals in hockey. You see it a lot more in the minor leagues because teams are at the mercy of what happens on major league pitching staffs, but watching it takes something away from the authenticity of an outcome.

At the big-league level, it was unheard of for a long time and the game survived. In the case of the Boston Red Sox, they went 38 years between having a position player pitch, from 1952 to 1990.

As the trend continues to grow in the minors, at some point a player-turned-pitcher will be in a game long enough to hit a home run. The last time a Boston Triple-A pitcher hit a homer was 1975 when PawSox’ right-hander Don Aase hit two. Back then, Triple-A games played in a National League affiliated team’s ballpark did not allow a DH.

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Abraham Toro earned his return to the major leagues even if it happened under unfortunate circumstances. He left here for Boston with a couple of noteworthy distinctions. On a wider scale, Toro — who grew up in Montreal — saw the last game the Expos ever played at Olympic Stadium before the team moved to Washington.

It was on Sept. 29, 2004, a 9-1 victory by the Florida Marlins.

The winning pitcher in that game was Carl Pavano, who was 11-6 for the 1997 Pawtucket Red Sox. The loser was Sun-Woo Kim, who was 21-16 for the PawSox from 2000-02.

Toro also departed for Boston as the Worcester Red Sox’ all-time leader in home runs by a Canadian with two. Including Pawtucket in the equation, the franchise’s all-time leading Canadian home run hitter is catcher George Kottaras. He hit 31 for the PawSox in 2007 and 2008.

The WooSox have also lost 66.7 percent of their triples production this season. Toro had two. Roman Anthony has one.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. Kyle Hart, who started this season with the San Diego Padres, lost nine games in 2021 to set a WooSox record that still stands.

2. Niko Kavadas played in 131 games for Worcester in 2023-24 and never stole a base. He was caught once.