{"id":15547,"date":"2024-12-09T00:16:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T00:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=15547"},"modified":"2024-12-09T00:16:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T00:16:26","slug":"i-love-it-here-in-worcester-red-sox-slugger-visits-polar-park-for-woosox-foundation-honors-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=15547","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I love it here in Worcester&#8217;: Red Sox slugger visits Polar Park for WooSox Foundation Honors gala"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.telegram.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/07\/31\/NTEG\/74612548007-woo-sox-casas-073024-01.jpg?crop=2999,1687,x0,y0&amp;width=660&amp;height=372&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">WORCESTER \u2014 Baseball won\u2019t be played at\u00a0Polar Park\u00a0for another 111 days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But on Saturday, a few prominent members from inside (and outside) the\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0organization found themselves at the home of the Worcester Red Sox\u00a0for the third annual WooSox Foundation Honors Gala.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Red Sox first baseman\u00a0Triston Casas, NESN anchor Tom Caron and Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Castiglione each made guest appearances inside the DCU Club at Polar Park to honor community heroes in education, social justice, conquering cancer and diamond sports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">While Casas returned to a place he used to call home, the Red Sox slugger \u2014 who spent four months on the shelf this past summer with an injury \u2014\u00a0shared an optimistic outlook on the upcoming baseball season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cHad a lot of things to work on after this year, and I feel like I\u2019ve been hitting them wholeheartedly,\u201d said Casas from inside the WooSox clubhouse. \u201cJust working out a lot, taking a lot of swings, trying to build that volume up again, but I like where I\u2019m at, for sure, physically.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas talks with reporters ahead of the WooSox Foundation Honors Gala at Polar Park.<\/p>\n<p>Casas discusses his rib cage injury last year, how he was happy with how he handled everything and how he\u2019s exciting for a hopeful full and healthy upcoming season. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vCgxvbh2dE\">pic.twitter.com\/vCgxvbh2dE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tommycassell44\/status\/1865534626745245701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Casas played in 93 games for the WooSox during parts of three seasons (2021, 2022, 2024) and hit .271 with 13 HRs\u00a0and 52 RBI for the Red Sox affiliate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Before starting a\u00a0rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester\u00a0last summer, the colorful Casas attended a WooSox game as a fan. But the 6-foot-5, 24-year-old was spotted in the stands by WooSox team photographer Ashley Green despite his best effort to stay incognito by wearing sunglasses.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_ig\" aria-label=\"Instagram Embed\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadInstagram\" data-v-src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C7HJRS_O4Xz\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=12&amp;wp=1116&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegram.com\"><iframe class=\"gnt_em_ig_if\" title=\"Instagram Embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C7HJRS_O4Xz\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=12&amp;wp=1116&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegram.com#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A18930.299999952316%7D\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">So, did he bring his shades to Polar Park on Saturday?<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d Casas said. \u201c&#8230; I\u2019m going to be inside all day, and I\u2019m not going to be incognito because I guess I\u2019m the quote-on-quote guest of whatever, but yeah no glasses today, but I did try them on (with the outfit) and didn\u2019t think it would fit the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Caught up with Mr. Incognito himself as Triston Casas talked about foregoing his sunglasses today at Polar Park, growing a beard this offseason and what else he\u2019s working on (baseball related) prior to the 2025 season. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/trEgTQviCF\">pic.twitter.com\/trEgTQviCF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tommycassell44\/status\/1865542396429136169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Casas spent over two weeks with the WooSox in August rehabbing from torn cartilage in his left rib cage.\u00a0Upon his return to Boston, Casas later tied a Red Sox single-game record by belting three homers on Sept. 22 at Fenway Park. In 62 games last season, Casas hit .241 with 13 homers and 32 RBI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Now, fully healthy in his own words, the Red Sox slugger is optimistic about 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI feel like it\u2019s completely behind me,\u201d Casas said. \u201cIt\u2019s weird to say because I went through so much pain this summer, but I feel like I\u2019ve been working really hard on it. A lot of abdominal work and stretching and molding them back to normal, but feels great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">&#8216;It&#8217;s been a cool little week&#8217;:<\/strong>These four WooSox players reflect on being teammates in the 2020 Olympics<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Other than\u00a0auction items, like autographed memorabilia from Casas and a Jarren Duran painting, among many others, the baseball topic du jour Saturday night was the impending decision of big-ticket free agent Juan Soto.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Asked his thoughts on the Soto sweepstakes, Casas shared his two cents.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Triston Casas gave his 2 cents on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, stating the big-ticket free agent is a \u201cgame-changing type of bat and whatever team he goes to is going to be pretty much a World Series favorite.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cExcited to see where he goes. If it\u2019s Boston, it\u2019s great.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XYc5o8QzoF\">pic.twitter.com\/XYc5o8QzoF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tommycassell44\/status\/1865537064353038835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201c(He\u2019s) a game-changing type of bat and whatever team he goes to is going to be pretty much a World Series favorite,\u201d Casas said before adding: \u201cI\u2019m excited to see where he goes. If it\u2019s Boston, it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After cocktail hour and dinner, the WooSox honored Maura Mahoney (education), Julie Bowditch (social justice), Dr. Lee Nadler (conquering cancer) and Worcester City Councilor Luis Ojeda (diamond sports) for their various contributions to the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Then, guests made their way down to the WooSox clubhouse for dessert and a meet-and-greet with Casas.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.telegram.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/12\/08\/NTEG\/76845631007-triston-casas.jpeg?width=660&amp;height=441&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/12\/08\/NTEG\/76845631007-triston-casas.jpeg?width=1320&amp;height=882&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas serves as a special guest during the third annual WooSox Foundation Honors gala at Polar Park Saturday.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas serves as a special guest during the third annual WooSox Foundation Honors gala at Polar Park Saturday.\" data-c-credit=\"Photo Provided By Natalie Reid\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The former WooSox and current Red Sox player has always enjoyed his time in the Canal District.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI love it here in Worcester,\u201d Casas said. \u201cThe people make me feel welcome, and (WooSox manager of clubhouse and baseball operations) Mario (Oliveira) and the rest of the staff, they do a great job to just make me feel like I\u2019m part of a family almost. So, being back here in Worcester, that\u2019s always something that I\u2019m fond of, and all it takes is a call to get me back up here and you know we\u2019ll make it happen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cSo, I really love the city and everything around it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>telegram.com wants to ensure the best experience for all of our readers, so we built our site to take advantage of the latest technology, making it faster and easier to use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;I love it here in Worcester&#039;: Red Sox slugger visits Polar Park for WooSox Foundation Honors gala - 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