21st Annual Oldtime Baseball Game to be held Monday, August 25th in honor of ALS fighter Pete Frates

(MEDIA DAY TO BE HELD MONDAY, AUGUST 18 – Information on Media Day below)

Pete Frates, who has emerged as a national spokesman for the fight to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Diease), will be honored at the 21st annual Oldtime Baseball Game, to be played on Monday, August 25, at 7 p.m. at beautiful St. Peter’s Field on Sherman Street in North Cambridge.

Frates, a native of Beverly, Mass., and a former Boston College baseball captain, was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. Later that year he made a dramatic appearance in the Oldtime Baseball Game, playing first base for one pitch.

To help Pete Frates fight ALS, this year’s Oldtime Baseball Game is being played a dual fundraiser for the ALS Therapy Development Institute of Cambridge and the Pete Frates #3 Fund.

In addition, Frates will also become the fifth recipient of the Greg Montalbano Award. Montalbano, a former Red Sox minor-league pitcher who was only 31 when he died of cancer in 2009, played in the Oldtime Baseball Game in 1997 and ’98. The award is presented to a former Oldtime Baseball Game participant who best exemplifies Montalbano’s spirit, competitiveness and good nature.

The Montalbano family is thrilled that the award is being presented to Pete Frates.

“We were at the game two years ago, and it was magnificent that despite this disease he had the determination and strength to get out there and play first base,” said Sharon Montalbano, mother of Greg Montalbano. “If Pete Frates ever met my son I know they would share stories and they would share humor.”

The home team in this year’s Oldtime Baseball Game will be largely made up of Frates’ former friends and teammates from Boston College and St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Mass. The cast includes current Boston College baseball coach Mike Gambino as well as former St. John’s Prep standout Matt Antonelli, who in 2008 played in the big leagues with the San Diego Padres.

WEEI talk-show host Lou Merloni, who played nine seasons in the big leagues, including six seasons with his hometown Boston Red Sox, will once again come out of retirement to play in this year’s Oldtime Baseball Game.

The ALS Therapy Development Institute is the world’s largest ALS-dedicated drug development organization. With 30 full-time industry-trained, drug development experts on staff, the nonprofit institute screens more than 25 compounds a year and has screened more than 300 compounds since its inception in 1999.

The Pete Frates #3 Fund helps with Frates’ medical care and expenses, in addition to supporting him as he and his “Team Frate Train” carry on his mission of finding treatments – and a cure — for ALS.

The Oldtime Baseball Game is a celebration of our national pastime. From its humble beginnings in 1994, the game has grown considerably over the years yet has remained loyal to its mission of offering a glimpse of what it was like in the old days, when hundreds of fans would turn out to root for their “town” team in various local semipro leagues.

What makes the Oldtime Baseball Game so special is its dazzling collection of flannel uniforms that represent virtually every era in baseball history. Used just once a year for the Oldtime Baseball Game, the uniforms represent such long-ago teams as the Boston Braves, St. Louis Browns, Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs.

This year, a new uniform representing the famed early 20th century barnstorming team “House of David” is being added to the Oldtime Baseball Game. “House of David” players were known for the long beards they wore, and to honor this tradition Babson College pitcher Nick Ahearn of Norfolk, Mass., has volunteered to wear the uniform – and grow a beard. A reproduction of the uniform was donated by Abbot Financial Management of North Andover, a longtime sponsor of the Oldtime Baseball Game.

Although the Oldtime Baseball Game includes players from schools throughout the Boston area and beyond, more than 40 past participants have gone on to play professionally. Three former participants in the game – Carlos Pena, Chris Lambert and Nate Freiman – have gone on to play in the big leagues.

Admission to the Oldtime Baseball Game is free. Fans are asked to bring a beach blanket or chair and to camp out along the foul lines, as it is the crowd that makes the game so electric.

The rain date for the Oldtime Baseball Game is Tuesday, August 26th, also at 7 p.m.

For more information about the Oldtime Baseball Game, visit oldtimebaseball.com.

INFORMATION ON MEDIA DAY

Media Day for the 21st Annual Oldtime Baseball Game will be held, rain or shine, on Monday, August 18, at 2 p.m. at St. Peter’s Field on Sherman Street in North Cambridge.

Most of the players selected to participate in this year’s game will be in attendance at Media Day, wearing their throwback uniforms.

All participants in the Oldtime Baseball Game who attend Media Day will be available for interviews and photographs. Peter Frates will be in attendance for Media Day.

DIRECTIONS TO ST. PETER’S FIELD

St. Peter’s Field is located at 59 Sherman Street in North Cambridge, not far from the Fresh Pond Traffic Circle. From Route 128, take Exit 29A, picking up Route 2 East. Continue on Route 2 about 6.3 miles, to Route 16 East, being sure to bear left at the fork, following the “Arlington-Medford next left” sign. Follow to Massachusetts Avenue and turn right. Follow to Rindge Avenue and turn right. Follow to Sherman Street and turn left. Follow to St. Peter’s Field, which is on the right.

From Harvard Square, follow Massachusetts Avenue north about one-quarter of a mile, turning left on Linnaean Street. At the end of Linnaean Street, turn right onto Garden Street. Bear right at the firehouse onto Sherman Street and follow to St. Peter’s Field, which is on the left.

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