IBL's Baycats searching for new president after Mills retires
Longtime Barrie Baycats president David Mills has announced his retirement. Photo: Barrie Baycats
November 23, 2021
By Ryan Eakin
Canadian Baseball Network
When you think about successful franchises in professional sports, you think of the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pittsburgh Steelers and so on.
And when thinking about those teams, you will think about George Steinbrenner, Jerry Buss, and Dan Rooney, among many other things.
Sure, the players are the ones who deliver championships with their play, but without competent leadership, no team will sniff a championship, let alone consecutive ones.
The Barrie Baycats are no different.
Founded in the late 1990s, the Baycats have enjoyed stellar success through their first 20 seasons in the Intercounty Baseball League, having won seven championships and having appeared in 11 finals.
There are many reasons and people responsible for their success, but none more so than David Mills, who oversaw the Baycats in the team president role from their inaugural season in 2001 all the way until the end of the 2021 season.
Shortly after the 2021 season, Mills announced his retirement from the Baycats, as did the Baycats vice president Paul Marley, who had been Mills’ right-hand man since day one.
It has left a gaping hole in the Baycats’ front office, which is not lost on team co-owner Chris Gariepy, who was informed of Mills’ decision in early September.
“We are now working on finding someone,” said Gariepy. “We were caught off guard [with Dave’s retirement] but he is correct that he did share to the board numerous times that he would like to slow down in his role.
“It was a gut-punch but we have to start moving and looking forward and that is something we are doing.”
With their search well underway, Gariepy said they are going to be flexible when it comes to hiring their next president.
“We aren’t exactly sure what we want.” said Gariepy.
“If the next person we hire is someone who is a baseball guy that can also run the organization from a fiscal point of view, then that’s great, but if we end up having to hire someone who is separate from the baseball operations, that’s okay too.”
Regardless of who the Baycats end up hiring, Garipey knows Mills and Marley will still lend a helping hand to the franchise.
“Dave and Paul will not leave us high and dry. Whoever the next person is to lead the organization from an executive point of view, we know that both Dave and Paul will be there to share their teachings, what they did right, what they did wrong, so that is going to be extremely helpful, because when you look at a lot of other companies for example, their chief executive moves on and that’s it.
“We are unfortunate they will both still be around the Baycats in some form or fashion. Just not to the massive degree that they were involved.”
Mills echoed Garipey’s statement.
“Paul and I are still going to be involved,” said the legendary IBL executive. “In fact, right now we are finalizing a grant as we want an extension on the press box.
“The one thing I would say is, Paul and I are not going to sit by. We are going to put the city’s feet to the fire. The one thing that has always bothered me is they spent $9M to fix the Molson Centre [now Saldon Arena, home of the Barrie Colts] but they can’t pay $2,000 to fix the stadium?
“We are not giving up. My biggest regret is not having a park in Barrie. I am just disappointed that we never got to show the people inside the city what we were all about. For a city as big as us, we should have 2,000 to 3,000 people at the park every game.
“So I just felt let down by the city council. I just wish someone stepped up to help us, whether it was a stadium down by the lakeshore or not.
“If I had to look back at my last 20 years and pick a regret, that would be it.”
With goals still in mind, Mills said that did not stop him from retiring, knowing now was the right time to leave.
“To be blunt, my age and energy is why I am stepping down,” chuckled Mills, who noted that he all but decided to retire back in July.
“At 75, it’s becoming more difficult to do the things I did 20 years ago. And if I’m being completely honest, the pandemic drained me -- not knowing if we were ever going to play or not. And even when we did start playing, I had to worry about protocols, contact tracing, and all that.
“So between that and the team rebuilding -- not that winning or losing really played a part in my decision -- a lot of things just came together that led me to this decision. It just wasn’t the same anymore.”
What remained the same in 2021 for the Baycats, however, was their volunteer base, which, up until now, has been extremely consistent throughout the franchise’s first 20 seasons.
Mills said he would be mistaken not to praise his volunteer base.
“When I say a lot of people are involved, the volunteers are unbelievable.
“People like Viv [Faulkner], Mike [Clark], and [the late Jack] Kenwell have all been there since day one. Volunteers were the one thing, as president, that I never had to worry about. Everyone always showed up, were very professional, and had great ideas.
“They are going to be what I miss the most. Not that I still won’t communicate with everyone, but it is different when you need a reason to communicate with people.
“It’s the one area I am going to feel a setback in.”
At the end of the day for Mills, however, he is proud of what he accomplished with the Baycats and knew there was no better time to go.
“Looking back at it, a lot of us put this together. Not David Mills but a lot of people.
“I look back and say ‘this is some pretty good stuff’ to have the park that we have, the volunteers and supporters that we got, and it makes me say ‘hey, we made it.’
“And I guess when you say you made it, maybe it’s time to say ‘it’s over.’
“And we definitely made it, so thank you to everyone. My life has been enriched by the relationships that I have developed over the last 20 years and I can’t wait to be at the park next season saying ‘thank you’ to all of those people.
“Probably while having a beer.”