Boston College Athletics
Frates's Main Focus is Fight Against ALS
June 22, 2012 | Baseball
June 22, 2012
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -Boston College director of baseball operations Pete Frates, a former captain and four-year player for the Eagles, was diganosed with ALS in March 2012. Since then, at the young age of 27, he has tirelessly worked to raise awareness and funds for the disease.
ESPN Boston reporter Brion O'Connor spoke to Frates, his former coaches and BC players to get Frates's perspective on the disease and how it has affected him. Frates has made it his mission to educate others about ALS and help generate more funding for a cure. Here is an excerpt from O'Connor's piece. The entire article can be read here.
...Waiting isn't Frates' style. Once he got the diagnosis, he immediately took up the cause, telling Cudkowicz, "I'm a unique patient; pretty young, big and strong. I told her, 'I'll be your guinea pig. Do whatever you need to do.' "
Family members have set up the Peter Frates No. 3 Fund to help defray medical costs and a website (petefrates.com) that features not only a video blog but also a list of ALS organizations.
"It's everything now. It's my life's work. It's what I believe the big man upstairs has put me here to do," Frates said. "It's a typical clichéd story of a college kid who graduates. I stopped playing baseball and tried to find my lot in life and find out what my passion was. I was in my mid-20s, still trying to find my true calling. It's a tough way to figure it out, but I know what I'm here to do now. "
"That's just been my main focus since this started happening, to be a positive influence for other people who have the disease, be a positive influence for family and friends," he said. "At the end of the day, I want to be the cliché game-changer. I want to be the guy who shifts everyone's thinking and shifts where the funds are going. Selfishly, I want to give myself a chance but also give a lot of other people opportunity as well."
