Game starts at 7 p.m.
by Sarah E. Friend
A collection of the New England’s most promising young baseball players will compete Aug. 24 in the 13th Annual Bank of America Old Time Baseball Game at St. Peter’s Field.
Although the game is free and open to the public, the proceeds from donations, raffles and program sales will benefit the New Hampshire-based C2 Mission, an organization created to benefit children and families by cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy, said Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley, who founded the game and fronts for its army of volunteers.
"Perhaps the most special thing about the evening's magic is that it isn't just fun. The game is just as impressive in raising sums of money for worthy charities,” said State Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios, D, Cambridge, who was once Buckley’s neighbor on Amory Street.
“Steve Buckley has done a remarkable job keeping this going," Barrios said.
“It's an event that makes Cambridge feel more like a small town than a big city as you relax with families and friends on a gorgeous summer night,” City Councilor Brian J. Murphy, who last year watched the game with Barrios.
Residents of Cambridge have demonstrated tremendous generosity and support for the game through the years, which raises money for a different charity each year, Buckley said.
Past organizations include the Lupus Foundation, the Heather Fund, and Rosie’s Place, he said.
None of the 45 players, who hail from mostly colleges and amateur leagues, can be signed to a professional contract, but 25 past players have gone on to play in the minor and major leagues, said Benjamin A. Weiss, who manages the game’s players.
The majority of the players are a mix of recruits and those who contacted him, he said.
The most famous alumnus of the game is Haverhill native Carlos Pena, who has five years in the majors and is now awaiting call-up from the New York Yankees AAA club, the Columbus Clippers.
Weiss said he takes special care when he assembles the rosters. “We look for skill players who also understand that the reason this game exists is for charity.”
“It’s not about players who work baseball, it about players who really love it,” said Buckley.
Every year, there is a strong contingent from local baseball programs, he said.
This year’s roster includes Cambridge’s Tim Dunphy, the ace pitcher on the Brandeis University Judges’ staff; Lexington’s Josh Klimkiewicz, a power hitter for the Harvard University Crimson and Everett’s Matt Nuzzo, an infielder for the Brown University Brown Bears and now playing for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cape League. Both Klimkiewicz and Dunphy were named to the 2006 All-New England team.
Buckley said in addition to a showcase of the best young baseball talent, the game features old fashion uniforms, including uniforms from the Negro Leagues.
In 1998, Technical Personal Services donated the $11,000 to purchase the authentic, vintage baseball uniforms. “They’re dazzling, beautiful nostalgic,” Buckley said. “The uniforms are the real stars of the game."
The first Old Time Baseball Game occurred almost by accident, he said.
While hosting his legendary “Quality Hang” radio program on WEEI, during the baseball strike of 1994, Buckley joked that everyone should forget major league baseball, he said.
“We should play our own game instead,” he said to the audience.
Listeners responded to his facetiousness in a furry. Within days, Paul Ryder, the director of city parks, reserved St. Peter’s Field for the game, sponsors stepped forward and hardball baseball-lovers signed up to play, said Buckley.
“I didn’t wake up that day saying that I am going to create this. It literally happened by accident. That’s what s so special about it,” he said.
Although Buckley originally thought that the game would be a one-time occurrence, he received such a positive response from the community that it eventually became an annual event, he said. This year, they expect between 1,200-1,400 spectators.
"Watching the Old Time Baseball Game takes me back to my childhood in a small town in Ohio, before television when going to the park to watch a ball game was it for entertainment and sociability in the summertime,” said Eve Sullivan, a founding director of the Parents Forum and North Cambridge resident.
“At the game I look forward to meeting long- time friends and to people-watching. It's a fun time,” she said.
What time does the game start?
Posted by: | August 24, 2006 at 11:22 AM