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IL Worcester Red Sox

"To Think That Today's the Day, It's Pretty Surreal": Behind the Scenes of Marcelo Mayer's Call-Up at Polar Park

June 11, 2025 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


WORCESTER, MA - Shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, Worcester Red Sox Manager Chad Tracy summoned Marcelo Mayer to his office at Polar Park. Murmurs of his call-up had been percolating since the day before when Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman suffered a quad strain. Those around Polar Park were on high alert. The heralded Red Sox prospect had already been informed that he would be missing the first game of that day's WooSox doubleheader.

To Mayer's surprise, Tracy began the meeting by informing him that he would sit for game 2 of the WooSox doubleheader as well. This, however, came with a caveat. "It would be hard to start game 2 here if you're going to be active in Fenway tonight," Tracy told Mayer. Thus, the news was delivered: Marcelo Mayer, the #4 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was headed to the bigs.

After embracing Tracy and WooSox Defensive Coach Iggy Suarez, also present in the meeting, a frenzy ensued outside the office. Teammates mobbed Mayer, congratulating the 22-year-old on his promotion to Boston. Outfielder Roman Anthony, himself knocking on the door of a call-up, gave his buddy a big hug.

As the jubilation inside the clubhouse continued, a different group staked out spots to await Mayer's emergence. "The content team, which consists of me, Ashley Green, and Ryan DeSantis, all took position in the tunnel outside of the WooSox Clubhouse to prepare for Mayer's departure," said Tayla Bolduc, WooSox Coordinator of Digital Media. "We were joined by a handful of media members and other WooSox employees, as well."

Back inside, amidst the celebration, the WooSox Clubhouse staff moved to get Mayer packed up and ready for action in Boston. "We needed to make sure that he got there and he had what he needed to get through that day," said Mario Oliveira, the WooSox' head of Baseball Operations. The essentials for just this one day ended up in the form of three full equipment bags.

Those awaiting Mayer with cameras ready had to wait a little longer before he was completely ready. As it turns out, he couldn't find his car keys. They had been missing for a couple of weeks. He needed some transportation help for the trip down I-90.

To remedy the situation, Assistant Clubhouse Manager Joey Cook offered up his car while fellow clubhouse attendant Dylan Lawrynowicz took the wheel to shuttle Mayer east to Boston.

Finally, Mayer and the clubhouse team stepped into the tunnel with suitcases, gloves, and shopping carts filled with bags and equipment. The convoy rolled toward the parking lot with cameras trained on the highly touted prospect, who made sure to give a fist bump to one of the WooSox' mascots, Clara the Heart of the Commonwealth, on his way out.

"To think that today's the day, it's pretty surreal," Mayer said to the media in the parking lot. A couple minutes later, he loaded up and headed off for Fenway.

The day's excitement at Polar Park didn't end there as the WooSox still had two baseball games to play. Oliveira and the clubhouse team split duties between Mayer's call-up and game preparation to ensure that both went off without interruption. Bolduc and the content team readied the sendoff footage for publication once the move was made official. Then, to cap off the frantic few hours, the WooSox walked off the Durham Bulls in game one of the twin bill.

The following day, video of Mayer's first MLB hit was displayed on the jumbotron at Polar Park during the May 25 game against Durham, within a minute of it happening. Roman Anthony looked on with a beaming smile on his face, emblematic of the rapport between the two. They've been attached at the hip in Worcester and within the organization as a whole, from long hours in the batting cages in Fort Myers to late nights in the WooSox Clubhouse. Their conversations always revolve around the game and how they can get better.

The best friends began playing together in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs in 2023. They were then called up simultaneously to Worcester in August 2024. Red Sox fans hope that Mayer and Anthony will be reunited soon, only this time, carrying on their conversations in Boston. The distance from Polar Park to Fenway Park has never been closer.

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