WORCESTER—The idea that baseball is a dying sport surfaces every so often. It’s out there again.
Even if the game’s various team owners are tight-lipped about how much their franchises are worth, how much they might sell for, money talks.
In the case of the for-sale Worcester Red Sox, the conversation goes like this:
The team that is today’s WooSox entered the baseball world in 1973 when Joe Buzas bought the vacant Louisville Colonels’ franchise of the International League for $25,000. Buzas moved it to Pawtucket, then sold it in 1975 to Phil Anez, reportedly for an amount between $100,000 and $150,000.
Anez could not make it work and the franchise reverted to the league once again. Ben Mondor got it for what turned out to be a bargain price — although that’s not why he purchased it — and 2015 current ownership bought it for, according to conjecture, something north of $20 million.
How much are the Worcester Red Sox worth? Probably way north of what Larry Lucchino’s current ownership group paid for it—maybe as much as $50 million. A good return on Joe Buzas’ original $25,000, indeed.
“I think we’re among the jewels in minor league baseball,” said team President Dr. Charles Steinberg, a newlywed who has settled in Central Mass.
While Lucchino had said in previous seasons that the WooSox would eventually be sold, his declaration that the team was actually up for sale two weeks ago on a podcast with Mike Lynch and Bob Lobel was a stunner.
“I didn’t even know he was doing it,” Steinberg said, “didn’t even know he did it, didn’t even know he said anything until Dan Roche said to me, did you see what Dan Shaugnessy wrote?
“That was Larry having his own conversation. I’ll leave that to him.”
Lucchino has not commented publicly since that podcast. Steinberg answered questions with the understanding that Lucchino is the person who understands the technical parts of any proposed sale.
The Worcester Red Sox are owned by a group of 11 investors. Lucchino is not the majority owner, but is the team chairman and principal owner. The only Central Mass. partner is Ralph Crowley Jr., whose Polar Beverages owns the ballpark naming rights.
Most members of the group are from Rhode Island, although Lucchino and Jim Skeffington Jr. live near Boston and Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy represents the Fenway Sports group. Paul Salem is in Rhode Island but grew up in Central Mass. and was a standout hockey player at St. John’s.
“The majority of the partners are not local,” Steinberg said. “You’ve got Larry Lucchino, now you’ve got Ralph Crowley. No one is accurately speculating about whether they’ll be in the group afterwards, too.”
Lucchino is 78 and has been involved in baseball at the ownership level since 1988. He has had at least two bouts with cancer.
“We all know that he has had health issues, yes,” Steinberg said, “but he is cancer free.
“The thing I think you have to remember is that, while Larry talks about blissful retirement, none of us who have worked with him can imagine retirement being blissful for him. He’s a worker, always been a worker, but I think he knows he needs to get a succession plan for ownership established.”
The team’s financial performance since it moved to Worcester has continued to exceed expectations, Steinberg said, adding, “It’s blossomed into a love affair between the fans and the team and the community and the team.”
WooSox ownership has been continuously approached by potential buyers since 2021, according to Steinberg. The team’s most appealing features include the ballpark, voted best in Triple A this year; its stable affiliation with Boston; and its long-term lease.
“The first thing you have to do is allay people’s fears and make sure they understand that there is no change in the team or the venue,” Steinberg said, adding, “there’s a commitment here for 35 years and that’s why somebody would want to buy it. You’d want to buy a WooSox club that’s committed to Worcester for 35 years.”
Who might want to buy it, then?
There is certainly local interest. The most obvious avenue would be Crowley and Polar Beverages since they are already involved. A phone call to Ralph Crowley seeking comment has not been returned. Perhaps a Worcester-based group like the Rhode Island one Lucchino put together to buy the PawSox from the Mondor family would work.
One comparable situation to Worcester’s exists in Toledo. That city has Triple-A baseball and ECHL hockey. Both teams are owned by the same company, non-profit.
Nationally, Diamond Baseball Holdings has been gobbling up teams at all levels of the minors and currently owns 25. That group bought the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs from local ownership, the Burke family, before last season.
The Burkes shared some of their profits with longtime Sea Dogs’ employees.
Diamond Baseball also owns the Class A Salem Red Sox. Diamond Baseball just bought the Norfolk Tides, this season’s Triple-A champion. Most of Diamond Baseball’s purchases have been recent and have come with commitments to keep operating teams the same way with the same personnel in place before the sale.
When the Pawtucket Red Sox moved here and Polar Park was built, it was assumed that this would be Lucchino’s last baseball project. In general, his previous endeavors were appreciated after the fact, according to Steinberg.
“When you’re in your mid-70s,” he said, “and have a Hall of Fame resume, and for the first time you can walk the concourse and have people coming up and thanking you and congratulating you — he sees we’ve got a really good thing going here, and I think he hopes to be able to continue to savor that and nurture that.”
Baseball is not a dying sport. Batting averages are down, but the value of teams is up. The sale of the Worcester Red Sox will be a good yardstick to measure just how high up they are.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
