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WORCESTER — An April snowstorm may have postponed the Worcester Red Sox game on April 12, but the weather didn’t delay the team from announcing its second Hall of Fame class.
The Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate will enshrine Jarren Duran, Janet Marie Smith and J.P. Ricciardi as the 2025 WooSox Hall of Fame inductees.
“These three represent three different aspects of baseball in Worcester. Each one has played such a key role so far,” WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg told the T&G. “Now that you have a half a dozen people in (the WooSox Hall of Fame), you’re starting to get a feel for the family that made this all happen.”
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The WooSox Hall of Fame was established in 2024 to recognize the outstanding careers and contributions of former or current WooSox players, managers, coaches, broadcasters and executives, as well as others who have been instrumental in the history of the Worcester Red Sox and Worcester baseball.
In March, the second WooSox Hall of Fame class was chosen by a 17-person panel, which includes club executives, print and broadcast media members, and business and community leaders.
Duran, who had a record-breaking 2024 season that included being named Major League All-Star Game MVP, becomes the first active player to be elected to the WooSox Hall of Fame. The 28-year-old was the first batter in WooSox history when he led off Worcester’s inaugural game on May 4, 2021 in Trenton, New Jersey, against the Buffalo Bisons.
The former seventh-round pick of the Red Sox spent parts of three seasons with the WooSox (2021-23), playing in 139 games with 28 home runs, 80 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.
The current Red Sox outfielder split the 2022 season between Worcester and Boston before putting together an impressive 2023 campaign, when he was named Boston Red Sox Comeback Player of the Year after batting .295 in 102 games.
Duran played in 160 games and was named Red Sox MVP during an outstanding 2024 season. He led the majors in doubles (48) and was tied for first in triples (14). Duran also recently received high praise from the organization for opening up about his mental health struggles.
“He’s the first ballplayer that we’ve watched here who has excelled to such a level in the major leagues,” Steinberg said. “We knew that the road wasn’t easy, and we didn’t know it was as hard as it was until his courageous revelations that we learned of this week.
“It shows you that the road to the majors is awesome, but it is arduous as well.”
Smith is a leader in the sports development business with a career focused on venue design and planning. She and Larry Lucchino collaborated, starting as far back as 2017, to build Worcester’s award-winning Polar Park, which opened on May 11, 2021.
Smith and Lucchino first partnered to create Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore more than 30 years ago, which led to a revolution in ballpark ambiance and architecture and created a unique new vision of a traditional, intimate, old-fashioned downtown ballpark with modern amenities.
Smith currently serves as executive vice president, planning and development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“She’s an extraordinary person, without her, you wouldn’t have the most beautiful ballpark in Triple A,” Steinberg said. “We are her second Hall of Fame stop, and I look forward to the day she’s enshrined in Cooperstown.”
Ricciardi retired from an acclaimed 43-year career in professional baseball in the winter of 2023-24. A Worcester native, Ricciardi starred at St. Peter-Marian in the late 1970s. He went on to play at St. Leo University and then as an infielder in the New York Mets' minor league system, playing for Class-A affiliates, Little Falls in 1980 and Shelby in 1981.
Ricciardi began his post-playing career as a coach in the New York Yankees system before joining the Oakland Athletics as a minor league instructor and scout in 1986. By the early 1990s, he had risen to the rank of East Coast scouting supervisor and later national cross-checker, but his big break into the front office came in 1996 when he was promoted to A’s assistant general manager, first under Sandy Alderson and then under Billy Beane in 1997.
Ricciardi’s reputation grew during his successful stint with Oakland, and it led to him being named general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001 — a position he held until 2009 before taking a job as Mets assistant general manager from 2011-19, and more recently he served as senior advisor for the San Francisco Giants from 2019-23. Ricciardi now helps call games on the WooSox broadcast.
“J.P. embodies Worcester baseball in the way Rich Gedman does,” Steinberg said. “He’s done so much for so many people in Worcester while also rising to the heights of Major League Baseball.
“I don’t think you can think about Worcester baseball without thinking of J.P. Ricciardi.”
The inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame class included Lucchino, the late chairman and principal owner of the Worcester Red Sox, Ed Augustus Jr., the former Worcester city manager, and Gedman, the former Boston Red Sox catcher and current WooSox hitting advisor.
Details on events surrounding the 2025 WooSox Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Polar Park will be announced at a later date.
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WooSox select Jarren Duran, Janet Marie Smith, J.P. Ricciardi for Hall of Fame
Continue reading...
The Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate will enshrine Jarren Duran, Janet Marie Smith and J.P. Ricciardi as the 2025 WooSox Hall of Fame inductees.
“These three represent three different aspects of baseball in Worcester. Each one has played such a key role so far,” WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg told the T&G. “Now that you have a half a dozen people in (the WooSox Hall of Fame), you’re starting to get a feel for the family that made this all happen.”
'They want to play this season for Jake' Quinsigamond baseball team dedicates season to freshman fighting cancer
The WooSox Hall of Fame was established in 2024 to recognize the outstanding careers and contributions of former or current WooSox players, managers, coaches, broadcasters and executives, as well as others who have been instrumental in the history of the Worcester Red Sox and Worcester baseball.
In March, the second WooSox Hall of Fame class was chosen by a 17-person panel, which includes club executives, print and broadcast media members, and business and community leaders.
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Duran, who had a record-breaking 2024 season that included being named Major League All-Star Game MVP, becomes the first active player to be elected to the WooSox Hall of Fame. The 28-year-old was the first batter in WooSox history when he led off Worcester’s inaugural game on May 4, 2021 in Trenton, New Jersey, against the Buffalo Bisons.
The former seventh-round pick of the Red Sox spent parts of three seasons with the WooSox (2021-23), playing in 139 games with 28 home runs, 80 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.
The current Red Sox outfielder split the 2022 season between Worcester and Boston before putting together an impressive 2023 campaign, when he was named Boston Red Sox Comeback Player of the Year after batting .295 in 102 games.
Duran played in 160 games and was named Red Sox MVP during an outstanding 2024 season. He led the majors in doubles (48) and was tied for first in triples (14). Duran also recently received high praise from the organization for opening up about his mental health struggles.
“He’s the first ballplayer that we’ve watched here who has excelled to such a level in the major leagues,” Steinberg said. “We knew that the road wasn’t easy, and we didn’t know it was as hard as it was until his courageous revelations that we learned of this week.
“It shows you that the road to the majors is awesome, but it is arduous as well.”
You must be registered for see images
Smith is a leader in the sports development business with a career focused on venue design and planning. She and Larry Lucchino collaborated, starting as far back as 2017, to build Worcester’s award-winning Polar Park, which opened on May 11, 2021.
Smith and Lucchino first partnered to create Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore more than 30 years ago, which led to a revolution in ballpark ambiance and architecture and created a unique new vision of a traditional, intimate, old-fashioned downtown ballpark with modern amenities.
Smith currently serves as executive vice president, planning and development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“She’s an extraordinary person, without her, you wouldn’t have the most beautiful ballpark in Triple A,” Steinberg said. “We are her second Hall of Fame stop, and I look forward to the day she’s enshrined in Cooperstown.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Ricciardi retired from an acclaimed 43-year career in professional baseball in the winter of 2023-24. A Worcester native, Ricciardi starred at St. Peter-Marian in the late 1970s. He went on to play at St. Leo University and then as an infielder in the New York Mets' minor league system, playing for Class-A affiliates, Little Falls in 1980 and Shelby in 1981.
Ricciardi began his post-playing career as a coach in the New York Yankees system before joining the Oakland Athletics as a minor league instructor and scout in 1986. By the early 1990s, he had risen to the rank of East Coast scouting supervisor and later national cross-checker, but his big break into the front office came in 1996 when he was promoted to A’s assistant general manager, first under Sandy Alderson and then under Billy Beane in 1997.
Ricciardi’s reputation grew during his successful stint with Oakland, and it led to him being named general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001 — a position he held until 2009 before taking a job as Mets assistant general manager from 2011-19, and more recently he served as senior advisor for the San Francisco Giants from 2019-23. Ricciardi now helps call games on the WooSox broadcast.
“J.P. embodies Worcester baseball in the way Rich Gedman does,” Steinberg said. “He’s done so much for so many people in Worcester while also rising to the heights of Major League Baseball.
“I don’t think you can think about Worcester baseball without thinking of J.P. Ricciardi.”
It’s a Winter Wonderland in Worcesterpic.twitter.com/TAOYnaeshd
— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) April 12, 2025
The inaugural WooSox Hall of Fame class included Lucchino, the late chairman and principal owner of the Worcester Red Sox, Ed Augustus Jr., the former Worcester city manager, and Gedman, the former Boston Red Sox catcher and current WooSox hitting advisor.
Details on events surrounding the 2025 WooSox Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Polar Park will be announced at a later date.
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: WooSox select Jarren Duran, Janet Marie Smith, J.P. Ricciardi for Hall of Fame
Continue reading...
