COVID-19 has pretty much brought the world of sports to a grinding halt, but that hasn't stopped Ryan Spataro and his Barrie Baycats teammates from getting together.
The Baycats may have suspended operations for the 2020 season due to the pandemic, but the winners of six straight Intercounty Baseball League titles see themselves as a family and families find a way to keep in touch through tough times.
"Every Friday, there's a Zoom call where we all get on there, couples and all," Spataro told BarrieToday. "We'll be on it for a couple of hours and have a few more drinks than we should, but it definitely shows that it's not just about baseball with us."
As talented as the franchise has been on the field, it's that strong friendship and respect for one another away from the diamond that has been at the heart of the club's success over the last decade.
"The core we have is something special that we've all built," added the Baycats outfielder, who was named the 2019 IBL playoff most valuable player after leading Barrie to a six-game series win over the Kitchener Panthers in the final. "There's a lot more than teammates here. There's guys having kids and going to weddings and people getting married. It's actually adapted more into life-long friendships, I believe."
With manager Angus Roy leaving the club to spend more time with his family and talented veterans such as Brad Bissell and Jordan Castaldo deciding to retire or play for teams closer to home, respectively, the Baycats will have a whole new look when they next step on the diamond.
That's not stopping the old gang from planning its next get-together.
"I know all the guys are bugging me, especially the guys that have retired or moved on, (about) when is the first pool party and they're looking forward to finally getting together again whenever this pandemic here seems to come to an end," Spataro said.
Seeing his longtime teammates and friends hang up their gloves has left Spataro thinking about his own future. He has spent 15 years with the Baycats and wonders if it's time.
With the franchise suspending play and deciding not to join other clubs if there is a return to the field at some point this summer, the former Minnesota Twins prospect will have some time to make his decision.
"As an aging player ... I might have the season off and really enjoy it," said Spataro, who understands and supports the Baycats' decision to suspend operations. "It might make a decision for me and realizing it's time to call it quits, or maybe not.
"Or it might make me want to come back even more, I'm not sure yet. Only time will tell, but I know one thing: I am still going to try and stay in shape."
Spataro will be 38 years old next season and knows if he does call it quits, there's a lot he'll miss about the game, especially the camaraderie he and his teammates shared in the clubhouse while getting ready for games.
"When that decision comes, it's going to be very hard to make," said the St. Peter's Catholic Secondary School graduate, who was also the 2017 Barrie Sports Hall of Fame athlete of the year. "I do believe when I'm done, it's not going to be like I'm gone forever. I'll be around the park and it'll probably be hard not going to the bench and wanting to go to the plate, but we'll see. We'll just have to reassess next summer and see what happens.
"Maybe the love will still be there, or maybe the want and desire will still be there because of a summer off, which I never had, might make me realize that it's something that I need," Spataro added. "That's what I'm kind of looking forward to next year: to see what the decision will be. Right now, I'm just hoping everything gets back to normal and we can see what happens."
Those 15 seasons have flown by, but Spataro says he doesn't regret a single season. He remembers those first few weeks practising with the Baycats. Baseball was fun again. Not that that it wasn't more fun in the minors with the Twins, but there was more pressure of always performing and trying to be better than the next guy to get to the next level.
When he came back to Barrie, he looked forward to coming to the park every day and spending time with the likes of Alex Borgo, Ryan Davis, Cam Newitt, Chris England and Dave Latour in those early days.
Little did he know that coming home to play baseball would lead to all of this. The championships, becoming the IBL's all-time stolen-base leader and the friendships he would build.
"No, you never really know," said the city firefighter, who lives in Barrie with his wife, Joelle, and daughters, Callie and Shay. "I was chasing my dream like most kids do with baseball and I had the opportunity to go play with the Twins and I got released and I was crushed. I wasn't sure what to do. I was 23 or so and I remember working out in the offseason and there was this Baycat team starting that I heard about.
"I just remember signing because I wasn't ready to give up the love of the game and that competitive nature."
An all-around player who set the table for his teammates as a leadoff hitter and used his blazing speed to provide first-rate defence in the outfield, too, Spataro made an impact on the diamond in Barrie.
Just as he has off it. Especially now with the pandemic, as a front-line worker helping in this time of crisis. He's been a firefighter in Barrie for 10 years and admits there's a little nervousness every day he has to go to work.
"Just on those calls where it's COVID confirmed for signs and symptoms, it's always going through your head: 'Well if this is one...'," he said. "We do take all precautions possible. The fire department is very good at making sure we have all our proper (personal protective equipment) and we're taken care of that way, but my scariest thought is I have two beautiful daughters at home, my wife and right now my in-laws, who are back from Costa Rica, are staying in our basement and they're more on the elderly side."
Spataro has concern for them and that he may potentially ever bring anything home.
"There is that scare, but you kind of prepare the same way you prepare for a baseball game, where you know you've done everything in your power to be ready to perform and do what you're supposed to do," he said.
Spataro says he and other front-line workers feel the love and support from those in the community for the work they are doing. Local restaurants have made meals for them while kids send letters of support to the fire hall.
"I think that's also something that helps me go to the job every day; that is very similar to the field," Spataro said. "Whether it's fans at the field coming to watch you and cheer you on or whether you're at the fire hall and all the little letters or where you're out on a call and people are just saying thank you.
"I get that same feeling when I'm going to work that I get at the ballpark where you're going to be with a bunch of guys that you like. It's a little bit of normalcy in this state of chaos, which is nice."
