Baseball writers Peter Gammons and Jeff Horrigan started the Hot Stove Cool Music event 25 years ago. Each year it brings together baseball, specifically Red Sox baseball, with great musicians all to raise money for Theo and Paul Epstein’s charitable organization, a Foundation To Be Named Later.
This year’s event is happening Saturday, April 12, at the Paradise Rock Club. It features someone who’s been involved with Hot Stove for many years, none other than former Red Sox pitcher Lenny DiNardo, a fixture on the 2004 World Series–winning Red Sox team, the team that broke the curse of the Bambino.
DiNardo joined GBH’s Henry Santoro, in the studio to talk about the event. The following interview has been slightly edited for clarity.
Henry Santoro: Great to have you at GBH
Lenny Di Nardo: Well, thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here. And I have been to most of these events. The only time I have missed a few is when I was overseas playing in Taiwan, or still throwing the baseball.
Santoro: You and NESN’s Tom Caron are this year’s MCs of the event. It’s always a great who’s who of performers. This year is no exception. You will get to bring Cheap Trick on stage, and you may even play with them.
DiNardo: I know. I’m a little bit nervous. I don’t know if I’m more nervous about introducing the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers that are Cheap Trick or having to learn a Cheap Trick song, but it’ll be fun either way. We’ll make the most of it because it’s all for a great cause.
Santoro: It’s not only Cheap Trick, who also played the 2014 Hot Stove event. It’s also Greg Hawkes, keyboard player from the Cars, a fixture in the Boston scene, the Hot Stove All-Stars, Bill Janovitz, Kay Hanley, Will Dailey, Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein, Mike Gent and yourself. You were just saying that you pitch lefty, but you play guitar righty.
Lenny Di Nardo: I do. I grew up having a father who played guitar and an older brother who played guitar. My younger brother, in fact, plays guitar as well. And because it was only right-handed guitars around the house, it’s all I could really pick up. And honestly, I only knew one or two chords when I was a teenager.
And then I started picking it up [when I was] in the minor leagues around 21- to 22-years-old. And that’s when I really started to play more. As a baseball player you’re in hotels for most of the time, and you’re broke. And you must do something help pass the time. And there were a few other guys in spring training that were interested in music and learning guitar, so we just bounce chords off each other and took it from there.
Santoro: What kind of music were you guys playing?
Di Nardo: I’ve always been a fan of alternative rock. When I came of age as a young youth I liked Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, these are the bands that really kind of gravitated my way. And my older brother introduced me to the Pixies, the Lemonheads. My dad was, in fact, a Deadhead. My first show was the Grateful Dead in 1985.
Santoro: Can you give us just a little bit of background on the Foundation To Be Named Later, and who benefits by it and so on?
Di Nardo: The Foundation To Be Named Later was founded by Theo and Paul Epstein, twin brothers. This is their baby that they started in 2005, and it benefits a lot of underserved families and youth around the Boston area.
Among them the Peter Gammons College Scholarships. And there’s been 350 to date with a 99% graduation rate. It’s a tremendous thing helping people that just are looking for a little bit of equity in the community, trying to get somewhere where they wouldn’t have the means in any other instance.
Santoro: And it’s raised millions of dollars.
Di Nardo: Absolutely. Eddie Vedder a few years ago played this concert, and I think that he is the record holder as far as the dollar figure goes. Every year we tend to have so much fun. One year, Theo brought the Cubs trophy on stage and crowd-surfed it into the crowd.
Santoro: And we should say that Theo is now back with the Sox organization and the Fenway organization, and Paul Epstein is heavily involved with the Brookline Teen Center and is a counselor at Brookline High. So, they’re really, really rooted in this community.
Di Nardo: They’ve been doing good things for so long.
Santoro: We should say you were on the 2004 Red Sox team, the 2005 and 2006 team. And when you left baseball, you and your wife, you stayed right here in New England.
Di Nardo: Yes, my wife is originally from Narragansett, Rhode Island — I take that back. She was born in Philly but soon moved to Rhode Island, when she was still in diapers. So, her family still has roots in Rhode Island. And we’ve been up there for ten years now.
Santoro: Tell us what it’s like standing on the mound at the best bar in Boston: Fenway Park. I’ve been calling it the best bar in Boston for decades. What’s it like standing on the mound with 30,000 people on their feet cheering you on?
Di Nardo: It’s a feeling that it’s hard to describe, especially at Fenway Park. When you’re standing on the mound, you can reach your right arm behind you, and it almost feels like you can touch the Green Monster. It’s that close.
