FANTASY CAMP DELIVERS
Pretend Blue Jays experience pro life
They came from across Canada, North Saanich on Vancouver Island to Conception Bay in Newfoundland, paying $5,000 over five days to worship at the church of baseball, Toronto Blue Jays parish.
But when it came to genuflecting, knees were mostly taken due to injury or fatigue at the Blue Jays Fantasy Camp. See, about 80 campers ranging from their late 20s to early 70s were playing out their childhood dreams under the Florida sun last month and as the song goes, it hurts so good.
“The trainers were the hardest working group here,” said Robbie Alomar, the sterling second baseman who was arguably the best Blue Jay ever and managed one of the camp’s four teams.
The casualties piled up, wonky ankles and knees to be taped, torn muscles needing treatment.
Some, like Calgary’s Aaron Appleyard, once prayed to become a major-leaguer pitcher, was even scouted by several teams, but saw the dream die with a shoulder injury.
So the fantasy camp, one of a dozen staged by MLB teams in Florida, was a hearkening back to his youth as he was able to pitch two innings for the George Bellmanaged team in the camp tournament, plus enjoyed a chance to rub shoulders with players who delivered World Series titles in Toronto in 1992 and ’93.
“It was just a great experience,” said Appleyard, 36. “I even told my wife after being able to pitch in front of those guys, I can get hit by a bus now and I’m OK with it.”
Appleyard said it was also special to see “the joy in the faces of the guys who had never really played much and the excitement of celebrating on the mound when we won the (camp) title.”
Team Bell rang up a 6-3 victory over Alomar’s team in a final played at the Jays’ spring home, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
But baseball is like church in that many attend, but few understand, accounting for some plays rarely seen in a ball yard.
One stood out, said Rance Mulliniks, who patrolled third base in Toronto for 10 seasons.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a ground ball to second base with two outs and it was a walk off ground ball with the winning run coming from second base,” he said. It was the team he coached along with manager Cito Gaston, skipper of those World Series clubs, that was victimized in the 12-11 loss.
Mulliniks described a hapless infielder trying to corral a loose ball like he was nailing jelly to a wall while Mitchell Sadofsky, of the Alomar team, tore around the basepaths from second for the winning score.
“They were paying more attention to the guy at the plate than the winning run, so I put my head down and went for it,” said Sadofsky, a former University of Massachusetts pitcher who runs a lighting business in Toronto. “Alomar came out yelling ‘awesome’ when he saw that.”
Most times on the basepaths, though, if there was larceny in campers’ hearts, their feet were honest.
Steven Kil, who runs a coffee importing business in South Korea, learned his lesson when he was out overrunning second base, pulling a groin muscle in the process. He was dragged before the Kangaroo Court on both counts, Judge Alomar presiding, for sentencing after prosecutor Tanyon Sturtze, a former Jays pitcher, thoroughly and comically embarrassed him.
Then Kil, who went to high school in Toronto and lived in Richmond, B.C. while attending the University of British Columbia, made matters worse than his $10 fine. Alomar raised his hand to indicate an additional $5 for the groin-pull count and Kil high-fived him. That doubled his fine to $20.
Among the other egregious crimes, noted Alomar, were campers wearing such colourful underwear it showed through the authentic uniforms.
“Awful fashion offence,” said Alomar.
But the five-time all-star with the Jays called the camp experience “a blast, a lot of fun seeing these guys get a little taste of what it’s like to be a pro ballplayer.”
The campers ran the gamut of salespeople to dentists and accountants in which Opera Bob stood out for his unique profession. Following the camp, Robert Pomakov of Toronto was headed to New York for a gig at the Metropolitan Opera in The Barber of Seville. The bass is in high demand and performs about 100 roles in operas around the world. And a pub he owns part of, Opera Bob’s in Toronto, is a big hangout for Jays fans.
“I was 11 and 12 when the Blue Jays were winning the two World Series, so playing here for (managers) Devo (Devon White) and (Kelly) Gruber is pretty awesome.”
Then there were Kat and Ed Mann, a daughter-father pair from Toronto who teamed up on the field with Kat running the basepaths when Ed was at bat.
She booked the camp as an advance celebration of his 65th birthday and was the only female camper.
“I was a little apprehensive coming in here as the only girl, but everybody has been great. I’ve been treated like royalty with a private locker-room and shower.”
Ed called it “the experience of a lifetime for a certified baseball nut and while I coached my daughter for many years, this was the first time we’ve been able to share the field together.”
The camp ended on series of low notes when Opera Bob performed Old Man River at the concluding awards dinner. His deep bass thundered off the walls of the hotel dining room.
Maybe it’s a stretch, but folks who recall the Jays’ World Series years could imagine an adaptation of the classic song as Old Man Ribbie, honouring the aging but prolific run-producer Dave Winfield, a hero of the 1992 champs. He, too, just kept rolling along.