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Dario Pizzano is very familiar with Multiple Sclerosis and what it does. His mom, Tracie, has lived with the autoimmune disorder since 1998.
The Mass. native, who is director of fundraising for MS4MS (Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis), has been dedicating his time to boosting funds and awareness in order to find a cure for MS. He joined the charity in 2019, while with the New York Mets organization, because of his close family connection to the disease.
“I had envisioned myself advocating for this cause and leveraging my platform in any way I could to give back to my mom, who has always put our family first,” Pizzano said.
“We host in-person and virtual fundraising events all over the country, with our team growing to over 30 ambassadors. We have raised over $1.5-million for MS in the last three years alone,” the Saugus native added. “Our beneficiaries are the Johns Hopkins MS Research Center in Baltimore and UCLA Health in LA. A portion of our proceeds also go directly to MS Warriors to help with medical expenses, treatments, wheelchairs and scooters among other necessities for the (afflicted) patients and their families.”
Next month, Dario Pizzano will be coming home to host two local Boston events – the third annual MS4MS Spreading Orange Night at Fenway Park and the first annual MS4MS Spreading Orange golf tournament at the Belmont Country Club.
The Red Sox game is on Saturday night, June 14, against the rival Yankees. It will be televised on Fox, locally on Channel 25. Fox commentator Ken Rosenthal will be wearing the fundraiser’s orange and white bowtie with its company logo on it to bring attention to his “Bowtie for a Cause” campaign.
After the game, the Cask ’n’ Flagon is hosting a party that includes food, drink and raffle items. Announcer Tom Caron will be talking about these events on NESN the night before the Fenway fundraiser on the Sox pregame show.
“Our main event sponsor this year is Wild Sol,” said Pizzano. “Red Sox all-star third baseman Alex Bregman and his wife Reagan are the company’s co-founders, and we have partnered with them on this year’s project,” said Pizzano.
“One of our newest ambassadors is Gus Quattlebaum, vice president of Pro Scouting with the Red Sox. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago and wanted to get involved with the cause heavily,” he continued. “So far, he has raised over $100,000 for the golf event, which is being held on Monday, June 16, in Belmont. They will be many athletes and sports executives participating in the golf tournament, including Eliot Wolf and Christian Barmore of the New England Patriots, former Red Sox Hall of Fame great and NESN announcer Jim Rice, Bruins’ defenseman Charlie McEvoy and Caron. We’re still waiting for confirmations from Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Sox legend and Hall of Famer David Ortiz.”
MS4MS will also be hosting the third annual Spreading Orange Day at PNC Park, before a Pittsburgh Pirates game on June 8, as well as the second annual Yankees’ MS Night at Yankee Stadium on June 3.
“Since the Red Sox are playing the Yankees on June 14 at Fenway, we expect an enormous and rowdy crowd,” Pizzano said. “We secured 350 tickets, 275 of which have already been purchased for that game. There’s still time to get a ticket and join us to support this amazing cause that I am very passionate about. If we sellout before you’re able to purchase a ticket, that’s OK, because you can still join us at the Cask ‘n’ Flagon for the postgame event, or just make a separate donation to our fundraising link.”
How do I know him?
If Pizzano’s name might seem familiar that’s because baseball fans throughout the state, as well as all of New England might remember how he and his 2003 Saugus American Little League all-star teammates represented the Bay State at the World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
They watched these Boys of Summer advance throughout the tournament to earn the opportunity to take on East Boynton Beach, Fla. in the United States Championship Game.
As it turned out, they were the last Massachusetts team to make it that far.
Once the bright lights were turned off, Pizzano continued to play the game he loves at a high level. He starred at Malden Catholic, which led him to a Hall of Fame college baseball career at Columbia University, and a 15th round selection in the 2012 MLB (Major League Baseball) Draft by the Seattle Mariners.
He toiled for the next decade as a minor league player in the Mariners and Mets organizations, while also getting invites to Major League spring training camps. He also participated in the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy.
Pizzano, who currently lives in New Jersey with his fiancé Samantha Collazo and works at J.P. Morgan on Wall Street, is using all his baseball connections to dedicate his time to raising money for those afflicted with MS.
To buy tickets for the June 14 Red Sox game, check out this link online. If you just want to donate to MS, this link will get you there to make a contribution.