And it’s a fan base that takes every game in the middle of June against a team in last place — still has a playoff atmosphere. And it’s not like that in other organizations. I played in Oakland, I played in Kansas City, and I was mentioning to you before we went on that I could throw nine innings in Oakland, and I would take the Bay Area Rapid Transit home, and nobody would think anything about it. But I could throw the ninth inning for the Red Sox in a blowout, and people would go get my autograph at leaving the ballpark. And it’s just how it is. Everybody knows they’re Red Sox. They’re in tune. When they lose, they put the forks down. They don’t eat dinner that night. They’re ticked off. And when they win, they’re extremely excited. So, this is what you want to play for.
Santoro: I was at Roger Clemens’ 20 strikeout game.
Di Nardo: That was my guy growing up. Clemens was my guy.
Santoro: And it was a cold night in April. The Celtics were in the playoffs and there was nobody in that ballpark. There were two guys from Australia sitting directly behind me. It was their very first baseball game.
Di Nardo: What a game to be at for your first.
Santoro: But they didn’t see any action! They didn’t see anybody hit the ball and they’re like, “This is horrible.” So, I finally turned around and said, “Look, let me explain something to you guys. You’re seeing magic happen tonight.” And then they eventually got around to realizing that this team was on fire.
Di Nardo: I learned how to pitch by looking at Roger Clemens baseball cards, because my dad and I would go to card shows and shops and find these different cards. I still have the binder of 300 something Roger Clemens cards. And I can go through it, and I can say, “OK, this is what he did at the beginning of the wind up, middle of the wind up, and toward the end of the wind up.” So, I tried to mimic mechanics from looking at his baseball cards.
Santoro: And he had those massive legs too.
Di Nardo: Yeah, he’s a strong individual and he was a hard worker. He was a hard worker.
Santoro: Many baseball players have superstitions. Did you have one?
Di Nardo: Not really, not really, I sometimes I would jump over the white line running to the mound, and sometimes I would step right on it, just to defy everybody that thought something was going on there. You know, I played with guys that would wear the same socks, the same underwear under their uniform, but I always thought it was silly. I’m a little bit silly already being left-handed, and I don’t need any superstitions to make me any more kooky, I should say.
Santoro: Do you get to many Red Sox games?
Di Nardo: I work for NESN, so I do the pregame and post-game at Fenway or in Watertown. I’m usually there maybe 10-12 days a month. I’ll take my family — I’ve got four kids — I’ll take them to a couple games a year as well.
Santoro: As a Red Sox, you wore number 55. Are players aware of who wore their number before them?
Di Nardo: Funny story. When I went to Oakland, I wore 56 my first year. I wanted 55, but Joe Blanton had it and he had been there previously, so I’m not going to ask him, “Can I get that number?” So, I got 56.
And I ended up getting 25 the year after. And I didn’t know it at the time, but I’m wearing the number 25, that would’ve been Mark McGuire’s number in Oakland. I kind of immediately regretted my decision right after that, because you’re talking about one of The Bash Brothers (Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco). I should have gone back to 56 the next day, but it is what it is.
Santoro: But you had 55 in Boston.
Di Nardo: I did.
Santoro: And Jeff Suppan had 55. Red Sox 1995, 1996, and 1997. Chris Martin had it last year.
Di Nardo: There was a catcher, Dusty Brown, took it after me. I have fond memories for some reason of the number 55. Whenever I sign my name at an autograph show, it’s not 56 in Oakland, or 25 ... I always write 55. For some reason, I feel like that’s my number.
Santoro: And you are still involved with the Red Sox Foundation, correct?
Di Nardo: Yes. I’m in their backyard so I am an easy ask. It’s a point of pride for me to out there and help the community any way, shape or form.
Santoro: Thoughts on this year’s team?
Di Nardo: I’m very very optimistic. They won, what, 78, 78 and then 81. They were showing a little bit of life early in mid-season. But then every year the past few years, they’ve faltered. They’ve gotten tired and they’ve failed. And for Red Sox Nation that is not good enough.
But this year there’s tons of optimism. My preseason number — and you can write this down everybody — is going to be 93. I think they are going to win 93 games this year. And if they do, then they are going to be a playoff contender and they’re going to be back.
Santoro: Former Red Sox pitcher Lenny DiNardo, one of the hosts of this year’s Hot Stove Cool music event at The Paradise happening Saturday night, April 12th. It’s the 25th anniversary of the event that features the Hot Stove All-Stars. It features Greg Hawkes from The Cars and headliners Cheap Trick. Lenny, thank you so much for coming in.
Di Nardo: Thanks so much for having me.
