‘It’s Really Special’: Boston College Baseball Players, Coach Reflect on Pete Frates' Impact

When Boston College took the field at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon, the team was representing more than just a baseball program.

The Eagles were playing for Pete Frates, a former Birdball captain and BC alum (‘07), who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and passed away in 2019 at the age of 34 after a seven year battle with the disease.

Frates was also a massive part of the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014 which made national headlines and raised $220 million for ALS research.

Boston College has been holding an ALS Awareness Game each year since 2012. Saturday’s contest marked the 14th annual game where ticket proceeds benefit the Pete Frates Foundation.

After the game, which Boston College won 8-7 over Virginia Tech, players and head coach Todd Interdonato spoke on the impact Frates has had on the program and what it means to represent him in this spotlight.

“It's really special,” said Boston College catcher Gunnar Johnson. “I mean, the whole Pete Frates and just being accustomed to Boston College baseball. When I got here last year, it was amazing seeing the Brotherhood that is built around Pete Frates and the Pete Frates Foundation, the fight for ALS. And so today especially, I just wanted to go out and play for something bigger than me. Anthony [Baldino] came and talked to us, and it was just great hearing his experiences. And if he can get through that battle, like I can get through a game. And it's just [an] awesome feeling to be able to do that for the school and this university.”

Eagles right fielder Jack Toomey shared the same sentiment, noting the feeling of playing for something good.

“Absolutely,” said Toomey. “I mean, everyone does a great job of kind of passing on the story, to let us know how important his message is and what he did for ALS, our program, and literally everything to show the right way to play, the right way to be a great person. And we had Anthony, who’s suffering from ALS, come in on, I believe Thursday, and he explained his story and it really hit hard. So it just felt a lot different out here today, playing for a really good reason.”

Interdonato emphasized the importance of remembering why the team plays this game each year at Fenway and not forgetting the reason behind the moment.

“I gave the same speech on the bus before we got out,” said Interdonato. “And we do talk about how special it is to be here. This is a, and I said it, you will remember this experience for the rest of your life. And it's okay for it to be really cool to walk into Fenway, right? Like, guys get to play in Fenway, especially a guy like Nick Wang, fifth year, local kid, right? Toomey, same thing. It is really special to be in here. And those guys need to appreciate it. But they also need to understand [at] the forefront of their mind why they're in here. And the reason they're in here is because when Pete was given a death sentence, the same day he decided that he wasn't gonna salt, he was gonna make it better for the next guy, which is a mantra in our program. And then he took this thing head on. So I want them to appreciate how cool it is to be in here, but I also want them to understand why they're in here. And if he doesn't make that decision, as fierce of a competitor as he is, if he doesn't make that decision, our guys don't get this cool experience.”

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