Professional baseball players celebrate two Christmases every year. The official one on Dec. 25 and a date that varies from summer to summer—the first day of the All-Star break, when they can rest their bodies and their souls.
The All-Star holiday arrived last week and is over. The Worcester Red Sox returned to action in Hyphentown last week, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, and are back at Polar Park starting Tuesday.
The WooSox are scheduled to play six games against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Marlins’ Triple-A partner. The homestand will have its usual lineup of promotions with one unusual exception.
The annual Hall of Fame ceremony with be held after Thursday’s 12:05 p.m. game. It will include the hottest name in the major leagues at present, Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, among the four new inductees. He’ll joined by WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg, the late Mark Fidrych and the late Gene Zabinski.
Current Hall of Fame members include the late Larry Lucchino, Rich Gedman, Jarren Duran, Ed Augustus Jr., J.P. Ricciardi and Janet Marie Smith.
The Boston Red Sox are in the midst of what is being called “Tracy’s Turnaround,” an update on the Morgan’s Magic hysteria of 1988. There are similarities, indeed.
Morgan won his first 12 in a row after taking over in July. Tracy’s Sox had won 13 straight after Sunday’s triumph over Tampa Bay. Morgan’s Magic saw Boston go 19-1 in his first 20 games. Tracy’s team was 18-2 in its last 20 as of Sunday night.
Also, both got their first major league managing jobs after having managed Boston’s Triple-A team. In Morgan’s case, that was the Pawtucket Red Sox. The connections do not end there. Tracy has a chance to take Boston from way out of contention for a playoff spot into the post-season.
Two of the other managers have taken their team from out-to-in after being hired in mid-season are Morgan and Jim Tracy, Chad’s father, who did it with the Rockies in 2009.
Chad Tracy was voted into the WooSox Hall of Fame before being promoted to Boston. His dad is expected to attend this week’s ceremony. His last visit to Polar Park was in July, 2023 where he sat in a luxury box along the first base line with Morgan.
Thursday’s ceremony will be outdoors, weather permitting, and start at 6 p.m. It will be broadcast live on NESN from start to 7 p.m.
Chad Tracy will be joined by:
— Steinberg, who has been the team president since its move here in 2021 and has made the city his home ever since
— Fidrych, known as The Bird, who grew up in Northboro and was American League Rookie of the Year in 1976 before arm injuries derailed his career
— Zabinski, a member of the Canal District Alliance who developed and executed the idea of sending some 10,000 postcards to Pawtucket to help entice the PawSox to relocate here when they were having trouble getting a new ballpark built in Rhode Island
On the upcoming homestand, the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday night games are 6:45 starts. Saturday’s first pitch is at 4:05 p.m. Sunday is a 1:05 p.m. start.
This will be the Jumbo Shrimp’s first trip to Polar Park this season. Worcester has played well against Jacksonville through the years with a 13-8 record overall. The teams are 3-3, though, in games here.
The WooSox play 18 of their next 24 games at Polark Park starting with this series. They hope to use the surplus of home games to get back above .500. Worcester dropped two straight games over the weekend in Pennsylvania and is 1-4 in its last five games after compiling a four-game winning streak.
Each of the WooSox’ last three games have been one-run decisions and eight of their last 13. During the recent five-game skid their pitching has surrendered 44 runs, an average of seven each game.
The weekend promotions include a player meet-and-greet after Thursday’s game, and UniBank fireworks post-game and Pirates and Princesses before that on Friday.
Saturday is busy with PawSox Heritage Night, a scout sleepover, Sunset Catch on the field, Indian Heritage Night, a youth clinic before the game and Bark in the Park. Before the game, pioneering female baseball writer Melissa Ludtke will speak about her groundbreaking experiences as part of the Great Polar Park Writers Series.
After Sunday’s game, kids get to run the bases.
Bill Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
