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* 2005's Oldtime Baseball Game ended in dramatic
fashion, with the
Abbot Financial Management Angels rallying for
three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 5
- 4 victory over
Helping Hands of America. The decisive hit was
an RBI double by Cambridge's Danny Nugent, who was
named co-MVP. Nugent, who was
making his Oldtime Baseball Game debut, had been
attending the game since he was a small child, and
had written letters to OBG officials asking to be
selected. He'll be entering his junior year at AIC
in September.
 Josh and Jeremy Papelbon, twin brothers of Red Sox
closer Jonathan Papelbon, each pitched a shutout
inning in 2005's game. Jeremy has since been drafted
by the Chicago Cubs, Josh by the Red Sox.
*
Josh Papelbon is one of three veterans of The Game
to play for the
Lowell
Spinners of the
New York Penn League, joining Greg Montalbano
and Zak Farkes.
*
One of the most thrilling moments in the history of
The Game happened in 2004, when former Red Sox
pitcher
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd pitched four innings. Farkes, himself on his way to be drafted by the Red
Sox, hit a home run off the "Can."
*
Players who have worn the
Ted Williams No. 9 uniform
in the Oldtime Baseball Game have enjoyed a measure
of success that would have made "The Splendid
Splinter" proud: Steve Langone (1998), Todd Korchin
(2000), Damian Constantino (2003) and Farkes (2004)
have emerged as The Game's Most
Valuable Player.
*
Rick Devanna, who played in The Game from 1999 to
2003, worked a total of nine scoreless innings, the
equivalent of a shutout. He was
MVP in '99.
*
Medford's Orazio Azzarello and Haverhill's Alfredo
Nunez share the record for most appearances in The
Game, each playing seven times.
In one of
 The Game's great moments, Azzarello struck
out former New York Yankee (and fellow Medford
native) Mike Pagliarulo in 1998 after serving up a
home rune to "Pags" in 1997.
*
Added to the roster just hours before the first
pitch in 2001, Lexington's Josh Klimkiewicz, still
in high school at the time, emerged as
co-MVP.
*
In 2006 we bid adieu to Cambridge's own Tim Dunphy,
playing in his sixth game.
*
When Dave Martin of Tufts University played in The
Game in 2002, he was assigned the
1927 Philadelphia
Athletics road uniform, which features the famous
"white elephant" on the front. Making the connection
with Tufts, whose athletic teams are known as the
Jumbos, Martin was heard to remark, "We should make
these our road uniforms." Every year since, the
uniform has been worn by a Tufts player, including
Bob Kenny ('04), Jeff Volinski ('05), and Brian
Casey ('06).
*
The Game has featured one father-son combination:
Cambridge's Garrett Tingle ('02 - '03) and his
father, Gary who played in the inaugural game in
1994.
*
Good genes: Steve Moses ('95) is the son of former
Red Sox catcher Jerry Moses, and outfielder Joe
Haywood ('95) is the grandson of Hall of Famer Joe
Cronin.
*
Help from the pressbox: Brian Trupiano ('01 - '05)
is the son of Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Trupiano.
Jeff Krasner ('03, '05) is the son of Providence
Journal baseball writer Steve Krasner. And Sam
Shaughnessy, who made his fourth appearance in 2006,
is the son of Boston Globe sports columnist
Dan
Shaughnessy.
*
Jaime Holway of Cambridge struck out four batters in
one inning in 1995.
*
Chip Ceretanni of Reading served double duty in '94.
In addition to playing in The Game, he also sang the
National Anthem.
*
Matt Brunnig, who is ambidextrous, pitched one
inning right-handed for the home team in 2003, and
then changed uniforms and pitched one inning
left-handed for the road team.
*
Chad Konecky was the first batter in the first
inning of the first Oldtime Baseball Game. He
reached on an error. |
