In February 2015, a group of New England business leaders, led by Larry Lucchino, purchased the Pawtucket Red Sox, Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox since 1973.[8] By mid-April, ownership was exploring moving the team from PawtuckettoProvidence, Rhode Island.[9] In September, Governor of Rhode IslandGina Raimondo stated that the land in Providence being considered for a stadium, "was not suitable and there were too many obstacles that remained."[10] During 2016, a feasibility study was conducted on potential renovations of the team's Pawtucket ballpark, McCoy Stadium; and from mid-2017 to mid-2018, building a new ballpark in Pawtucket was explored.[11][12]
A financing arrangement for partial public-funding of new stadium in Pawtucket was rejected by team ownership, who announced on August 17, 2018, that the team would relocate to a new stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts, in April 2021.[13] While it was initially reported that team would be named the Worcester Red Sox, the club announced a "name-that-team" competition in November 2018.[14] The team name was officially announced on November 25, 2019,[15] and confirmed to be the Worcester Red Sox with "WooSox" as the nickname.[16] The team's mascot, Smiley Ball, was introduced in Worcester on October 2, 2020.[17] The dog mascot, Woofster, was introduced in Worcester on August 26, 2021.[18] Roberto the Rocket was also introduced in Worcester on May 19, 2022.[19]
Like Providence, Worcester fielded a short-lived major league ballclub in the early 1880s, the Worcester Worcesters, who competed in the National League.[20]
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Red Sox were organized into the 20-team Triple-A East.[21]Billy McMillon, who had previously managed the Pawtucket Red Sox, was named Worcester's first manager.[22] The team's first games were originally planned for April;[23] however, the start of the Triple-A season was delayed into May.[24] The team released its debut roster on May 3,[25] and opened the season on May 4 with a loss against the Buffalo Bisons in a game played in Trenton, New Jersey.[26]
The team played select games as "Los Wepas de Worcester" when participating in the Copa de la Diversión, a Minor League Baseball celebration of Hispanic and Latino heritage.[27] In December 2021, team was named winners of the Copa de la Diversión series, and were awarded the "Fun Cup".[28]
In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.[29] The 2022 WooSox used the most players by any Red Sox Triple-A team, 75, surpassing the prior record of 70 held by the Pawtucket Red Sox of 1995 and 2006.[30]
In November 2023, principal owner Larry Luchino stated he was actively looking to sell the team, explaining that at age 78 he wanted to "move on to blissful retirement."[31] Later that month, the team was purchased by Diamond Baseball Holdings, who also own the Red Sox's Double-A and Single-A franchises, the Portland Sea Dogs and Salem Red Sox.[2]
Note: In 2021, each Triple-A team played a 10-game extension to the season, branded as the "Final Stretch";[34] Worcester went 66–52 per their original schedule, then 8–2 during the Final Stretch, for a final record of 74–54.
A new ballpark was constructed for the team, opening for the 2021 Triple-A season.[13] The cost (including land acquisition) was $159 million, with over half of the amount paid by the City of Worcester.[35] With a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators, it was named Polar Park through a sponsorship and naming rights agreement with Polar Beverages, which is headquartered in Worcester. The first Triple-A game was played at the ballpark on May 11, 2021, with Worcester hosting the Syracuse Mets.[36]
In March 2020, WORC-FM (an affiliate of Nash Icon) was named as the team's flagship radio station.[38] The broadcasters as of 2022 are Tyler Murray, Jim Cain, Mike Antonellis, and Cooper Boardman.[39] It was later announced that radio coverage would be split between WORC-FM and WWFX.[5] Select games are televised on NESN+.[40]
