Wide-eyed and star-struck, dozens of city kids from the Red Sox Foundation’s RBI League baseball and softball program took their positions at friendly Fenway Park on Sept. 18 for a season-ending showcase sponsored by Nike.
In action during the baseball game, Dorchester’s Dylan Kelly rose from his crouch behind home plate, tore off his catcher’s mask, and fired a rocket to second base as his twin brother Jack was streaking toward the bag. The ball got there first, and Jack was out.
A few innings later, Jack returned the favor. Seeing his brother Dylan break for third base, he rose from behind Fenway’s home plate, tossed his catcher’s gear, and threw a strike to the third basemen, retiring his twin.
“He committed to third and I needed to take the chance, and I got him – threw him out,” said a laughing Jack. “He had stolen second earlier on me, and I didn’t get him…I didn’t want to look like a fool out there on Fenway Park letting my brother steal two times on me. I had to get him once.”
Said Dylan, who is two minutes older than Jack, “I made a good stop and saw him going for second and got a good jump and threw him out. It was the third out of the inning, too.” Retorted Jack, “Hey, I’m not known for taking bags; I’m a catcher.”
The 16-year-old Flavia Street boys said during an interview at the Adams Street Library last week that the experience of playing at Fenway Park and earlier during the summer RBI League season, was life changing. Steeped their entire lives in Red Sox baseball and having had their skills honed by their older sister, Katie, who played ADSL Softball, and their parents, Chris and Erin, the two boys were living a dream.
“It was a big deal, especially being highlighted and interviewed by the Red Sox and the MLB Network,” said Dylan. “We grew up watching so much baseball essentially all our lives. We’ve watched the Red Sox at Fenway and even traveled to see them in other places during the summers.”
Added Jack: “We’ve been to so many games there and never thought we would be able to play on the field – even some AAA and AA minor league players never get that chance – so to be able to play there and being highlighted by the same people that make all these games possible still resonates with me when I think about it.”
The Red Sox Foundation has sponsored the RBI League for many years. It is very active, with dozens of softball and baseball games from May to September at fields all across the city.
But this year they decided to host a ‘Showcase’ of players for baseball and softball games at Fenway – bringing in players for their skill levels, but also those who showed leadership and teamwork.
Players arrived on the afternoon of Sept. 18 to watch the Red Sox play the Oakland A’s, then they were taken behind the scenes for a special dinner and to get their ‘City Connect’ yellow or green uniforms while Foundation Director Bekah Salwasser —a Dorchester resident— welcomed them. Players for softball and baseball were divided into two teams, where former Red Sox players like Brock Holt assisted neighborhood coaches like Ann Walsh and Mike Hegarty. Both games played out with exuberant young players on the field and excited family members and friends watching from the stands.
Aliah Rosa of Dorchester at the plate at Fenway Park on Sept. 18 Red Sox Foundation photo
Jack and Dylan said it was a great finale to their first RBI season. Both started their baseball journey at Savin Hill T-Ball, then moved on to Dorchester Baseball. Lately, they have played for the O’Sullivan brothers in Dorchester’s Babe Ruth League on the top-rated Oregon State Beavers team while attending SJP Neponset and Boston Collegiate, and now Boston Latin School (BLS).
Jack had always been a catcher, he said, and Dylan mostly pitched to him – both enjoying a twin “understanding” that often doesn’t require speaking. That is still the case by and large, but an injury two years ago for Jack brought Dylan behind the plate and now both are making their bones as catchers. Having made the junior varsity team at BLS last spring, they were looking for a high-level summer experience and chose RBI.
With no spots available in Dorchester, they joined the Jamaica Plain Giants and had a great summer meeting and playing with new kids – while being two of the oldest leaders on the ‘Junior League’ (16 and under) team and Dylan getting to jump up a few times to the Senior League team.
“RBI gave us that experience that local leagues didn’t have, having mixed practices with the older players,” said Dylan. “Definitely being able to learn from those who know more and players that have been playing longer was great…When I got to play for the Seniors, it was a whole new level for me. It was the fastest pitching I’ve seen, and I was catching 80 mph pitches.”
Both players credited their father’s coaching with instilling in them the instinct to do anything to help the team, and with being leaders in every capacity, and they believe that is why they were chosen for the Showcase.
“Being on different teams at Fenway was actually really great,” added Dylan. “We usually get put together, so it was nice to play against each other for once.”
Dylan and Jack are now participating in “Fall Ball” for their BLS team, with hopes of making the jump to varsity next spring and following that up with another summer of the RBI League.
See additional photos on next page.
