Meet the four new members of the Worcester Red Sox Hall of Fame

WORCESTER — As an 18-year-old intern with the Baltimore Orioles in 1977, Dr. Charles Steinberg remembers when Detroit Tigers phenom pitcher Mark Fidrych came to Memorial Stadium to pitch on the Fourth of July.

>"I'm in the office and I remember what a fever there was in Baltimore," Steinberg told the T&G. "The phones were ringing off the hook."

>After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1976, Fidrych, a right-handed pitcher who was born in Worcester and earned the nickname of "The Bird" due to his resemblance to a certain Sesame Street character, crossed paths with Steinberg in Baltimore.

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>"The Bird against the Birds," Steinberg said. "He was the talk of the baseball world. So, to go into the WooSox Hall of Fame with somebody that I admired from afar as a teenager, that's very special."

>On Thursday, Steinberg and the late Fidrych, along with former Worcester Red Sox (and current Boston Red Sox) manager Chad Tracy and the late Gene Zabinski (a Worcester civic leader who helped woo the WooSox to Worcester), were enshrined in the WooSox Hall of Fame.

>"It's an unimaginable honor," Steinberg said. "It's something that I never foresaw or had any expectations of. When you're growing up in baseball, you don't think you're going to be in anybody's Hall of Fame, and you never know your long and winding road will wind up in Worcester."

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From postcards to Polar ParkAs president of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2018, Dr. Charles Steinberg remembers when Gene Zabinski — the father of a "10,000 postcards campaign" to court the PawSox to move to Worcester — showed up unannounced at McCoy Stadium.

>"We imagined here's this great and powerful Oz … and I went out to the front door, where he was, and he's much more the wizard behind the curtain than this great and powerful Oz," Steinberg recalled. "He's this gentle, kind, tender, older gentleman. And I say 'You're Gene Zabinski!?' And he just couldn't have been more mild mannered and humble, and he just wanted to come by and say hello, and I felt that he was conveying the sincerity of the campaign.

>"It really gave depth and breadth to the courtship."

>On July 11, 2019, the Red Sox' Triple-A affiliate broke ground at Polar Park.

>Despite a decline in his health, Zabinski spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony and said "I've done my part" in bringing the Red Sox minor league affiliate to Worcester.

>"It was as if he knew his part was complete," Steinberg said. "He never lived to see the opening of Polar Park."

>On Thursday, Steinberg and Tracy were inducted in person into the WooSox Hall of Fame at Polar Park while Fidyrch and Zabinski were enshrined posthumously.

>"Mark Fidrych and Gene Zabinski are two of the bright stars in the Polar Park sky," Steinberg told the T&G.

>In a ceremony held on the field the WooSox play on, and televised live on NESN, Steinberg, Tracy, Fidrych and Zabinski were honored for their contributions to baseball and Worcester.

>Let's meet the four members of the 2026 WooSox Hall of Fame class:

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Dr. Charles SteinbergEnshrined during his 11th year as president of the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A franchise and his ninth as founding president of the Worcester Red Sox, Steinberg became a fixture in the Worcester community and a pillar at Polar Park.

>The former dentist, who is known as "Dr. Charles" around the ballpark, has earned the reputation as one of baseball’s most creative, innovative and influential executives. Steinberg has transformed the ballpark experience for fans through ceremonies, events and entertainment, while also trailblazing major, impactful, award-winning community programs with the Orioles, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.

>Steinberg helped designed the human aspects of Oriole Park at Camden Yards with mentors and friends, Larry Lucchino and Janet Marie Smith (both also in the WooSox Hall of Fame). He spent 19 years with the Orioles, and, in 1979, Steinberg started a 45-year partnership with Lucchino, whom he followed to San Diego, Boston, Pawtucket and Worcester.

>Enjoying five years working directly for baseball commissioner Bud Selig on his memoirs and other projects, Steinberg split time between the commissioner and the Red Sox before returning to New England for good as the decision loomed of whether to move the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester.

>A self-proclaimed “unapologetic romantic,” Steinberg fell in love with Worcester and now joins the WooSox Hall of Fame.

