SAUGUS — Red Sox. Green Monster. Orange night.
Another year, and Saugus native Dario Pizzano keeps swinging for the fences. The former 10-year professional (Seattle Mariners and New York Mets organizations) returns as the Director of Fundraising for a non-profit named MS4MS (Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis).
The organization’s third annual Spreading Orange night is Saturday, June 14 at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox host the Yankees at 7:15 p.m. The event raises awareness and funds in the fight against MS as attendees – with purchased MS4MS tickets – wear orange, enjoy the game, and other fun-filled activities.
“We get insane awareness with everybody wearing orange in sections at a Red Sox-Yankees game on FOX,” said Pizzano, a former Saugus American standout on the 2003 Little League World Series team whose mother, Tracie, has been battling MS since 1998.
With 180 attendees in 2023 and 275 last year, Pizzano and the team have knocked another year out of the park. As of Friday, 280 of 350 MS4MS tickets had already been sold.
“I just want to see this thing keep growing – it’s starting to roll and pick up speed,” Pizzano said.
When asked about the year-long preparation process, Pizzano admitted there were lots of moving parts.
“We get better at planning, we have more ideas, and we see little opportunities we can take advantage of,” he said. “And our ties with the Red Sox get tighter. Tom Caron (NESN sportscaster) had us on the pregame show last year with Jim Rice.”
Gus Quattlebaum, Vice President of Scouting Development and Integration for the Red Sox who was diagnosed with MS, is one of the organization’s newer ambassadors.
“He wanted to really transition into a role and advocate for the cause,” Pizzano said. “Gus has been in pro baseball for 20 years with the Yankees and Red Sox, so once we had Gus on our team, he’s using every connection. The access we have this year is unbelievable and he was able to get the Saturday night Yankees game.”
With the game being broadcast on FOX, and through another Quattlebaum connection, Fox Major League Baseball field reporter Ken Rosenthal will wear an MS4MS bowtie.
“That’s another enormous addition,” Pizzano said. “He’s going to speak about our mission and a little bit about the organization and what we stand for.”
MS4MS relies on corporate sponsors, ticketing, a postgame get-together at Cask ‘N Flagon, raffles, and separate donations. This year, the organization partnered with a salsa company called Wild Sol, which was co-founded by Alex Bregman of the Red Sox, and a tequila company called Flecha Azul, which has Mark Wahlberg as a principal investor.
“Alex Bregman, an All-Star, is on board,” said Pizzano, who will also be teaming up with another Saugus native, content creator and baseball personality Jared Carrabis, to spread the word. “It’s going to be an amazing night.”
But that’s not all.
The following Monday (June 16) is an MS4MS golf outing at Belmont Country Club.
“We’re having our first – and hopefully annual – Spreading Orange golf event,” said Pizzano, a New Jersey resident who works at J.P. Morgan in Manhattan. “For that specific event, and through Gus’ insane work and networking, he’s already raised more than $100,000 for that and we’re a month out. So, this is going to be something that can grow and know no limits.”
Funds raised from the golf outing will support the Johns Hopkins MS Research Center and individuals impacted by MS.
“It’s amazing and so fulfilling. I’m just as passionate about this as I was about being a baseball player,” Pizzano said. “This is something I really care about.”
Fundraising page: https://my.onecause.com/fundraiser/organizations/sf-0013c000021ii5lAAA/fundraisers/fundraiser:e8e65705-addf-4bf5-9c5c-be63b60efee3
Red Sox tickets: https://www.gofevo.com/event/MS4MS2025
Golf outing: https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/sf-0013c000021ii5lAAA/events/vevt:595f6a61-d328-4d9a-9abc-d37f28db7bca/home/story
