Former Red Sox pitcher turns to social media in search of kidney donor

Jeff Plympton, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, is reaching out on social media in search of a kidney donor.handout

Jeff Plympton, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, is reaching out on social media in search of a kidney donor.

Plympton, 57, was diagnosed years ago with polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary condition, and knew it was only a matter of time until he would need a new kidney, he wrote on Facebook in mid-October.

After four months of screening and testing, Plympton said he was placed on the regional transplant list. But the wait can be years, so he turned to social media in hopes of finding someone “willing to test for a match.”

Plympton and his wife, Linda, have lived in Wrentham for 33 years and raised two children. Last month, they became grandparents.

On Facebook, Plympton said he doesn’t shy away from talking about baseball or Wrentham, where he works as the town’s director of recreation and facilities. But asking for a kidney is out of his comfort zone.

“This is not my style, but I will need to let the people know my need for a kidney to avoid dialysis,” he said. “I am a low-key guy that loves spending time with my family.”

He pitched for King Philip Regional High School and the University of Maine at Orono before being drafted by the Red Sox in 1987. He was in the Red Sox system for seven years, pitching for the major league team in 1991.

He later became a pitching coach at Boston College and the head coach at Dean College.

Since 2010, he has owned Plympton Crush Travel Baseball.

“So, through all these years, maybe I have crossed paths with you at some point,” he wrote on Facebook.

Polycystic kidney disease is a condition where clusters of cysts develop in the kidneys. Anyone who is interested in potentially being a match should contact Plympton, one of his family members, or Rhode Island Hospital, where he is receiving care.