>"I think it's really a manifestation of the love of affair that Worcester has with the WooSox and with Polar Park," Steinberg said. "And I think I'm a passenger on that train."

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Chad TracyIn the midst of his fifth season as manager of the Worcester Red Sox this year, Tracy was named the interim manager of the Boston Red Sox during the middle of a WooSox game on April 25.

>Tracy led the WooSox to winning seasons in each of his four years at the helm (2022-25) to become the first Red Sox Triple-A manager to accomplish that feat dating back to at least the 1930s.

>Known affectionately as “Trace,” he earned the 300th victory of his Worcester managerial career on August 31, 2025, to become the sixth manager to reach the 300-win plateau with a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate. Tracy, the second manager in WooSox history after Billy McMillon in 2021, also had 176 wins in 3 years as a Minor League manager in the Los Angeles Angels’ system from 2015-17. His first victory with the Red Sox — on the day of his MLB debut — was the 500th win of his managerial career.

>Trace sent numerous Worcester players to Boston during his tenure, including Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Brayan Bello, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, among others.

>He has been chosen by his peers as the “Best Managerial Prospect” in the International League in a poll conducted by “Baseball America” during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. A collegiate star at Pepperdine University, the former catcher/first baseman reached Triple-A with the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011.

>Now, he has a forever home in Worcester.

>"Coming home to Polar Park, as manager of the Red Sox, means so much to me," Tracy told the T&G.

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Mark FidrychBorn in Worcester, Fidrych enjoyed a meteoric rise to baseball stardom.

>Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1974, the righty pitcher captured the attention of the baseball world – and much of the nation – during his amazing “Rookie of the Year” season of 1976. That year, the colorful character led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA while going 19-9, which included 24 complete games.

>The national sensation became a cult hero when he would crouch down on the mound, groom the dirt, talk to the baseball and shake hands with infielders who made great plays. He discarded baseballs after batters reached safely because he didn’t want to use balls that “had hits in them.” He was nicknamed “The Bird” because of his resemblance to the Sesame Street show television character “Big Bird.” At his peak in 1976 and 1977, Fidrych filled ballparks, both at home and on the road.

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>After six years with the Tigers, the Northborough resident with a torn rotator cuff was released by Detroit. After the 1981 season, he signed with his hometown Boston Red Sox and made an inspiring comeback with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 1982 and ’83 that included one of the club’s most memorable events — an overflow crowd for a start against the New York Yankees’ star pitcher, Dave Righetti.

>The son of an assistant school principal, Fidrych played baseball at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, where the varsity baseball field was named in his honor, and at Worcester Academy. Fidrych lived with his wife, Ann, whom he married in 1986, and daughter Jessica on a 107-acre farm in Northborough.

>Fidrych's life was cut tragically short on April 13, 2009, by a freak accident while working on his 10-wheel dump truck at his home. Ann and Jess started the “Mark Fidrych Foundation” to honor his legacy through charitable giving.

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Gene ZabinskiZabinski was the father of the “10,000 postcards campaign,” which was an enormously successful grassroots effort to woo the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester.

>Conducted with his wife, Donna, and members of the Canal District Alliance, which he headed from 2012-2019, the effort generated boxes and boxes of postcards from the people of Worcester. Filling the PawSox offices at McCoy Stadium, the piles of postcards helped persuade club leaders to choose Worcester from among the 18 cities vying for the team.

>Zabinski's dream came true on July 11, 2019, when he spoke at the groundbreaking of Polar Park. Knowing he didn’t have much time left, he said, poignantly, “I’ve done my part.” It was a touching moment. He passed away five months later, on Nov. 29, at 73, due to heart disease.

>Principal owner and chairman Larry Lucchino said that he imagined his late mother, Rose, admonishing him to, “Go where you are wanted.” Zabinski helped convince Lucchino that the Sox were wanted in Worcester and played a key role in bringing Polar Park to life.

>Growing up near Worcester’s Kelley Square, Zabinski attended St. Mary’s Elementary and High School. A good athlete, he was a member of the 1964 New England High School Basketball champions.

>—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

>This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Meet the four new members of the Worcester Red Sox Hall of Fame