MassGeneral specialist throws out first pitch at Fenway to raise awareness of rare disease research

From left: Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy, pitcher Rich Hill, Dr. David Sweetser, and Hill’s wife, Caitlin.The Hills

Mass General specialist Dr. David Sweetser threw out the first pitch before Sunday’s Red Sox-Dodgers game at Fenway Park to raise awareness for rare and undiagnosed genetic disease research.

Sweetser, chief of medical genetics and metabolism at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, was joined on the field by LA Dodgers pitcher (and former Red Sox pitcher) Rich Hill and his wife, Caitlin, whose son Brooks died five years ago of a rare genetic disorder at two months old.

Sweetser cared for Brooks before he died and diagnosed him with Galloway Mowat Syndrome, a condition that affects only 70 people worldwide. The Hills launched the Field of Genes fundraising initiative in support of rare genetic and undiagnosed disease research at MGHFC.

The money raised for the campaign “will enable Dr. Sweetser and his colleagues to continually dedicate their time and resources to researching these elusive diseases,” according to a press release.MARTHA MERROW