Former Saugus Little League World Series hero Dario Pizzano to host MS charity event next month at Fenway Park

With the Minnesota Twins in town, MS4MS will take center stage at the Sept. 21 Red Sox game

 By Joe McConnell

Dario Pizzano is coming home, sort of. The 2003 Saugus American Little League Williamsport all-star, who, along with his teammates, came into national prominence when they marched together as one all the way to the United States Championship Game at Lamade Stadium against East Boynton Beach, Fla. As it turned out, they were the last Massachusetts team to do so, now going on 21 years.

Since those Little League glory days, Pizzano went on to attend Malden Catholic and Division 1 Columbia University, which led to him being picked by the Seattle Mariners in the 2012 MLB Draft. He spent the next 10 years as a player in the Mariners and New York Mets organizations, before retiring last year. Also in 2023, he was inducted into the Columbia University Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Saugus native is currently working for JP Morgan in Manhattan, and is living in Hoboken, N.J. But baseball remains in his blood. While in the minor leagues, he helped established the MS4MS (Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis) charity, a cause that’s close to his heart, because his mom, Tracie, has been living with MS since 1998. It now brings him back to the Boston area next month for the second annual #spreadingORANGE MS4MS charity event of which Dario is its director. It will be held at Fenway Park on Saturday, Sept. 21 in conjunction with the Red Sox game that day against the Minnesota Twins.

“Two of my college teammates – Mark Heil and Harrison Slutsky – work in the Red Sox front office, so they made the intros and connections to the right people to get this thing going,” said Pizzano. “We have a live link (https://ms4ms.org/spreadingorange-day-at-fenway-park-2024/) to buy tickets for the section next to the Sam Adams lounge, and are hoping to get 300-plus attendees to go there this year.

“We raise the most money through corporate sponsorships,” added Pizzano, “and at this year’s event we are also partnering with another charity – Morgan’s Message. Morgan’s Message is an organization that helps advocate and raise funds for those struggling to adjust to normal life after their athletic careers are over.”

Dario mentioned that Pete Maki, the Twins pitching coach, is also helping out with the on-field batting practice passes for sponsors and those who are battling MS, before the Sept. 21 game. Maki was the Columbia pitching coach, when Pizzano was a Lion.

Danielle Stein, another MS Warrior ambassador, who is in sports broadcasting after serving an internship with the Red Sox, is working on getting the organizers to appear on the NESN broadcast during the game to further promote the charity.

For the game, the Red Sox are providing custom-made caps, with an orange “B” Red Sox logo and the charity’s emblem embroidered on the back of it. Pizzano hopes this year’s Fenway charity event raises between $40,000 to $50,000 for MS.

For more information on the charity, go to the MS4MS website at https://ms4ms.org.