After 15 years in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), all with his hometown Barrie Baycats, Ryan Spataro is calling it a career.
As the Baycats get ready for their 20th home-opener later this week, they will do it without the league's all-time leader in stolen bases and popular outfielder.
Spataro has confirmed to BarrieToday that he has decided it was time to retire and hang up his cleats.
“When all the other guys started retiring to spend time with family or because of injuries, I went out to practice to just be sure. I think I knew about 90 per cent that I was done before COVID hit, but going out to practice a couple Thursdays ago, it just wasn’t the same without all the boys there,” Spataro said Tueaday.
The IBL cancelled last year’s season due to the pandemic and this year has been slightly delayed, but it starts up Wednesday with the Hamilton Cardinals playing at the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Barrie hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs at Coates Stadium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., with 25 per cent capacity (475 fans) allowed in the Midhurst facility.
The Baycats will be coming off six straight IBL championships, tying the record of most consecutive titles with the Brantford Red Sox. The Barrie franchise has won seven IBL crowns in total, including the 2005 crown.
Spataro is one of only three Baycats who were there for all of them, the others being Brad Bissell and Angus Roy.
“It was definitely tough to make this decision,” said Spataro. “I kind of, in a selfish way, was waiting until the season might happen because I’ve put a lot of time in and have a lot of memories there.
"My wife and I sat down the other day and wrote some stuff down to help with the decision," he added.
Spataro said he knows his wife and kids will be happy with him being home more, but his daughters are a little sad about the decision to retire.
“My wife will be happy not getting home at 3 a.m., from Welland on a Wednesday or leaving midday on a weekend when everyone is by the pool,” Spataro said. “But my daughters (ages nine and 11) are a little upset that I decided to retire because they like the idea of Dad being a Baycat and getting me to grab a ball for their friends. They’ll miss that.
"But I’m very proud they got to watch me play.”
In 2017, he became the league’s all-time leader in stolen bases, accumulating 193 in 380 games. The previous record was 179 in 834 games.
Spataro finished his IBL career with 211.
Spataro won the IBL championship and the league's regular-season MVP honours in his first season in 2005. Showing that there was no slowing down, he also won the 2019 IBL playoffs MVP award, which proved to be his last season.
At the age of 38, Spataro still believes he can play, but says his physical condition in no way contributed to his decision.
“I know a lot of guys retire because of bumps and bruises, but I feel that I was still able to play,” said Spataro, who works as a Barrie firefighter. “It really was more of it wouldn't be the same without all the guys and the life-long friendships I’ve made over the last 15 years.”
He admits he’ll be at some games to take in some baseball and has his eye on the league with regards to who is going to play well.
“I see Toronto being a powerhouse this year — a lot of guys are heading there, pretty much going home,” said Spataro. “With the core group they already had, if they also get a bit of pitching, I could see them running away with it, especially now that our team is kind of depleted.”
Many players over the years have praised the Baycats for being a great team to play for, and Spataro echoed those sentiments.
“I think by far they’re probably the best. Just the way they treat their players and it may sound bad, but always having beer and pizza after the game was nice. Just that little something extra for us that makes it even more worthwhile,” Spataro said.
“We always had great equipment, the uniforms were updated and new. Dave Mills (president) was by far just phenomenal in promoting the team and so involved in the city," he added.
But Spataro says he’ll miss the volunteers as much as anything else, because he believes they make the Baycats the quality organization that it is.
“The ladies and gentlemen who help at the front gate and throughout the park, I’m really going to miss them and the way they treated me and my family so well,” he said. “They would always ask if my kids were there and how they're doing.
"It was a family atmosphere and I’m really going to miss it.”
