WORCESTER — Ants have infiltrated the Worcester Red Sox clubhouse.
Courtesy of Jamie Westbrook.
The WooSox utilityman received an ant farm from his cousin a few weeks ago for his 29th birthday, and on Thursday, 60 male ants from Canada made a new home in the host locker room at Polar Park.
“This is way out of character for me,” said Westbrook, who grew up with a dog as a pet. “I just thought, I mean, when I saw (my cousin’s) ants, all the tunnels were interesting, and I think it’s kind of been a hit. At least once a day someone is looking at it.
“It’s like team pets is how I like viewing it.”
Westbrook visited his cousins recently when he was introduced to their ant farm. Shortly after, the Holyoke native was gifted an ant farm of his own. The only problem, however, was that Westbrook needed to buy actual ants for his new gift.
But the right-handed hitter — batting .282 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs this season with Worcester — was about to go on a road trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Syracuse, New York.
So he elicited the help of WooSox clubhouse attendant Jill Chelton in the purchasing of ants.
“I was sitting in (the clubhouse), and all I hear is ‘Jill!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, no, I’m in trouble,’” Chelton recalled. “And then he just hands me this ant farm and this sheet of paper, and he's like, ‘Can you please help me with this?’ I was like, ‘Sure.’ So I ordered them from Canada, obviously.”
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With the team on the road, Chelton ordered 60 ants to her own home. When the insects arrived via UPS earlier this week, her mom and sister, who Chelton lives with in Ayer, were less than impressed.
“They were not happy about it,” Chelton said.
As Chelton made her way Thursday to Polar Park for the beginning of a WooSox nine-game homestand, the first-year clubhouse attendant encountered a minor bump in the road — literally, Kelley Square rotary — with the delivery of the inhabited ant farm.
“I was going around the rotary, and I looked over, and (the ant farm) dumped over, and the cap came off. It’s, like, wicked easy to come off,” Chelton said. “Like, the cap came off, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is not real.’
“So I’m searching for ants all around my car. I found four or five of them just running around, and I put them back in, but I think they bite.”
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While Chelton walked into the clubhouse ahead of the WooSox game, NESN reporter Laura Stickells noticed some unusual visitors making their way into the home clubhouse.
Shortly after, Chelton presented Westbrook with his 60 new pets.
“(My) role is to keep the guys happy, and Jamie wants ants to keep him happy,” Chelton said. “So I’ll do it.”
Prior to Worcester’s game Thursday, Westbrook brought the ant farm into a meeting with the team’s hitters. The WooSox proceeded to produce just four hits in a 9-1 loss to Syracuse.
“Probably won’t be there today,” Westbrook said ahead of the WooSox' 4-2 loss Friday. “Maybe they’re pitching ants.”
And maybe there’s a new nickname — perhaps “Ant Man” — for the 29-year-old who already goes by “Barrel Man?”
“No, I like ‘Barrel Man.’ This is more of a team pet deal,” Westbrook said. “Little second-half ants.”
The Worcester Red Sox now have a team pet — well, 60 of them — courtesy of Jamie Westbrook.
“Jamie’s dialed into it,” WooSox player Nick Sogard said.
Said Chelton: “They’re on display for all to see.”
“Plug and play,” Westbrook added. “Just sit back and watch.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
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