Worcester Bravehearts ‘Heart Stove’ Event Draws 350 to Boys and Girls Club

Saturday, January 17, 2015

GoLocal Worcester News Team

On Thursday night, the Worcester Bravehearts Baseball Team hosted their first 'Heart Stove' Reception with 350 guests in attendance at the Worcester Boys and Girls Club. As GoLocal reported in December, the panel discussion featured Hall of Fame Writer Peter Gammons, New York Mets executive J.P. Ricciardi, former Worcester Tornado and current Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Chris Colabello, and 2014 San Francisco Giants 1st round pick Tyler Beede of Auburn.

Charter TV3's Kevin Shea served as moderator of the panel. The discussion focused on each of the panelists experiences growing up in Central Massachusetts, their experiences with Major League Baseball, and their opinions of where they say the game heading in the future.

“The game needs to get back into the cities,” said J.P. Ricciardi, a special assistant to New York Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson and former Boys & Girls Club member himself. He went on to say that
recruiting efforts for the next generation of the game’s great players need to be expanded to include exceptional athletes in urban areas who may not have access to AAU teams and individual lessons that are
so prevalent with adolescent baseball players today.

Colabello said, "The game is becoming so specialized that it tends to overlook great all-around athletes. Nowadays, kids are so focused on baseball at a young age that their time is largely spent going to private hitting or pitching lessons and they don’t have the opportunity to enjoy playing the game with their friends.”

“You need to just be yourself, enjoy what you do, and don’t worry about what other people say about you," Beede told the audience of Boys and Girls Club members.

Following the discussion, 85 children and staff from the Boys and Girls Club were able to take photos with the panelists and get their autographs. At the end of the night, the Bravehearts presented the Boys and Girls Club with a check for $2,500.

Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Ron Hadorn said the donation would cover the cost of a school-year membership to the Club for 100 children.

“We are so grateful to the Bravehearts for hosting the exciting Heart Stove event, which brought baseball fans and greats together; all to support our organization. The Bravehearts provided our Club kids with a unique experience. I think if they were not baseball fans before last night, they are now," said Liz Hamilton, Assistant Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester.

Before the panel discussion began, 97-year-old Eli Freedman of Worcester, the Club's oldest living alum, described himself as "“a very happy 97 year-old alumnus of the old Ionic Ave Boys Club, where, at the age of 5, I handed then Supervisor Dave Armstrong (who later became National Director of the Boys Clubs of America) 25 cents for my yearly ticket."