Panthers have right ‘pieces’
Pietraszko says this team reminds him of his championship years in Kitchener
KITCHENER — Jeff Pietraszko has seen a lot of Kitchener Panthers teams in his two decades as a player — some not so great, and some nearly unbeatable.
The veteran outfielder is the only person in the 2017 roster who knows what it feels like to win an Intercounty Baseball League championship in a Kitchener uniform. And the 40-year-old says the players he sees around him on this current team remind him of some of those great Panthers teams of the past.
“It’s eerily similar. We’ve got a good leadoff hitter, lots of power hitters, quality pitching and timely defence. Put all those together, and you have a chance,” said Pietraszko, before Game 5 of the Panthers’ quarter-final series against Hamilton.
“We have enough guys, we have enough talent. We are capable of making it to the final with these pieces.”
Pietraszko’s Panthers were hoping to put away the Cardinals Thursday night, and advance to the semifinal round against the London Majors. For the game result, visit therecord.com. But the biggest difference between those championship teams Pietraszko played on, and this 2017 group, is that the league isn’t as tough, he said.
“The league is different. Back then, the league was really strong. Right now there’s a lot of disparity between top and bottom,” he said.
“So it’s hard to compare apples to apples. But is this a great hitting lineup? Yes. Did we have a great pitching performance the other night? You bet. Do we play great defence? Yes.”
Pietraszko played on the 1996 and ’98 teams that won it all. In the ’98 championship, his college season in Texas had already started, and the Panthers flew him back and fourth to play in the final.
When the Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7, Pietraszko went 4-5. Afterward, he says he was drinking “from a brown bottle with the bums” at Christie Pitts, and the celebrating carried over all the way back to Texas.
“We were drinking Wild Turkey all the way to the airport. I landed in Texas and my coach picked me up. He said, ‘You guys won, didn’t you?’ ” he said.
This 2017 version of the Panthers is one of the strongest in years, if you consider its regular season record of 28-8 was the best since 1993.
Centre-fielder Tanner Nivins said the approach has been deliberately different this season — focusing on a strong finish, rather than a hot start.
“Right from the start, Tebo (manager Dave teBoekhorst) preached to us that it’s not a sprint,” he said.
“Last year, we paid so much more attention to winning. But this year, we were just steady, then we went on that huge run. It was just effortless at that point.”
Of course, the Panthers needed to close out their first-round series before they can start thinking about any repeat trips to the final.
Sunday’s 21-19 loss was a wake-up call for a team that has otherwise cruised through the first round of the playoffs, Pietraszko said.
At one point in that game, Kitchener was down by 14 runs. It was a good sign they didn’t lie down, and clawed their way back, he said.
“It feels like we’re in control. There’s no panic,” he said.