Welch: Oldtime honor
Annual game will be in memory of late dad
When Johnny Welch received the phone call inviting him to play in this year’s Oldtime Baseball Game, he was a little bit overwhelmed.
Welch previously had played in the annual game that celebrates the sport’s past, but this one will be much more special.
The game — which will take place Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge — will be played as a fundraiser for Compassionate Care ALS and in honor of Welch’s dad, John, the longtime Fenway Park security supervisor who died last December after an inspiring battle against ALS.
It also will include one of Welch’s favorite players. Roger Clemens, who developed a connection with Welch’s dad during his time with the Red Sox, will pitch in the game, and Welch will have a chance to get in the batter’s box against The Rocket.
Welch also played in the Oldtime Baseball Game in 2017, when he had the opportunity to go up against Pedro Martinez, but this takes it to another level for him.
“It was kind of shock,” Welch said of when he learned Clemens would be part of this year’s game. “I got lucky to face Pedro, but to face Roger, it’s wild. I grew up being around the clubhouse with my dad and saw Roger firsthand, and now I get to face him. It’s cool. …
“The connection between the ALS with my dad and Roger with Fenway and my dad at Fenway, it’s this small little world. It’s a wild ride. My dad, that was the guy (Clemens) went to at Fenway and that was one of my favorite players, so it just couldn’t have worked out better. … This is a dream come true.”
Told he would be facing Clemens, Welch knew he had to get to work.
“I just had shoulder surgery back in November, so when I got word, I said I have to get this rehabbed,” Welch said. “I have to get rocking and rolling here. At least swinging. Maybe not in the field, but at least get some ABs in, so it’s really cool.”
Welch’s dad was an Oldtime Baseball Game enthusiast who never missed a game. Every year he would meet his friends at Paddy’s Lunch, a bar in Cambridge, before heading across the street to St. Peter’s Field, where he always took a seat down the left field line.
John was a school teacher in Somerville for 37 years and worked for the Red Sox for 41 years. He was beloved by many for the way he treated others, and his son is more than honored to be able to play this game for him.
“My dad was all about giving back,” Welch said. “If you ever met anyone that bumped into my dad over at Fenway, he would always help you find a seat and move you around. He always took care of everybody before himself. To be the son of that, it’s incredible. There’s people I meet that say, ‘Oh my God, you’re John Welch’s son,’ and I don’t even know who they are. It’s just a really, really cool legacy and I mean, only 60 years on this Earth and he’s touched so many lives, so it’s an honor.”
This will be the third time the Oldtime Baseball Game will be played in honor of someone diagnosed with ALS. The 2013 game was played for former Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates, and in 2017 it was played in honor of NESN videographer John Martin. This year’s game also will feature John West, a rising senior at Shrewsbury High who will attend BC next fall and whose dad, Ken, died of ALS in 2014.
Welch will suit up next Thursday in an old Seventh Army Air Force uniform that was worn by Joe DiMaggio during World War II. He still carries a message from his dad close to his heart, which he most certainly will take with him when onto the field.
“He always told me to have fun,” Welch said. “Whether I was playing, struggling financially, just have fun. It is what it is, have fun. So I’m trying to take that more and more with me. When you’re having a tough day, whatever. Everyone has a tough day. Have fun. And hopefully I can translate that to the rest of my life as I’m getting married, having a family and kids and bring it to my kids some day.”