[2][3] Frates attended his father’s alma mater St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, and was an honor roll student there.
[4] Upon graduating high school, Frates matriculated to Boston College to continue his baseball career, where his parents, John and Nancy, met.
[2][3] Additionally, in a single game against Maryland on April 14, 2007 during his senior year, he went 4-for-6 and recorded eight RBIs, including a grand slam, a three-run home run, and an RBI double.
[10][8] He noticed that his wrist, although not broken, was not healing properly on its own; he said that "it was painful and weak, and it was starting to prevent me from doing things as simple as buttoning my shirt.
[10][5][8] After receiving his diagnosis, Frates said that "it became abundantly clear that my calling was to raise ALS awareness and to fight for a brighter future for all those affected today and those yet to come.
"[8][9] Although Frates did not invent the Ice Bucket Challenge, his ALS activism helped it gain national attention and turn into a viral phenomenon.
[11][12] Participants in the challenge included Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Julian Edelman, Red Sox owner John Henry, Charlie Baker, Marty Walsh, Matt Ryan, David Beckham, Lebron James, Lady Gaga, George W. Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, Ethel Kennedy, and Angela Merkel.
[13][10][16] The discovery also fueled investment in new communication technologies for ALS patients and helped move experimental treatments to clinical trials.
[9][17][18] On October 22, 2014, prior to Game 2 of the World Series, the MLB recognized Frates for his work with a silver ice bucket from Bud Selig.
[9][19] Frates was unable to travel to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City for the ceremony, but his parents and siblings accepted the bucket on his behalf.
[6][14][5] On June 26, 2019, Boston College announced that its new indoor baseball and softball facility, which opened at the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, would be named the "Pete Frates Center.
[8] On March 3, 2015, both Red Sox and Boston College baseball players wore Frates' number three during a spring training scrimmage.
[6][16][13] In December 2018, Casey Affleck and Alison Greenspan agreed to help create a Netflix film about Frates.
[10][8] In 2012, Frates was hired as Boston College's Director of Baseball Operations by head coach Mike Gambino.