Piscotty hosts Jim Poole Invitational golf tournament to raise funds for ALS
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MESA, Ariz. -- Mike Piscotty just wants to go fishing.
The day he’s able to sit down with a fishing rod in his hands, overlooking the water, that would mean the fight against ALS is finally over and no one would be left suffering from this horrific disease.
Until then, he won’t rest.
Many in the baseball world are familiar with the Piscotty family’s tie to ALS. His son, Stephen, who is now in the Giants’ organization, partnered with his father in 2019 to start the ALS Cure Project after they lost their wife and mother, Gretchen, to the disease in ’18. On Friday, they brought their work to Superstition Springs Golf Club for the inaugural Jim Poole Invitational to honor former the MLB hurler, who is battling ALS.
“It’s awesome to support a person, right?” Mike Piscotty said. “It’s harder to support a cause without the person, a bit. We’re so thankful that Jim is so courageous to put himself out there. I mean, to do that and show up in public when you've got all that going on and you’re still out there fighting for the cause is tremendously courageous.”
Poole was diagnosed with ALS in June 2021. Since then, he’s become a prominent figure in MLB’s annual Lou Gehrig Day and he joined the board of directors of the ALS Cure Project. In over three years since the organization’s inception, the Piscottys' group has raised more than $1.2 million for ALS research.
Their goal is simple: Get the funds to conduct research to find the ALS disease mechanism and biomarkers that will enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop a cure. The cause of this condition is still unknown.
“You rule out all these different things along the way, hoping you have one of them and when you don’t, you have ALS,” Mike Piscotty said. “There’s no test for it right now, so it’s kind of tough.”
Mike Piscotty is constantly putting together efforts to achieve this goal, which included Friday’s golf outing in Mesa. Nearly 100 golfers signed up to attend the event, including current and former MLB players, front-office personnel and local residents. Even more people signed up to attend the post-round dinner.
“We’ve met so many people today that have known somebody who has ALS,” Mike Piscotty said, “whether it’s these players may have known somebody, or many of these parents have come up and some of them have kids that have it. It’s special.”
Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon was sure to attend to honor his close relationship with Poole. Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson arrived later, before Stephen Piscotty made his appearance. The Major League Baseball Players’ Association sent boxes of autographed memorabilia and the trio of players who came to the outing also brought items that could be auctioned off.
“I’m very excited that this event has turned out so great,” Blackmon said, “and there’s been an incredible amount of support from the community, the Players’ Association, the Players’ Trust. I’ve seen former players, teammates, agents. It’s just great to see this group of people here for a great cause.”
“We’ve had some marvelous sponsors and the support of Major League Baseball has been off the charts,” MIke Piscotty said.
With half of the baseball world posted up in Arizona for Spring Training, it was easy for Cubs play-by-play announcer Jon “Boog” Sciambi to partner with ALS Cure Project. Sciambi is on the board of directors for his charity, Project Main St., which was created by his good friend Tim Sheehy in ’06 after Sheehy was diagnosed with ALS. It helps provide care for those battling the disease.
“To me, partnering is raising awareness,” Sciambi said. “It’s telling as many people as possible, raising money for research, raising money for care. … There are people that are dealing with this and it’s an incurable disease. And it’s kind of hard to imagine that in 2023 we still have incurable diseases.”
The cold, windy weather that’s plagued Arizona since Spring Training got underway disappeared on Friday afternoon, allowing the first Jim Poole Invitational to go off without a hitch.
For now, the plan is to have this event again next year. But the real goal is to not need it.
“You’re hoping to do it again, but our charity is called a ‘project’ for a reason,” Mike Piscotty said. “A project has an end. When we have a cure, the project’s over and Mike goes fishing. So, I hope I go fishing sooner.”
Mandy Bell covers the Guardians for MLB.com. Listen to her on the Ballpark Dimensions podcast with Sarah Langs.