by: Kevin Saleeba, Chamber Correspondent

Bravehearts starter Brady Stuart proved to be the best pitcher in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) in 2024. After finishing with a 0.81 ERA and 54 strikeouts, which included a 26-inning scoreless streak to start last season, the Hudson native was selected as the league’s Pitcher of the Year.

However, in 2025, Stuart may find himself showcasing his talent from the Polar Park mound this summer. The Worcester Red Sox and the Worcester Bravehearts recently announced that they will jointly host the FCBL All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 22.

“We are extremely excited for the City of Worcester to be the host of the 2025 Futures League All Star Game,” said Bravehearts President, Matt Vaccaro.

“This jewel event will bring new families to Polar Park, to the Canal District, and to Worcester,” said WooSox President Dr. Charles A. Steinberg. “It’s a major milestone.”

The Bravehearts last hosted the All-Star Game in 2016 at Fitton Field. At the time, the event drew a record crowd of 4,319. This will also be the first Futures League All-Star game to ever be played in an active Minor League stadium. The Polar Park event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.  Gates open at 3 p.m. for a seven-inning American Legion Baseball game featuring the Shrewsbury Quaranta Post 397 at 4 p.m.

“The entire league is excited to showcase our best players at Polar Park this summer,” said Futures League Commissioner, Joe Paolucci. “We intend to bring a great fan experience to this first-class facility and show the Worcester community what we are all about.”

The WooSox and the Bravehearts, both Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce members, established their partnership a year ago to promote Diamond Sports and collaborate on goodwill initiatives throughout the Worcester community. The WooSox introduced the 2024 Bravehearts on the field at Polar Park on May 24, 2024, the eve of the Bravehearts’ Opening Day game.  Since then, Bravehearts players and officials participated in several WooSox youth clinics and other baseball related events. Throughout the offseason, the clubs’ Community Relations departments collaborated at several community events, such as a turkey distribution event organized by the City of Worcester in November.

“We are grateful for the development of our partnership with the WooSox, and community events like this are what we envisioned from the beginning. This game will shine a spotlight on the teams, players, and staff members from across the Futures League”

The All-Star Festivities begin the night before, Monday, July 21, with a Home Run Derby at Worcester’s historic Fitton Field at the College of the Holy Cross, where “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived,” Ted Williams, blasted his first home run in New England as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Notable alumni include Jeremy Peña, the Most Valuable Player of the 2022 World Series, who starred for the former Torrington Titans of the Futures League in 2015.  The Rhode Island native grew up attending Pawtucket Red Sox games at McCoy Stadium before being drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Houston.

Former WooSox catcher Mickey Gasper, who batted .367 in 169 at-bats in 2024, was named the Futures League Most Valuable Player as a member of the Nashua Silver Knights in 2016.  That summer, Gasper set league-wide career records in batting average (.421), on-base percentage (.532), slugging percentage (.726), and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.257).

“The City of Worcester is a community rich with baseball history, from serving as the home of the Worcester Worcesters of the 1880s to Ted Williams hitting his first home run for the Boston Red Sox at Fitton Field,” said Worcester Mayor Joe Petty.  “I look forward to welcoming some of the nation’s best collegiate baseball players to the Heart of the Commonwealth and watching them play at Polar Park, a year-round civic space utilized in winter or summer, while the WooSox are home or on the road.”

Tickets go on sale today at polarpark.com/futuresleague.  Fans can purchase Home Run Derby tickets for $15 apiece, or a package to both the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game for $20.  Fans are welcome to fill Polar Park’s seating bowl on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Futures League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising seven teams in New England: the Brockton Rox, Westfield Starfires, and Worcester Bravehearts, all located in Massachusetts; the New Britain Bees and Norwich Sea Unicorns of Connecticut; the Nashua Silver Knights of New Hampshire; and the Vermont Lake Monsters. The rain date for the Futures League All-Star Game is Wednesday, July 23, at Polar Park.

“A highlight of 2024 has been creating this new relationship with the Bravehearts and the Vaccaro family,” said Steinberg. “From our announcement in the clubhouse in February to welcoming the players to Polar Park in May to conducting community clinics in July to their support of our WooSox Foundation Honors Gala in December, we have begun a collaboration filled with promise … “The honor of hosting the All-Star Game takes our partnership with the Bravehearts to a new and inspiring level. We thank the Vaccaros for their commitment to community baseball.”

As for Stuart in the meantime, he will be playing baseball as a junior for Endicott College this spring. In 32 games (8 starts) in two seasons, he has 10-2 record with 90 strikeouts, averaging 10 K’s per 9 innings, and 3.24 ERA. To learn more about Stuart’s baseball career, read the Sports Street article titled, “Bravehearts’ Stuart Dominating the FCBL this Summer,” located in the August 2024 edition of Chamber Exchange: the Newspaper.