Ex-Panthers return to Guelph
Reilly, Interisano, Garton and manager teBoekhort are Royal City bound
The revived Guelph Royals have stolen away a significant amount of power from the Kitchener Panthers and claimed their former manager in a move that signals the old rivalry between the two teams appears to be reignited.
Sean Reilly, last year’s MVP and Triple Crown winner, joins first baseman Justin Interisano and outfielder Josh Garton in re-signing with Guelph.
For the players, who all live in Guelph, it’s a chance to return home and stay loyal to former Panthers manager Dave teBoekhorst.
In just one announcement, the rebuilding Guelph Royals immediately improved their lineup and leave the Panthers with some holes to fill in theirs.
The Panthers gave the move their blessing, recognizing the players wanted to play in their hometowns and that the Intercounty Baseball League is better off with a competitive club in Guelph — a team that folded halfway through last season.
“These players were allowed to return to Guelph without us asking for anything in return because it was the right thing to do for the league in our opinion,” said Panthers general manager Scott Ballantyne.
“These guys battled hard for us over the years and we did not feel it would be fair to them, the Royals, or the league to prevent them from being able to return to their hometown to play baseball. We will miss their production and they will be difficult players to replace, no doubt about that.”
Meanwhile, former bench coach Denis Bailey, who had hoped to replace teBoekhorst in Kitchener after he stepped down, has signed on to be the third base coach for the Brantford Red Sox. He’ll bring his skill as a recruiter and ability to fill in as manager when needed.
TeBoekhorst, who led the Panthers to two finals and an 81-28 record over the past three seasons, returns to a team he won two league championships with and where he was named IBL manager of the year in 2012.
He said he wants to bring back some excitement around the team and get crowds back to Hastings Stadium.
“Going into the visitor’s locker-room in Guelph never felt right. Hastings Stadium was such a big part of my life growing up,” said teBoekhorst. “I played 10 seasons here, I coached here. I played from rep T-ball all the way up to Intercounty. I’m just happy to be able to come back and hopefully have a positive impact on this team.”
The Panthers replaced teBoekhorst with Luke Baker, an Intercounty Baseball League MVP and two-time batting champion who played 14 seasons in Kitchener. This will be his first season coaching in the IBL.
Garton, a former Cincinnati Reds prospect, is a two-time IBL all-star and a career .293 hitter in the league. Interisano, a 50career home run hitter in the IBL, is also a two-time all-star.
But Reilly’s offensive output will be hardest to replace.
The 40-year-old slugger is the league’s home run king, RBI and all-time hits leader, and multiple MVP and all-star.
“This is the core that we’re going to build a championship team around,” said general manager Steve Scagnetti, himself a former Kitchener Panther and team manager.
“I need to give a big thanks to Scott Ballantyne and the Kitchener Panthers. They agreed to this. They fully understand that local players deserve to play locally.”
The Royals, bought by Kitchener business Shawn Fuller earlier this year, are still a long way from finalizing their roster for 2018. But teBoekhorst said he’s eager to get started, and looks back fondly on his time with the Panthers — a team he’ll be opposing next time he rolls into Jack Couch Park.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” teBoekhorst said. “But I can’t thank Kitchener enough for what they did for me and my family, it was three great years I’ll hold near and dear to my heart.”
Bailey, who’s also a coach with the Greek national team, said he’s excited to join a Brantford team that aims to return to its spot among the best in the IBL.
He’s expecting more parity in the league across the board next year.
“I went to Kitchener because I thought it was something special,” he said. “And now I have that same feeling with Brantford. I’m not going there to not win.”