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Date: 8/29/2023
WORCESTER — When Ludlow native Steve Oliveira steps onto the field at Polar Park — home of the Boston Red Sox triple A minor league team — it’s like he’s stepping onto his own field of dreams.
“If you told me when I was in middle school I would have an opportunity like this, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would have sold my soul for something like this,” said Oliveira, who is vice president of marketing for the Worcester Red Sox, affectionately known as the WooSox.
Oliveira’s career in professional sports marketing began at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where he attended the Isenberg School of Management and majored in sports management. In 2010 during his senior year at UMass, he took a shot at getting to “the show” in the big leagues by applying for a marketing internship with the Red Sox in Boston.
Oliveira interviewed for the position and although he didn’t get it, he made some great connections in upper management — and it wasn’t long before he was offered a minimum-wage, part-time job as a Fenway Ambassador in the Fan Services department.
“It was basically a customer service role where you’re answering phone calls and emails. You’re helping out with pregame ceremonies, that type of deal. But it was my first foot in the door of Major League Baseball,” he said.
Oliveira rose in the ranks, promoted to marketing assistant and then marketing and promotions manager. He was living his dream — working at Fenway Park and rubbing shoulders with his Red Sox heroes, greats such as Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens and Nomar Garciaparra.
While this was going on, the Pawtucket Red Sox were negotiating a deal with the city of Pawtucket to keep the PawSox there. Negotiations broke down over financing a new stadium and in 2018 the PawSox announced they were moving to Worcester. The team was eventually renamed the WooSox.
The Red Sox needed “boots on the ground” in Worcester to help the triple A team transition to the city and in 2019 Oliveira got the call from team management to pitch in — and by opening game in 2021, he had earned the position he holds today. He was in the right place at the right time and knew the right people.
“It’s amazing I’m able to work in sports and spend every day in a ballpark as my job. Every now and then I have to pinch and remind myself how lucky I am to have this opportunity,” he said.
When a game is tied and goes into extra innings, everyone stays late until someone wins.
Every day is like going into extra innings for Oliveira and others who play key positions with the team.
“Working in sports and especially in baseball is great for all the reasons you can imagine. But very often you’re working late, long hours when other people are home watching the game on TV. When the team travels out of town, that’s a good opportunity for us to reset, catch our breath and prep for the next homestand,” said Oliveira.
As a boy in his teens, Oliveira smacked around a wiffl eball with his friends but never aspired to be a major leaguer. He enjoys the charm of minor league baseball and Polar Park — an arena where Boston Red Sox stars play and recover from injuries, and where WooSox stars play and wait for a call to join the big-league team.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran and first basemen Triston Casas played in Worcester before joining the parent club. Now WooSox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela is wooing Red Sox management with his hot glove and bat. Olivera said if Rafaela gets called up to the majors he’ll probably stay there, so the Ludlow native feels lucky to watch him launch his career in Worcester.
“It’s really special to watch Rafaela who is an absolute star in the making. Seeing these guys before they become mega stars is great. It’s cool to see them before that happens — to experience it firsthand,” said Oliveira.
Oliveira treasures two World Series rings he earned by being part of the Red Sox organization when the team won the fall classic in 2013 and 2018. It’s all part of a career he once thought unimaginable but now he’s enjoying the ride—even so, he has no plans to take it beyond Worcester.
“I can’t imagine going back to the major leagues. It’s a very different atmosphere. It’s great, especially when you’re young and putting in those long hours, but here in minor league baseball, I’m able to strike a little bit of a work-life balance. I’m lucky to have lived that experience, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out,” he said.
Oliveira and his wife have two boy ages 5 and 13 years old, with a baby on the way — and that’s enough to keep him living the dream in Ludlow.