A baseball manager will take a two-run single over a solo homer. Any time, anywhere.
A baseball fan? Hmm, that’s a tough one. It’s not fair, but those who inhabit Polar Park 75 times a year appreciate the contributions that someone such as Chase Meidroth makes, but they put down their beer or nachos—or both—to see what is going to happen when someone such as Bobby Dalbec steps into the batter’s box.
Golf is the same way. Putting is more important than driving, but more fans will watch a long driving TV show than a putting show.
This is relevant because, rather quietly, Romy Gonzalez hit the 1,000th home run in Worcester Red Sox history in Buffalo Tuesday night.
The first was also hit on the road. It was done by catcher Chris Herrmann in Trenton, N.J. on June 5, 2021, where the franchise began its existence due to Covid issues.
The ball landed in the Delaware River and commenced a gentle journey to the Atlantic Ocean. Some day, some Chesapeake Bay scuba diver looking for blue crabs will come upon the Herrmann baseball and think, “Wow. I wonder what the launch angle was on that one.”
Home run Number 500 was hit at Polar Park. Ceddanne Rafaela was the man. It was a three-run shot on Aug. 11, 2023 in the second game of a doubleheader with Buffalo
Enough homer history. Homer highlights are better. Here are some.
Herrmann’s home run came in the sixth inning. He batted left. The second Worcester homer, first by a righty, was hit by Marcus Wilson and also in Trenton. It came off Hobie Harris, the current WooSox closer.
Dalbec has hit the most WooSox home runs all-time and by a lot, with 58. Current WooSox first baseman, DH and pitcher Nathan Hickey is second with 36. Dalbec has the most as a right-handed batter, Hickey the most for lefties. Nick Sogard’s 30 are the most for a switch-hitter. Worcester has just 36 homers total from players who throw left-handed. Wilyer Abreu has 24, Daniel Palka 12.
Palka has hit the most home runs against the WooSox, nine, and is currently working as an assistant baseball coach at the University of Rhode Island.
Dalbec’s home runs break down in a strange way. Only 18 were hit in Polar Park. Only 17 came with somebody on base, and just one was a grand slam. He hit home runs in 11 different ballparks, tied with Ryan Fitzgerald for the most in that category.
Sogard has the team’s only pinch home run. He has also belted two grand slams, three leadoff homers and a walkoff home run. He and Abraham Toro are the only WooSox hitters with homers from both sides of the plate in the same game.
Home runs have been hit by 101 different Worcester players. Seven have hit just one. Narciso Crook has the only inside-the-park home run. As often seems to be the case, that milestone homer came on the road, on July 15, 2023 in Jacksonville.
Home runs do not guarantee a victory, but they sure help. The WooSox are 341-198 when they hit at least one homer, 109-302 when they do not. Worcester has out-homered the opposition by 1,000-904 through the years. However, the WooSox have hit more home runs on the road, 515, than at Polar Park, 485. Worcester has hit more homers, 101, at NBT Bank Park in Syracuse than any other opposing park.
The oldest player to homer for Worcester is catcher Yasmani Grandal. He was more than halfway to 37 when he hit one in Buffalo on May 16, 2025. The youngest is Roman Anthony. He was 20 years and 3 months old when he hit his first WooSox home run in Norfolk on Aug. 20, 2024.
Worcester’s record for most home runs in a game is seven, done twice with a month in 2023. The first time was on July 5, a 10-4 victory over Syracuse at home. It happened again on Aug. 3 in Syracuse, a game the WooSox won, 17-9. Their most in one month is 53. That was August of 2024.
Ceddanne Rafaela holds the team record for the longest streak. He hit one home run in five straight games at Syracuse from Aug. 1 through Aug. 5 of 2023. Eddy Alvarez is the only WooSox batter with three in a game. That happened on Sept. 7, 2024 in Rochester. Allan Castro has hit the latest home run. That happened this year when his two-run homer in the 12th provided a 10-8 walkoff triumph over Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. Jeter Downs holds the record for most homers in Polar Park, 20.
David Hamilton has the most first-batter homers with four. Ryan Fitzgerald’s eight three-run homers are the most in that category. Seven different players have two career grand slams.
Five WooSox batters have hit home runs in their Triple-A debuts. They are Triston Casas, Pedro Castellanos, Hamilton, Alex Binelas and Jhostyxon Garcia.
The WooSox have homered more off righty Bowden Francis, currently employed by the Blue Jays, than any other pitcher. He allowed 14 while with the Buffalo Bisons.
Finally, if anyone out there happens to be in, about, or under the waters of Chespeake Bay and finds a baseball — give the WooSox a call. There may be a reward.
