With the Major League Baseball winter meetings coming to a conclusion, thoughts turn to the Barrie Baycats and how their winter preparations are going for 2020.
Because the reigning Intercounty Baseball League champs have some internal housekeeping to take care of.
With the Baycats having an eye on making it a league record seven titles in a row, management is hard at work looking for a new manager and general manager.
When longtime bench boss Angus Roy announced his retirement on Nov. 13, Chris Gariepy says he knew there would be big cleats to fill.
Gariepy has been on the Baycats ownership team for seven years and, as a member of the board, is responsible for making sure the pieces are there to give the local fans a winner. He and his team in the boardroom know it will not be an easy task.
“Angus made it seem easy,” Gariepy told BarrieToday. “He built a culture in the locker room and on the field that was one of winning.
"That won’t be easy to duplicate, but with the success we’ve had, you almost want to find someone exactly like him, like a clone," Gariepy added.
Gariepy admits the next manager and/or GM will be able to lead the team in their own way and he's excited to see how that goes.
“The good thing about Angus is he has agreed to assist when and where needed, so that the transition is easy, but this team will be the team for whoever we bring in,” Gariepy said. “It's time for a new leader, but hopefully the same results.”
The board wants to have a manager and/or GM in place no later than the end of January and team officials are fielding lots of offers from outsiders.
“We’ve talked to a number of people who have either reached out or we to them,” Gariepy said. “We’re getting serious about the process, because that person will have to start putting the team together.
“We’ve got emails from California, Saskatchewan and even one from France. The knock against them is, while they have great resumes, they don’t know the league, the team or the community.”
Community passion and team unity will continue to be important to the 2020 Baycats, Gariepy says. He hopes to find someone close to the team and who knows even a little about the Baycats culture.
There have been no inquiries as yet from any of the outgoing 2019 players, such as Glenn Jackson and Kyle DeGrace, nor from anyone currently on the squad.
As for the onfield talent and what's in store for a possible seventh consecutive IBL championship and eighth in franchise history, Gariepy told BarrieToday that he and the board are not worried at all.
“Wouldn’t that be great?” asked Gariepy. “Truthfully, we are not feeling any pressure there and are strictly focused on finding the right person to lead us into the season.
"We have a lot of talent here still," he added. "We’ll miss all who have left, but there are a lot of great players ready to go the second that first pitch gets thrown.”
The Baycats' 2020 season schedule will not be announced for a few months.
