Former Red Sox player Brock Holt headlines the action Wednesday at the 31st annual Oldtime Baseball Game in Cambridge.
The game has become a tradition in the community, with college and high school players from across Greater Boston wearing colorful uniforms from nearly every era of the sport. It raises funds for a charity and, as organized by Steve Buckley, a longtime sports columnist for The Athletic, always has its share of celebrities.
Holt, who played for Boston from 2013 to 2019, will suit up in the uniform of the 1920s Chicago American Giants of the old Negro Leagues.
The game once again benefits The Boston Home, a Dorchester nonprofit supporting adults with neurological disorders, primarily multiple sclerosis. This year’s honoree is Gus Quattlebaum, longtime Red Sox vice president of scouting, development and integration, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021.
“It’s really been a very special partnership,” said Victoria Stevens, the Boston Home’s director of communications. “Last year’s game raised over $100,000, but it also just brought us together with a wonderful, caring group of people who became real friends of the organization … we’ve been really grateful to expand our community to include the Oldtime Baseball Game family.”
The Boston Home relies on fundraising to cover key programs and services that Medicaid doesn’t pay for, from customizing wheelchairs technologically to offering creative outlets such as an adaptive watercolor program. These benefits, Stevens said, are “the things that really make life worth living” for residents.
“There’s a lot of money, and rightfully so, put into research and finding a cure, but there needs to be money and effort put into treatment and care and quality of life,” said Aidan Freeburg, a player in the game and Boston Home supporter. “That’s just as important as finding that cure.”
The night carries personal meaning for Freeburg.
“This game is really special for me, particularly because I was diagnosed with MS fairly young. This being the third year with the Boston Home, it’s really reinforcing the partnership,” Freeburg said. “Over the past two years, we’ve raised almost $200,000. The impact is really starting to grow.”
Along with Holt, players include the New England Sports Network’s Jared Carrabis, recipient of the Greg Montalbano Award, and fellow NESN personality Adam Pellerin, Phil Perry of NBCSports Boston and coach Lindsay Berra, granddaughter of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra and former University of North Carolina softball player.
Admission is free, with fans encouraged to bring blankets or chairs to sit along the foul lines. Concessions will be provided by Wahlburgers. Pregame ceremonies start at 7 p.m., with a rain date of Thursday.
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