The John Crawford Volunteerism Award
Our first honoree of our 2025 John Crawford Volunteerism award is Barry Stearns. In 2025, Barry embodied John’s spirit of volunteerism.
John Crawford did so much for this team in a such a short period of time. This Ames, Iowa resident put his life on hold to welcome a group of Renegades to his home town and he went above and beyond for our squad. Among just some of the stuff John did for us without ever meeting us included, picking up our water and paint before we got to Iowa, taking a week off from work to help us 8 hours a day in the hot sun (temps were in the high 90’s that week). He was everything we needed and so much more. Heck, after the series, he helped redesign our marketing material and paid to print and ship it to Boston.
John lost a battle with Cancer in 2021 and we wanted to keep his memory alive by reminding everyone of his big heart and kind spirit. John is an Angel in our outfield and we are forever grateful for meeting this amazing man!
Being blown away and coming out of nowhere – that’s what this award is about. We want to celebrate volunteers who blew us away during the season and came out of nowhere to do things we needed and they may not have done before.
Barry Stearns
Barry Stearns joined the Renegades midway through the 2024 season—and it didn’t take long for him to make a splash. In the spring of 2024, thanks to a connection from Dean Thomas, the Renegades were invited to do a blind softball demonstration for about 15 players from Dean’s league. Barry jumped in with both feet, volunteering almost immediately to run the bases and play defense while wearing a blindfold. Barry was hooked by the end of the event. This Waltham resident and flight attendant was excited, inspired, and eager to learn more about the Renegades—and before long, he became an essential part of the team.
After getting his feet wet in all aspects of the game as a coach during the 2024 season, Barry was ready to take things to the next level in 2025. His impact began before the season even started. Barry took on his first off-season mission: securing donated field paint. He personally wrote letters, built connections, and worked with Home Depot to secure a donation of 20 cans of field paint—enough to carry the team through all of 2025 and half of 2026! This incredible effort saved the team $180 and countless hours of work.
Head Coach Rob Weissman shared his appreciation, saying:
“Barry, not only did you help the team and save us money—you helped me personally. You saved me hours by handling everything from writing letters to making connections to picking up the paint and delivering it. With everything I have on my plate, I truly appreciate you seeing this through from start to finish!”
Barry was just getting started!
Jones Partnership Fund
Bryan Grillo, Shayne Cantan April Rosario, the Director of Faith Formation at First Parish. and Barry Represent the Renegades at an event with the First Parish
During the winter, Barry approached the team with another exciting opportunity: a grant through the Jones Partnership Fund, which was connected to his parish. The grant required a parish member to serve as a sponsor, and Barry jumped at the chance. He worked closely with the coaching staff to develop a budget and plan, edited drafts to align with both the Renegades’ mission and the fund’s goals, and guided the process from start to finish. The result? The Renegades won the grant, covering vans, gas, and tolls for the team’s trip to Philadelphia!
This marked the first time since the 2007 season that an assistant coach helped secure a grant for the team—a huge milestone and an even bigger blessing. The funding lowered travel costs for every player. Rookie David Marcano, who joined the team in March, shared how meaningful the support was:
“My first road trip experience was only possible because a grant helped keep my costs down and made the trip to Philadelphia achievable. Because of that help, I was able to compete, grow, and show that blindness does not stop young athletes like me from pursuing our dreams and performing at a high level.”
With momentum building, Barry had another idea: hosting a game against his parish to showcase ability within disability. Working side by side with Mo Hussein
Barry Delivers a pitch to a member of his Parish
and Rob Weissman, Barry helped organize a spring matchup at Brandeis University. Once again, he went above and beyond—scouting fields around Waltham, securing a donated golf mat to protect the Brandeis turf, organizing food and water, recruiting parish members to play, and even pitching and captaining the sighted team against the Renegades.
This game was especially meaningful, as it marked the first game action for three rookies. Marcano reflected:
“Playing that game at Brandeis meant everything to me. It was my first real game action, my first official outing, and it showed me that there are no limits for us in sport.”
Playing his Softball organization
Barry continued flying high with his off-field contributions by organizing another game—this time against his own softball league. Partnering with Lara Sif Palsdottir and Rob Weissman, Barry recruited about 15 league members, handled all the marketing, and once again took the mound to pitch for the sighted team. The Renegades came out on top, but everyone walked away with a deeper appreciation for the sport. The impact lasted well beyond the final out: two players from that game, Tom Regan and Gary Zeller, signed on to coach with the Renegades for the 2026 season! Melisa Hoyt has this to say,
“Barry brings so much to our team. From the moment he came to his first practice he has been all in! As a player I have pride in our team and love when we bring new people on. When we played his team and I had a chance to interact with a few of his teammates it was fun to hear their enthusiasm for what they were trying out and also their enthusiasm and appreciation for Barry, they too know he is the man! I so appreciate the effort and time he took in getting that game for us and for all that he has done for us to date. Volunteers are the lifeline of the team and the passion and energy Barry brings truly inspires me and I’m sure others.”
Barry gets us Media Attention!
That game even led to more exposure when Barry’s teammate, Dave Hornfischer, invited the Renegades onto his local access TV show Fan to Fan in Framingham. Coach Rob Weissman and Tyler Mireault appeared on the program to talk about the sport and grow the fan base. It went on to become one of the most popular episodes of the show in the past four years—thanks in no small part to the passionate Renegades community. The video can be seen here:
Tyler Mireault has this to say about the experience,
“I was happy to take part in Fan to Fan this fall largely thanks to Barry and his connection. Along with Coach Rob, I was able to spend time talking about the sport of beep baseball and my experience in a talk show setting for Framingham public broadcasting. Barry’s connection with Dave Hornfischer through their softball league helped provide a great opportunity to create exposure for our team and the sport of beep baseball. I am extremely grateful for the experience and I’m thankful for all the ways Barry has contributed to our team.”
On the field with Barry Stearns
And while Barry’s off-field contributions were tremendous, his on-field impact was just as impressive. In 2025, Barry supported every aspect of practice—catching batting practice, coaching hitting and base running, hitting fungoes, coaching defense, and learning the basics of defensive calling. He also was honored, often during the Renegades’ new end-of-practice tradition: shout-outs. These moments of positivity recognized effort, leadership, and teamwork—and Barry led the entire team in shout-outs during the 2025 season. Luis Rodriguez has this to say,
“Barry was an exceptional coach and mentor during our 2025 season. He made our batting practices a challenge while also keeping them fun. He would entertain us with his anecdotes of flying all over the world and playing on his own softball team, while using his experience to improve our skills. Barry’s ability to impart his years of knowledge as a softball player himself is incredible. He has a talent for making the techniques/skills he is imparting easy to follow and understand. Barry is an outstanding coach and role model, who has had a significant impact on our team, which we will be forever grateful for!”
In every way possible, Barry Stearns embodied what it means to be a Renegade—bringing energy, heart, and a whole lot of joy both on and off the field. ⚾💙
Past Award Winners
2025 marks the 4th year of these awards. To learn more about the contributions of our other amazing volunteers, please check out the links below:
- 2024 Award winners
- 2023 Award Winners
- 2022 was the inaugural season for this award.