Sports stats



IL Worcester Red Sox

Beating the Odds: An Ambassador's Journey to Baseball Fueled by WooSox Nation Support

November 8, 2023 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


Reflecting on my last few years, it sure has been a roller coaster. Before the end of last season, Dr. Charles Steinberg came to me and asked me to write my story of how I became part of the mascot team for the Worcester Red Sox. For fans that are reading this to understand how I came to entertain here, they must know a little more about my story.

Hello, my name is Conor Spencer, and I'm from a small town in western New York called Livonia. I have had many challenges in my life. The first one came at me the minute I was born. I have a disability called Cerebral Palsy. This is a group of disorders that can affect a person's ability to move, balance, and motor coordination (definition from the CDC website). This has affected my life, from walking, talking, and doing regular daily tasks. This disability has come with several other challenges I have had to overcome. I had many adaptations in these early years, including walkers, wheelchairs, and leg casts.

My disability included needing one-to-one aids. This was a person who helped me write due to my coordination. Then, one of the most difficult parts of my life, having surgery on my legs when I was in 6th grade. This procedure required me to be in double leg casts for two to three months, then, I was wheelchair-bound for four months. I also needed braces that helped my growing feet and legs to stay straight. The last major challenge is my verbal communication.

Seventh grade is where my sports venture began. I grew up in the middle of nowhere with no siblings and two full-time working parents. Between this and CP, it was challenging for me to find activities for myself to participate in. Then, when I got invited somewhere or just wanted to hang out in the village, I couldn't go because there was no one able to drive me. It wasn't until 7th grade that I found sports. One of my friends was going to join wrestling and I thought to myself, "Oh, that sounds like fun." So, the next day, I went up to the high school to go to an informational meeting, then, sometime during the meeting, I received a phone call from my doctor rejecting my "blue card," which was a form stating I could participate in contact sports. I was devastated. I thought I had finally found something I had a real genuine interest in other than video games. I was excited about this, so this was a big blow.

Over the next few days, I had a meeting with the wrestling coach, and he offered me my first job in sports, which was the assistant coach position that I accepted. The next two years were a good start to my athletic career. It felt like I had structure.

"You are graduating college next year," said Mr. A. This is where my WooSox story begins. This was said to me in the beginning of 2018 back at Monroe Community College. I never thought l could be at this point in my life. I have always struggled with my academics, but I found myself doing well at MCC, so I applied to Johnson & Wales University, where I also wanted to get back into being a mascot. I applied to three schools-one in New York, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Rhode Island. The one I applied to and got accepted to was Johnson & Wales University. I was overjoyed! While looking at this college, I was in contact with the cheer coach from JWU due to my disability, I was nervous about tryouts and fitting in. When she said she'd give me a chance, the next year was challenging, with two major goals. The first one was keeping my grades up and ensuring my academic success at Monroe Community College. The second one was getting in academic shape and finishing strong.

When I started at Johnson & Wales, I had to try out for both positions. After finding out that I achieved the goal, that's when the real work began. It was very exciting to be best friends with Wildcat Willie, helping with fan engagement and entertaining people, and believe me, it's hard work trying to keep up with that cat! After about six months of living the dream of being a collegiate mascot, that's when everything was shaken up. The pandemic happened.

About a month before school, I received a text from my coach, "Team meeting tomorrow." In this meeting, I found out that my coach was leaving the school. My heart sank. I loved having an actual coach to support me in what I was passionate about. So, I felt lost because I have always wanted a structural mascot program and someone to guide me in my mascot journey. Losing my coach scared me because I had no idea what I would return to. One of the possibilities was that I could lose my position at school.

After three weeks of returning to Johnson & Wales, the day finally came when we had a meeting with the Johnson & Wales athletic department. This meeting provided me with the opportunity to oversee our mascot! During this year, my job was to recruit, schedule, and perform at games and events. This took up most of my time at school, and I loved it! When it came time to graduate, I felt lost in stepping into the WooSox.

Throughout my time at JWU, I met Katie Oliver, who at the time worked for the WooSox ticketing office. When getting close to graduation, I wanted to get connected to the mascot program at the WooSox. She forwarded my information to Eric Olafsen, who emailed back immediately to set up a meeting to get to know me. When we met, our conversation lasted way longer than expected because he loved my story. Before we logged off, he invited me out to a game that next week to watch. Even though I was thrilled to come to a game, I wanted to get to work and shadow. I emailed him and asked, "Can I shadow?" Even though I love watching baseball, I love being a part of the experience, and the WooSox have nailed it.

I met up with the WooSox mascot team and loved every minute of it. I have found the next summer home for myself. The next week, I got an email from Chris, my new boss. He told me that he talked to Mike, my now coworker, and the guys liked me. That was pretty much my interview. It took time to process my onboarding. This felt like forever because I was so excited to start and become part of this experience. I finally received the job offer in my email about a week later and accepted!

I am much more than a mascot for the WooSox! I have also started working with the ambassadors when not in suit. I'm SOOO excited to continue to be energized by WooSox Nation.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics



International League Stories from November 8, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central