left them 8.5 games back of the Columbus Clippers for the top spot in the International League, who seemed to be on their way to clinching a postseason berth.
led the IL in the category since the 2008 Pawtucket Red Sox, who drew 540 walks. The club also––painfully––broke the ‘23 WooSox record for hit by pitches by batters (85), enduring 94 hit batsmen for the team in 2024. Between the walks and hit by pitches, the WooSox outpaced all of Minor League Baseball with a .369 OBP. The next closest was the Modesto Nuts of the California League (Single-A) who finished one one-thousandth below Worcester at .368 while the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders .358 OBP ranked second in the IL. Worcester also set club records for runs scored (869) and RBI (808), surpassing the marks previously set by the ‘96 PawSox (840 runs, 790 RBI). By the sea- son’s end, the WooSox were the sole leader in the IL Compared with all other IL teams, the WooSox ranked third in both run differential (+112) and OPS (.795). The club also finished sixth in Minor League Baseball in average attendance, drawing 6,852 fans per game at Polar Park. Lastly, the WooSox sold their 500,000th ticket in 2024 on September 1, becoming the only club out of 120 Minor League Baseball organizations to sell 500,000+ tickets in each of the last three years––an impressive milestone for the team and the “best fans in baseball,” according to Rich Gedman, the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate’s hitting coach of the last 10 years. in runs scored and tied with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for RBI.
Then came the run.
From August 7-September 12, Worcester won 25 of their next 32 contests and came within 1.5 games of Columbus for the top spot in the IL. While the WooSox’ offense continued its torrid season long production––scoring an average of 6.4 runs per game in those 32 games––the winning stretch was sparked by the bullpen’s resurgence. Led by Luis Guerrero, who tallied 22 strikeouts during a 12.1 scoreless innings streak from August 4-30, the WooSox’ stable of arms were flat out dominant in the club’s turnaround. In 125.2 innings, the ‘pen pitched to a 3.02 ERA while amassing 150 strikeouts––good for 10.78 K/9. The stretch brought the WooSox on the precipice of their first postseason appearance in franchise history and first since the Pawtucket Red Sox clinched a wild card berth in 2014. Nevertheless, a 4-5 finish to the year squashed Worcester’s hope of a trip to Omaha for a playoff battle vs. the eventual International League Champion Storm Chasers.
A Record-Setting Year
Despite coming up just shy of a title, the WooSox closed out their 2024 campaign with club records in a number of statistical categories, surpassing all previous Red Sox Triple-A affiliates. With Meidroth’s 105 walks leading the way, Worcester amassed 786 free passes as a team–– shattering the ‘23 WooSox single season record of 721. The tally was not just the most in the International League, but it topped all of Minor League Baseball. The next closest teams were the Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, each drawing 718 free passes. The Toledo Mud Hens had the second most walks in the IL with 679.
Inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame Induction
Prior to the 2024 Polar Park finale, the WooSox enshrined Gedman, former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus, and their late Principal Owner and Chairman Larry Lucchino into the WooSox Hall of Fame as the club’s inaugural class. Born and raised in Worcester, Gedman was signed by the Boston Red Sox out of Saint Peter-Marian High School in 1977 before making his MLB de- but in 1980. The catcher went on to have a 13-year playing career where he was a two-time All-Star as a
It’s the first time a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate has
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