By Sean Ryan
CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder
We live in a world of Mount Rushmores and GOATs. We feed off the instant consumption of news where we want it, when we want it. And hyperbole runs deep. After all, it creates conversation, conflict and confusion.
All too often, we throw out praise or criticism like what we’re describing has never happened in the history of sports. Or politics. Or music. Or TV. At least since last week.
Much of the time, these days, it’s just noise. This Mount Rushmore will be replaced by that Mount Rushmore. That GOAT will be replaced by another GOAT by the time the New Year rolls along. Sometimes, we agree. Sometimes we yell at the TV or radio, or better yet, profess our supreme knowledge on Twitter or Facebook.
We’re all guilty of it.
Not today, though.
No, today the praise, passion and love are genuine. The tears are real. Exaggerations are not needed.
Simply put, Pete Frates is an inspiration. He’s a hero. He’s a warrior. He’s hope and courage and love. He’s everything you think he is.
Eight years after he was diagnosed with ALS, Frates passed away at the age of 34, just a few weeks away from his 35th birthday. The former Boston College outfielder and captain was dealt among the worst hands imaginable and essentially looked the dreadful disease in the eye and said “I’m all in.”
What happened over those eight years is nothing short of heroic. Frates, backed by the incredible support of his incredible family, helped prove, maybe for the first time, that the unbeatable ALS is vulnerable.
His leading role in the worldwide sensation that was the “Ice Bucket Challenge” helped raise more than $200 million and fuel research advances and interest in the disease that previously had been slow to come by. His passion and devotion to beat ALS attracted the attention of celebrities and athletes from all over the world. His upbeat outlook on life – and all things Boston – served as motivation and inspiration to millions. How on earth can you feel sorry for yourself when this guy is pushing and pushing and pushing each and every day to beat ALS?
Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be a sunset over the ocean or the stars on a crisp, cool night. It can be the words of a leader. Or an athlete. Or a writer. Or a teacher. It can be your parents, who worked long hours but never seemed to miss your baseball game or dance recital.
Pete Frates is inspiration personified.
He moved millions to act. Not only with a bucket if ice water, but also with their minds and ultimately their money.
For me, he made ALS less scary and more conversational. He made me believe a cure no longer is just a dream. He proved you can love life – as a father, husband, sibling, son and friend – even during the darkest of days.
He made me want to be better. And I know I’m not the only one.
Author’s Note: Pete Frates was chosen as one of the recipients of the CollegeBaseballInsider.com’s 2013 Tom Walter College Baseball Inspiration Award. At the suggestion of Walter, the coach at Wake Forest University, and the approval of the Frates family, CBI renamed the award the Tom Walter/Pete Frates College Baseball Inspiration Award in 2015. I was honored to play a role in developing “Band Together to Strike Out ALS,” an initiative where baseball teams from across the world wore wrist bands to raise awareness of ALS.