After moving what had long been a staple and sense of pride for the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox is now up for sale.
Triple-A Affiliate of Boston Red Sox Up for Sale
Principal owner Larry Lucchino has been telling media outlets that the Worcester Red Sox are up for sale. Lucchino feels it is the right time to “sell the team.” He wants to sell them to a local buyer and keep the team in Polar Park. Polar Park was built for the team after they moved from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Worcester, Massachusetts.
The Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox had been a source of pride and identity for the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island since 1973. Names like Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, and Jim Rice, to name a few, played there. Pawtucket is also the site of the longest professional baseball game ever played. On April 18, 1981, what would turn out to be an eight-hour, two-day, 33-inning affair between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, finally concluded on June 23rd, 1981. The PawSox, including Wade Boggs, had triumphed over Cal Ripken Jr. and the then-Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2.
The WooSox
After a lot of back and forth between Red Sox ownership and the city of Pawtucket, and even the state of Rhode Island becoming involved, the two sides could not come to an agreement on either building the PawSox a new stadium (even if that meant building one in Providence instead of Pawtucket), or updating an aging, yet historical stadium, named McCoy. After a lot of red tape and both sides accusing the other of not bargaining in “good faith”, Red Sox ownership (the face of which was Larry Lucchino), decided to move the team to Worcester, Massachusetts.
Fans in Rhode Island React
To say that fans in Rhode Island, especially in Pawtucket, were upset by this news would be an understatement. Many fans, including this writer, have great memories of going to a baseball game at McCoy Stadium. For a lot of Rhode Islanders, their first experience with professional baseball was taking in a game at McCoy. The future of McCoy Stadium itself is in limbo. Plans have been made to make one city high school (Pawtucket currently has two) on the grounds of McCoy Stadium. A billionaire by the name of Stefan Soloviev said he would be interested in buying and saving the stadium. The latest news, however, is that the stadium is likely to be demolished to build the new high school.
Takeaway
As the world and almost every facet of it is run on a business model, the things that matter most seem to be getting forgotten. To Larry Lucchino and Red Sox ownership, money is money. Lucchino got what he wanted and now that he is not seeing a profit, he is ready to be done with it. He took away what meant so much to generations of Rhode Islanders. More specifically, he took away what the people of Pawtucket had so much love and pride in. For those in the city of Pawtucket, the only thing they have left to hold onto is their memories. Those individuals realize that their memories are worth more than all the money in the world. Maybe Larry Lucchino and “business people” could learn something from them.
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