NASHVILLE — Since bursting onto the scene in 2021, Diamond Baseball Holdings has shortly grown into baseball’s largest proprietor of minor league golf equipment, shopping for up practically 1 / 4 of all MLB associates over a span of simply two years.
That consists of the Portland Sea Dogs and Salem Red Sox, and Tuesday the corporate introduced it’s including a 3rd Red Sox affiliate as nicely.
The Worcester Red Sox, Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, is ready to grow to be the newest addition to DBH’s sprawling portfolio, which has now swelled to 29 groups after the corporate additionally introduced the acquisition of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Louisville Bats. The deal is reportedly for roughly $70 million.
The WooSox will stay the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox and play at Polar Park beneath the continued management of Larry Lucchino as chairman, Dr. Charles Steinberg as president and Dan Rea as basic supervisor. The current entrance workplace workers may also stay in place, and Lucchino and native leaders Ralph Crowley and Jim Skeffington Jr. can be retained within the membership’s possession group.
“At 78, and after 44 years in baseball, I believe it’s time to have a succession plan, one that assures a commitment to baseball and a commitment to Worcester,” Lucchino in a press release. “There is no organization more committed to Minor League Baseball than Diamond Baseball Holdings, and we welcome Pat Battle, Peter Freund, and this organization to our city. There is no local business leader more invested in Worcester and in Polar Park than Ralph Crowley, and we are pleased that he is part of the ownership group. Jim Skeffington’s late father and I set out to keep the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A club in New England, and in good hands, and I trust that Pat and Peter will be excellent stewards.”
Speaking solely to the Herald on the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Diamond Baseball Holdings CEO Peter Freund referred to as the WooSox the crown jewel of Minor League Baseball and expressed pleasure for the chance to work with the membership.
“Larry and Charles have done an amazing job in Worcester so we can’t wait to have it under our umbrella, but the fans can expect Triple-A Red Sox, same experience they’ve had,” Freund mentioned. “We have more to learn from the WooSox than they do from us, they do a fantastic job as far as being the pinnacle of Minor League Baseball, so can’t wait to do it.”
Much like Portland and Salem, Boston’s Double-A and Low-A associates which had been acquired by DBH final offseason, Freund mentioned he doesn’t anticipate implementing any main modifications in Year 1 and that for followers in Worcester it needs to be enterprise as standard. For Portland and Salem, nonetheless, plans are within the works for main ballpark enhancements that ought to come to fruition within the coming years.
Freund mentioned the work on Portland’s Hadlock Field, although nonetheless within the improvement stage, needs to be vital.
“We are going to do a construction project up in Portland, which is not only for the player development side but for fan facing as well,” Freund mentioned. “We’re investing a significant amount of money in Portland, so that will probably happen for the ’25 season when people will really feel it.”
Salem can be more likely to see enhancements, although that franchise faces one other hurdle that should be cleared first. The lease for Salem Memorial Ballpark is because of expire after this coming season, and although no agreements have been reached, Freund mentioned negotiations with the town are ongoing.
“We don’t have an agreement but we’re committed to the Salem/Roanoke market, the Red Sox are committed and we’re going to do a great job to continue doing what we do there,” Freund mentioned.
Beyond facility enhancements, Freund mentioned one other change followers ought to discover is a rise in occasions hosted by its ballparks. Where particular person minor league organizations won’t have beforehand been capable of afford a headline live performance, Freund mentioned DBH can benefit from its scale and sources to draw larger acts to its parks.
“When you ask if there’s a new experience for the fans, it’s the Winterfest we have in many of our ballparks right now, we convert them into ice skating rinks and light shows and Santa Claus and the concert tours we want to bring through, and the Savannah Bananas, who have been really successful coming through our ballparks, comedy shows, you name it,” Freund mentioned. “The one thing each of these clubs can expect is for us to take advantage of our scale to bring in a headline concert tour.”
The WooSox sale is anticipated to be accomplished by the tip of the yr, after which level there’ll solely be a number of months till Opening Day. Given how nicely their first yr with Portland and Salem went, Freund mentioned he’s excited to be part of the Worcester neighborhood and expects brilliant days forward.
“We’re really bullish,” Freund mentioned. “Attendance was up significantly across all of baseball and Minor League Baseball, we continue to believe in the sport and New England is a perfect spot for us.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com