Player-fan interaction is a 'key theme' to the WooSox' promotional schedule for 2024
WORCESTER — Baseball is right around the corner at Polar Park.
With the Worcester Red Sox less than a month away from hosting the Buffalo Bisons for their home opener on April 2 (3:05 p.m.), the WooSox recently announced their full promotional schedule for the 2024 season.
To increase engagement between the team and their fans, the WooSox will provide more than 100 opportunities to interact with players, including a “Meet the Team Party” on April 6, five “Autograph Wednesdays” with current players and 13 “Throwback Thursdays” with former players.
And like last season, the WooSox will host “Taco & Tequila Tuesdays,” “First Responder Wednesdays,” fireworks on Friday nights, “Sunset Catches on the Field” on Saturdays and “Kids Run the Bases” on Sundays — to go along with other promotions like “Town Takeovers,” “Heritage Nights” and “Bark in the Park.”
“We love when fan dialogue turns promotions into traditions, and we also love to imagine, invent and introduce new promotions that answer the question ‘What will they think of next?’ ” WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg said. “One of the great Rockwellian joys of baseball is to meet a player, which is why player-fan interaction is a key theme of WooSox ’24.”
On April 3, the club will give away Worcester tumblers that fans can bring back throughout April and May to receive free hot chocolate. The artwork on the tumbler depicts iconic buildings and scenes from the City of Worcester.
Fans also will be invited to step onto the field at Polar Park on June 8 to take pictures with players at “On-Field Photo Day” and Sept. 15 to get WooSox autographs on “Team Autograph Day.”
Additionally, WooSox coaches and players will provide instruction at six free youth clinics on June 22, July 6, July 13, Aug. 3, Au. 17 and an additional date at an off-site clinic that will be announced later.
Youngsters can take the field with the WooSox for the national anthem as part of a “Future Starters” promotion on 12 Sundays, and fans can form the “High-Five Tunnel” that WooSox players run through for 63 home games.
Another addition to this year’s promotional schedule allows season ticket-holders and WooSox rewards members to enter the ballpark early on “BP Tuesdays” to make their way onto the warning track to watch the WooSox take batting practice. All fans can come early to “BP Tuesdays” to catch batting practice homers on the Berm. The promotion will run on 11 Tuesdays throughout the season, weather permitting and excluding Opening Day.
The WooSox again will give away bobbleheads (on a date to be announced). The club invites fans to send their bobblehead suggestions to info@woosox.com.
Here’s a rundown of the full promotional schedule:
Throwback Thursdays
April 4: Red Sox Hall of Famer Bob Stanley
April 18: 2013 World Series champion Jonny Gomes
April 19: Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley*
May 2: Former Red Sox pitcher John Trautwein
June 20: Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice*
July 4: 1986 American League champion Oil Can Boyd
(*Available to greet fans and take photos but cannot sign autographs due to deals they have with memorabilia companies.)
Fireworks nights
April 5: “Modern Millennial Classics”
April 19: “Sparks Fly,” featuring hits by the world’s biggest pop star
May 3: “Hollywood’s Greatest Hits”
May 17: “Classic Rock”
May 24: “Seventies Serenade”
June 7: “Oh So ’80s”
June 21: “Motown & More”
July 4: “Patriotic Fireworks”
July 5: “Pop Patriotic”
July 12: “Gettin’ Jiggy with the ’90s”
August 2: “Country Classics”
August 16: “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Best of the British Invasion”
August 30: “TV Themes”
September 13: “Love is All You Need”
Town Takeovers
April 5: Clinton
April 7: Princeton/Westminster
May 4: Boylston
May 14: Holden
May 17: Natick
May 22: Berlin/Maynard
May 24: Uxbridge
May 25: Oxford
June 9: Springfield/the 413
June 18: Auburn
June 20: Framingham
July 6: Fitchburg/Leominster/Gardner
July 11: Millbury
July 13: Leicester
July 30: Spencer
Aug. 2: Charlton
Aug. 4: Rutland/Sterling
Aug. 13: Sturbridge
Aug. 14: Battle of the Boroughs (Northborough, Westborough, Southborough, and Marlborough)
Aug. 16: Southbridge
Aug. 27: Battle of the Brookfields (Brookfield, North Brookfield, East Brookfield, and West Brookfield)
Aug. 28: Grafton/Upton/Mendon
Aug. 29: Shrewsbury
Aug. 31: Paxton
Los Wepas de Worcester
April 4: Dominican Republic
May 5: Mexico and Spain
May 21: Cuba
July 12: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama
Aug. 18: Puerto Rico
Sept. 14: Brazil
Heritage Nights
April 6: Ghanaian and West African Heritage
April 16: Portuguese Heritage
June 7: Indian Heritage
June 21: Irish Heritage
July 5: Greek Heritage
July 9: Jewish Heritage
July 14: Caribbean Heritage
July 31: Albanian Heritage
Aug. 3: Italian Heritage
Aug. 15: Korean Heritage
Aug. 17: Southeast Asian Heritage
Aug. 30: Polish Heritage
Social Awareness Games
April 18: Teacher Appreciation Day, presented by Country Bank
April 20: UniBank Women in Sports Day
April 21: Autism Acceptance Day, presented by Venture Community Services
May 2: Mental Wellness Night
May 3: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night
May 16: Nurses Appreciation Night
May 18: Military Appreciation Day
May 19: Breast Cancer Awareness Day
May 25: Faith and Family Day
May 26: Brain Tumor Awareness Day
June 4: ALS Awareness
June 19: A Celebration of Juneteenth
June 22: Ability Day, presented by the Seven Hills Foundation
Aug. 18: Fallon Health Strikeout Hunger Day
Sept. 1: Childhood Cancer Awareness Day
Sept. 13: Pride at the Park
Other theme days/nights
April 2: Opening Day
April 3: Free 12 oz Worcester Tumblers
April 6: Meet the Team Party
April 7: Bark in the Park (first of three)
April 16-21: Worcester School Vacation Week, presented by Southwick’s Zoo
April 17: After the 3:05 p.m. game vs. the Durham Bulls, fans can enjoy a ballpark screening of “Bull Durham”
June 8: WooSox Scholars Ceremony
June 9: Bark in the Park (second of three); WooSox players transform into the Ruby Legs
June 18-23: Peanut Allergy-Friendly Week
June 23: PawSox Heritage Day
July 10: STEM Day, presented by AbbVie
July 14: Home Run for Life, presented by UMass Memorial Health
Aug. 1: STEM Day, presented by AbbVie
Aug. 3: Bark in the Park (third of three)
Aug. 4: Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond Day
Aug. 17: WooSox players transform into the Wicked Worms of Worcester
Aug. 31: Pirates, Princes, and Princesses Day
Sept. 10-15: Fan Appreciation Week
The WooSox announced their spring promotions on Jan. 31. To view the full WooSox ’24 promotional schedule, visit WooSox.com.
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Red Sox release promotional schedule for 2024 season