WORCESTER, Mass. - As the Worcester Red Sox planned to hold Teacher Appreciation Day for Thursday’s scheduled game against the Durham Bulls, one local teacher arrived at Polar Park for his routine gig as one of the team’s organists.

Dave O’Brien, a music teacher at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School, joined the WooSox’s rotation of organists by chance one day while he was attending a game with a friend.

“I saw a piano and jokingly asked the bartender who was working, ‘Who plays the piano up here?'” O’Brien said.

The bartender suggested O’Brien contact Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester Red Sox. Steinberg, who also plays the organ, ended up giving him a shot.

“I’ve had the real honor to be playing and entertaining folks up here on the piano, and last season they got the organ,” O’Brien said. “I was asked to play after Opening Day and I was kind of shown the ropes.”

Music has always been a part of O’Brien’s life, from his younger days growing up in a house full of instruments and watching his father play, to becoming a full-time music teacher.

Early on, his musical interests were also influenced by a love of sports.

“Growing up, playing sports and being a sports fan, that was really important in my life,” O’Brien said. “Going to a sporting event at Fenway Park or going to the TD Garden to see a hockey game and hearing the sounds of the organ, that really drew me into wanting to do it.”

O’Brien was drawn to the organ partially because of his skills on the piano, but also due to the instrument’s unique array of buttons, switches and pedals.

“I mean, just look at it,” O’Brien said. “It has all these neat lights, and it sounds awesome, you know?”

In the time O’Brien has been lending his talents to Polar Park, he’s grown to love the part-time gig, from the countless renditions of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" for thousands of fans to the fist-bumps he gives friends and coworkers upon his arrival on game day.

While Thursday’s Teacher Appreciation Day game ended up being rained out, the occasion helped put both sides of O’Brien’s life in music into perspective.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be able to do something like this to augment my teaching career,” O’Brien said. “I think those who are non-teachers don't necessarily understand what it takes on a daily basis to be passionate and positive, so I'm just so happy to be a part of a community here that values education and their teachers.”

And although other teachers who stopped by Polar Park on Thursday weren’t able to catch a game, O’Brien is confident they are enjoying school vacation week all the same.

“To all the teachers out there, enjoy the rest of your break,” O’Brien said. “It’s well-deserved.”