July 13, 2022

By Ryan Eakin

Canadian Baseball Network

On a somewhat cool Friday evening in the middle of last July, the Barrie Baycats saw themselves in an early hole against the Brantford Red Sox.

Starting pitcher Kevin Millar was struggling in his first career road start, having allowed four runs on two hits and four walks in just 1 1/3 innings.

That early hole – a 5-0 deficit to be exact – turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Baycats though, who turned to pitching coach Brad Grieveson to mop the game up for them.

It became a blessing in disguise because Grieveson (Creemore, Ont.) picked up the win after pitching 7 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just four hits and, more importantly, zero walks in the process.

The rest, for Grieveson and the Baycats, is history, as the strike-throwing machine has gone on to become the team’s closer

How did Grieveson even get back to this point, one may ask, after spending 14 seasons away from the team?

He said it all started with a phone call from now-Baycats president Josh Matlow.

“I got a call from Josh and then five minutes later I got a call from ‘Whitey’ [Baycats bench coach Andrew White] saying ‘Are you going to do it?’”

“I said to Josh that I needed a day to talk to the wife and kids. The wife thought it was a great opportunity and I said ‘I think it is too’ but I knew it was going to be a hindrance when it came to coaching my son, Carter, and his team.

“Before I went to talk to him I talked to the coaching staff of my son’s team and said, ‘Guys, I have been afforded this opportunity and all of the coaches instantly said, ‘You have to take this or we are going to take it for you.’ So I then asked Carter about what he thought about it and right away he said, ‘Do it’, so the support around me made the decision a lot easier.”

As written, the Baycats closer and pitching coach was with the team 14 seasons prior.

He fondly recalled how he originally became a Baycat back in the day.

“It’s funny, because, in their inaugural season, I had [then manager] Nick Owen and [then general manager Gary] Calvert come to my house after I returned from Michigan, where I was playing summer ball. I came home because I had no job and needed to make money and the next day they were at my house asking if I would like to sign. At that time, though, I was a little burned out and said to them that I was just going to spend the summer playing baseball with friends and then head back out to college.

“It wasn’t until the next year that I signed with them but even then, I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about the IBL. I thought I’d just come out and give it a shot, but once I did, I met some great guys that I still talk to today, whether it be Ryan Davis, Jared McCord, and a lot of the guys from those early Barrie teams.”

Not only did Grieveson, who leads the IBL in saves as of this writing, make lifelong friends in his first stint with the Baycats, but he also experienced one of the best baseball memories of his life.

It came in 2005, when the underdog Baycats stunned the powerhouse Toronto Maple Leafs to win their first championship in franchise history.

The righty hurler recalls the series against the Maple Leafs, who at the time had three big leaguers in Paul Spoljaric, Rich Butler, and Rob Butler, quite well.

“Once we won a couple of games in the series, we finally thought to ourselves ‘this really can happen’, because prior to that, nobody thought Barrie would beat Spoljaric.

“Once we got to game six, to see the stadium as full as it was, it was just a surreal moment. I played in the JUCO World Series in front of a lot of people and that was special, too, but just seeing this park overflow with the number of people they had in it, it was very surreal.

“The way we won it too was special, with us scoring late and [Baycats ace and future legendary manager Angus] Roy getting the last strikeout to secure the win. I actually went back and watched it on Youtube not that long ago and it still brings me back chills.”

Grieveson said the only thing more memorable than the win itself was the celebration afterwards.

“Our sponsor that year was the Penalty Box, so we went there and things got crazy very quick,” laughed the righty, who owned the lowest ERA in franchise history after his first stint with the team. “We then ended up back at Davis’ and Cam [Newitt’s] apartment after the fact. I was working at Honda at the time and ended up taking a couple of sick days. It was something you may never be able to do again.

“That was all the way back in 2005. Who would have thought I’d end up back here again in 2022?”

Maybe no one would have thought that, but all that matters to the Baycats is that he is back – not only as a coach, but as a pitcher, something that all started on that damp night in Brantford last July.

“I remember being on the mound and saying to myself, ‘This is really happening.’

“In the back of my mind, I was telling myself not to embarrass myself, but at the end of the day, I knew if I could pump the strike zone and throw strikes, I got the defence behind me.

“The reaction I got from people that night was nice – I would be naive to say that it wasn’t. I remember walking back to the clubhouse and the first message I had on my phone was from ‘Milsy’ [former Baycats president] saying, ‘You still have it old man.’ The second message I had was from you saying something I can’t repeat and that was followed up by [former Baycats director of player procurement] Dante [DeCaria] also saying something I can’t repeat.

“I can’t say I wasn’t prepared for the moment, as Josh did tell me he might need me, but I was hoping it was going to be a five percent chance kind of thing.”

A five percent chance it was not for Grieveson, who now gets to coach and play the sport he loves most, alongside his son ,Carter, who is the team’s bat boy.

“It’s a fun environment for him. I used to tell him things and he would look at me like I have three heads. Now he has guys on the team saying to him, ‘Try this, maybe try that,’ and it’s pretty much the same advice I have given him, but now it’s coming from someone else, forcing him to think that maybe Dad does know what he is talking about.

“It has been special.”