Panthers manager teBoekhorst back for a ‘serious run’
KITCHENER —
Dave teBoekhorst wasn’t sure if he’d return for another season at the helm of the Kitchener Panthers. Then he started thinking about his own championship-winning days as a player, and got pulled back in.
The manager, who won two Intercounty Baseball League titles when he was a catcher with the Guelph Royals, says he wants to write a new chapter in Kitchener after last season’s disappointing playoffs, when his Panthers were swept in the semifinals.
“We need to make a serious run. We need to make a big leap forward,” teBoekhorst said. “Last year was in my mind a disappointment, and you could probably argue it was a bit of a step back from where we were a couple of years ago.”
The Panthers peaked too early last season, he said.
They started like a house on fire, but fell out of top spot in the standings at the end of the regular season and sputtered in the playoffs — getting “completely outclassed” by Barrie, which went on to win the championship.
The manager’s return was also closely tied to the return of team slugger Sean Reilly. They’re good friends, and decided together they’d try for another run at a championship.
“We talked about one more season, and not looking past it. And we both said let’s do it,” teBoekhorst said. “I’m pumped about it. I’m definitely happy I decided to come back.”
Reilly, with his .418 batting average, 13 homers and 51 RBI last season, will lead an offence that will once again include Tanner Nivins, Justin Interisano, Mike Andrulis and Mike Gordner.
Hits shouldn’t be a problem for a team that plays in the snug confines of Jack Couch Park, teBoekhorst said.
The biggest improvement this year should be on the pitching side, with the addition of Jazvir Rakkar, a former Chicago Cubs prospect, and Sean Ratcliffe, the ex-Blue Jays farmhand who was traded to Atlanta in the deal that brought Jason Grilli to Toronto.
Rakkar, a Brampton native, played on the same Stony Brook University (N.Y.) baseball team as Nivins, which made a historic run in the NCAA’s 2012 College World Series. The pair reunited last year when they both played for the Québec Capitales of the Can-Am League. The 26-year-old righty had a 3.79 ERA over four seasons in the minors, and pitched for Canada in the Pan Am Games in 2015.
Ratcliffe, also a right-hander, and Ajax native, had a 4.97 ERA over four seasons in the minors. He’s a former member of the Canadian Junior National Team, too.
Also back will be Cuban hurler Noelvis Entenza.
He won nine games last season. And joining him is Ian Rendon, a lefty who had a 3.25 ERA for Kitchener last year. The Panthers are also trying to re-sign Kyle McKay, who pitched for Kitchener in 2015, to round out their rotation.
The newest faces in the lineup will be at catcher and shortstop. Yulexis La Rosa, a 37-year-old veteran of Cuba’s top baseball league, will get everyday catching duties; while Yorbis Borroto, with a lifetime .298 average in the Cuban league, will replace Mike Glinka.
Every player will have to earn their position, said teBoekhorst, who will treat May like an informal spring training before formalizing players’ roles. Everyone, that is, except for Reilly, the perennial all-star who will return to bat cleanup this season.
“They can print the IBL lineup cards and they can just put Sean Reilly in the three-hole. That’s the only guarantee I have,” he said. “There’s always competition on our squad, and my guys all know that. I’m here to win baseball games, not build a house of friends.”
The manager also expects another big year from Mike Gordner, the backup catcher who’s likely to spend a lot of time at third base this year. The Kitchener-raised player, a senior with the Point Loma Sea Lions in San Diego, hit .409 in 21 games for the Panthers last season.
“A few years ago, he was still a pretty raw baseball player. But I think you’re going to see him evolve into a true, professional all-star in this league. He’s just got so much talent, and he’s so, so good,” teBoekhorst said.
The Panthers’ skipper says after the bitter end to last season, he was ready to call it quits. But then that sting slowly faded, and nostalgia for his own championships days came back — and all those memories of teammates piling up on the mound after winning it all.
Then he had no choice but to come back.
“You get memories that you can talk about for years. That’s what I want for this team. I just feel like I’ve got unfinished business.”
The Panthers will host a season kickoff event in the Subscriber’s Lounge at the Aud on May 6 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and begin their season the next day in Toronto.
The team’s home opener is Sunday, May 14, against the defending champion Barrie Baycats.
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