WooSox manager Chad Tracy excited to build on successful first year in Worcester

WORCESTER — It was less than a month after the WooSox season was over when manager Chad Tracy started to prepare for 2023.

Minor League Baseball released the official schedule Oct. 25, so late that night after his family fell asleep, Tracy studied it and broke it down. Suddenly the baseball juices again began to flow.

“It got me going again,” he said. “It hasn’t even been a month, and my mind is already moving in that direction.”

Since the WooSox finished 2022 with a 75-73 record, Tracy spent the first few weeks of the offseason decompressing after his first season as manager. Worcester finished sixth in the competitive International League East, 10 games behind the division champion Durham Bulls.

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Overall, Tracy was thrilled with the team’s success, proud of the field staff’s accomplishments and thankful for the fan support.

“It was awesome,” Tracy said. “It exceeded expectations in a lot of ways. The city itself, the way we were treated, the front office, everyone was incredible. Then the season was great.”

Off the field, the best part for the first-year manager was his family’s experience in Worcester. His wife, Emily, along with daughter, Avery, and son, Austin, became celebrities around Polar Park.

“They absolutely loved it,” Tracy said. “That’s a big testament to the way we were treated. When people bend over backward to make sure you’re comfortable, to make sure you’re happy and have everything you need. It takes a lot of stressors off your shoulders, especially for my wife, when you’re working for people who are doing everything in their power to make sure you have none of that to worry about. It makes the experience really enjoyable.”

The Tracy family enjoyed all the pleasures of Worcester, along with destinations throughout New England, including Boston, Cape Cod, Portland, Salem and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

They loved everything about Worcester. They enjoyed the local parks, restaurants, but more importantly the people.

“You really didn’t find yourself on any given day thinking there’s nothing to do. They stayed busy,” he said. “What really made my heart feel good at the end of it all when they were leaving I asked: ‘Did you have fun?’ My kids said they loved it.”

Even when Tracy finally arrived home after the season, his son asked when they were going back to Worcester.

“They really loved it and had a great time,” Tracy said.

On the field, Tracy went into his first season with the WooSox thinking he knew what to expect, but he was also ready for the unexpected. After all, it is baseball. The team experienced the typical ebbs and flows of a minor league season, but the Red Sox organization was happy with what the WooSox accomplished.

“It was fun,” Tracy said. “We had a great staff and some really great players. It just made it a real enjoyable experience for all of us.”

As much as the team wants to win and stay competitive, it’s all about development at the minor league levels. When Tracy and his staff held its preseason meeting with the players, the message was simple: Compete and develop.

The WooSox sent 28 players to Boston in 2022, and all made an impact. Most of them made their major league debut, including first baseman Triston Casas and pitcher Brayan Bello, who will both bid to call Fenway home in 2023 and beyond.

Tracy’s job is to prepare these players to help the Red Sox win, and they accomplished that goal.

“To see the number of guys who went up and got an opportunity to play in the big leagues, especially young prospects was very gratifying,” Tracy said. “The job is being able to call guys in and let them know, ‘You’re going to the big leagues, and you’ve earned it.’ We got to do that quite a bit this year, which was awesome.”

Even though the WooSox enjoyed a successful inaugural season in 2021, the field staff needed a facelift, and the Red Sox brass knew it. Tracy was hired in December 2021, along with new bench coach Jose Flores, joining already established hitting coach Rich Gedman, pitching coach Paul Abbott and assistant hitting coach Mike Montville.

The entire staff was on the same page in every aspect from Day 1. Tracy even invited Flores to move his desk into the manager’s office so the two could be in constant communication.

It also helped that the veteran coaches welcomed Tracy with open arms. The staff communicated via phone, text, email and Zoom before everyone arrived in Fort Myers, Florida, for spring training, so it was easier to hit the ground running.

“It helped my transition enormously,” he said. “You don’t really know the dynamics of how things are going to go until you actually get in the same room with your staff.”

It immediately was clear what mattered to Tracy, and his staff was in agreement from a baseball standpoint.

“You’ve got to trust your staff and trust them to do their job,” Tracy said. “We all trusted each other.”

The field staff focused on the best interest of the players, and they knew it. They knew the field staff was in sync and energetic. It translated into success on the field.

“When there’s disconnect between members of a staff, the players can see that and feel that, and the tension in the room rises,” Tracy said. “Our group felt the same cohesion, and that helped the players when in the door and focus solely on baseball. That’s really important to me.”

Things could change during the offseason, but at this point, the entire staff is returning for the 2023 season.

“It’s going to be great,” Tracy said.

—Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeyMacHockey.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WooSox manager Chad Tracy excited to get started on building 2023 team