Dario Pizzano was looking to get involved in a cause and the answer proved to be right under his nose.

Having seen his mother struggle with multiple sclerosis since 1998, the former Malden Catholic baseball star got involved with Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis (MS4MS). The organization, founded by Sam Greenberg more than a decade ago, holds events to spread awareness for MS and raise money for research.

“I’ve always wanted to do something for MS since my mom (Tracie) was diagnosed with it,” said Pizzano, who spent eight years in the minors after a Hall of Fame career at Columbia University. “I knew Sam’s organization was involved in it and we connected right away.”

The news that Pizzano would throw himself full force into such a worthy endeavor came as no surprise to Steve Freker, his high school baseball coach. A member of the state baseball Hall of Fame, Freker saw first hand the type of unselfish person Pizzano was during his days at Malden Catholic.

“Dario being involved with (MS4MS) is very consistent with the person he’s been in the 20 years that I have known him,” said Freker, who is currently the head baseball coach at Malden High. “Even back in his high school days, Dario was always involved in various causes and was advocating for other people. This is great that Dario was able to use his baseball connections for something close to his heart.”

Now the director of fundraising for MS4MS, Pizzano has put his extensive baseball background to good use. One of those events will take place on Sept. 21 prior to the start of the Red Sox-Twins game at Fenway Park, a event being dubbed as #spreadingOrange Day, orange being the color which represents MS awareness.

“The Red Sox have been a huge help with this,” said Pizzano, who works as a client associate for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management in New York City. “They gave us some tickets of which some of the money will go back to MS4MS.”

The fact that Pizzano has been able to juggle a demanding fulltime job along with the charity work comes as no surprise to his mother. Like anyone afflicted with MS, Pizzano says there are good days and bad days.

“I’m very proud of Dario for taking on this role and being so passionate about raising awareness for MS,” Tracie Pizzano said. “Dario has always been the type of kid who went after things. I really could see him doing something like this when his baseball career was over – it speaks volumes to his personality.”

For those interested in the MS4MS event at Fenway Park on Sept. 21 prior to the start of the contest against the Minnesota Twins, tickets can be purchased here: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Ms4msday24.