Gatemen News Archives
08/23/09 - Greg Montalbano, 31, Loses Heroic Battle With Cancer
By SCOTT EATON
CARY, NC: Former Wareham Gatemen and Orleans Cardinal pitcher Greg Montalbano (Northeastern), who was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a freshman in college, passed away at the age of 31 in Westborough, Massachusetts. Greg pitched for the Gatemen in 1998 and for Orleans in 1999 before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox that same year.
All while battling testicular cancer, Montalbano was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 1999 while going 5-1 with a 1.29 era to go along with 46 strikeouts as a member of the Cardinals. In 1998 for Wareham, he went 1-1 with a 2.86 era. Greg pitched for the Boston Red Sox organization where he pitched 5 seasons of minor league ball; with stints in Lowell, Sarasota, Portland and Trenton; where he was the Boston Red Sox AA Pitcher of the Year in 2001. After battling his disease and multiple treatments and surgeries, he finished his career in 2006 with the Worcester Tornadoes of the Indepdendent Can-Am League.
Greg was one of four Massachusetts natives on the 1998 Wareham Gatemen and was a college teammate of current MLB star Carlos Pena; also a former Wareham Gatemen. While in Wareham, he stayed with the Gays in Marion, MA. Tom Gay is the current General Manager of the Gatemen and his wife Sheri is the VP of Housing and organizational secretary. Greg developed a strong relationship with the Gays that continued for years after his time with the Gatemen.
After his baseball career, Greg went on to become an engineer for Martell Associates in Ashland. In 2005, Montalbano was inducted into the Northeastern Baseball Hall of Fame. Montalbano is the all-time leader at Northeastern in strikeouts with 217 and shutouts (5). He is also tied for 4th on the Northeastern University all-time list in saves (5), is third in wins (19), third in ERA (2.55) and is the only pitcher in Northeastern baseball history to post more than two shutouts in any one season (4).
He leaves his parents, Sharon and Andrew of Westborough, his sister Kristen, his grandmother, Lorraine Sowa of Westborough; and his girlfriend, Dana Hotchkiss of South Boston.
