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After years of sending players off to achieve their dreams, now it’s Chad Tracy’s turn
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- After years of sending players off to achieve their dreams, now it’s Chad Tracy’s turn
WORCESTER -- Over the course of five seasons as the Worcester Red Sox manager, Chad Tracy has sent numerous players up to the major leagues to achieve their lifelong dreams.
On Saturday night at Polar Park, it was his turn.
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The new Boston Red Sox interim manager left Polar Park, where he’s called his home since 2022, to join the major league club in Baltimore .
Tracy was all smiles -- and some excited nerves -- as he said his quick goodbyes and left for the Worcester airport to join the Red Sox. Manager Tracy and WooSox hitting coach Collin Hetzler were promoted to take over those same positions with the Red Sox.
It was a whirlwind on Saturday at Polar Park as Tracy disappeared from the dugout around the third inning and never returned. Even Tracy’s bench coach and now interim WooSox manager, Iggy Suarez, didn’t know what was happening. He came in from coaching third and saw some commotion in the tunnel to the clubhouse. After a couple of times on and off the field, Suarez ran into the clubhouse and got the cliff notes version of what was happening, and that everything was changing.
“It was a whirlwind to realize what was happening and what had happened,” Suarez said. “It was tough to process at that point; those last couple of innings were a little bit of a haze.”
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The players were told after the game, as Tracy was still getting things in order before heading out to Baltimore, in a weird twist on the usual call-up story.
“I’ve seen it over the course of the years here, so many players get called up and, you know, they pack all their stuff, so it’s kind of unique to see that with our manager and our hitting coach,” WooSox infielder Nick Sogard said. “That felt like a unique experience. And it’s cool to see someone that I care about a lot fulfilling a lifelong dream.”
The players in Worcester, as well as many players in Boston who came through the WooSox, have nothing but good things to say about their former manager. Sogard has played for Tracy possibly more than anyone else, with 387 games played for the WooSox over the last five seasons, all under Tracy.
“I think he’s just the ultimate professional, and I think he commands the respect of everyone in the room,” Sogard said. “I think he’s a really smart baseball mind, and I think it’s nice, too, that he’s already managed so many of those players that are there, so I think it’s a really cool opportunity for him.”
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Kristian Campbell worked with Tracy closely last year when he was learning first base and has been in Worcester for parts of three seasons.
“He does a really good job of not making things bigger than what they are,” Campbell said. “I feel like that’s one of the things that I’ve gone through. When you’re struggling and you want to get better really fast, he knows how to slow it down and talk to you.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to be good, and when I’m going through it, I feel like he’s pulled me to the side or talked to me and told me it’s not as bad as you think it is. You’re going to be fine,” Campbell added. “Just keep putting up good at-bats, keep doing the little things right, and it’ll all work out. That honestly happened like two weeks ago when I was going through it, and everything has gotten a lot better since then.”
Tracy is vying for his 500th win in professional baseball in his first game with the Red Sox, as he’s racked up 323 wins as manager of the WooSox and 176 in his time in Single A between the Burlington Bees and the Inland Empire 66ers.
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Helping Tracy make the transition to big league manager will be a familiar face in José David Flores, who was Tracy’s bench coach from 2022-2024. The two formed a deep connection, and a source said that Flores texted Tracy after hearing the news to tell him he’d be waiting for him.
He’ll also have strong familiarity with a good number of players on the roster; Tracy worked closely with the major-league team during spring training, but he’s also managed 12 current Red Sox players in Worcester.
“[His skills will translate] just because of the relationship he’s had with the players,” Suarez said. “That’s a plus for the players to have that comfort. I can only imagine how it is having a new manager come in, not knowing the players and not knowing the staff or anything like that. So Trace has that advantage, and the players have that advantage too.”
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