Rod Black: May I have the Player of the Year envelope ... please
By Rod Black
Canadian Baseball Network
This is not something I would normally do.
But then again, when a Hall of Famer like Bob Elliott calls you up with that grizzled Bull Durham voice and asks you to write a little essay about one of your favorite ballplayers and announce the Canadian College Player of the Year – you can’t say no. You just do.
So I will.
Plus, it seems I have a little bit of time on my hands these days.
Time. As in how fast it flies when you’re having a ball. When you’re playing ball. And ultimately for me in my crazy sports life, when you’re watching your kids play ball. And trust me, it flies as fast as an Aroldis Chapman fastball.
Or in the context of this story, as fast as time can possibly fly after my own kids first fell in love with this great game.
A time when games of “catch with dad” soon evolved into Home Run Derby and then into the Wiffle Ball World Series. The boys and their buddies all wearing jerseys of their heroes, mimicking their stances, doing their own play by play, and of course wiffling from morning until late in the night.
That’s how dreams take flight.
The Time Machine transports you from backyard to ball yard, T-ball to machine pitch, club team to travel team, high school to college, and then one day if you work hard enough and you’re good enough, you wake up and you’re a pro player.
Yep, there he is. One of my favorite ballplayers of all time. My son Ty who is now living that dream that was first cultivated in a backyard, inspired by hanging around his dad during Blue Jays broadcasts, nurtured by an unwavering passion and then of course shaped and moulded with equal amounts of success and failure.
Where did the time go?
It seems like a pandemic ago - or at least yesterday when I watched this little guy in his favorite Aaron Hill jersey pretending to be Derek Jeter at the plate in youth ball while playing for the Markham Mariners and being coached by Leaf broadcast Legend Joe Bowen whose son David was on the team and was one of Ty’s best pals. Joe may be a hockey guy but was the perfect leader for the kids. He was as loud as he was on the radio. Ask some of the umpires who heard more than a few “Holy … er ... Mackinaws.” He was competitive. His mantra was “We Play on Sundays” and they often did – in many championships. And most of all he cared. About the game and more importantly the kids who he vowed to make better. Joe just didn’t talk the talk. He put in the time.
Timing is everything.
Like knowing when to make a move. Jumping from club ball to travel ball as a 12 year old and getting incredible guidance and development from Major League brothers Rob and Rich Butler who treated Ty like a son and instilled a belief that dreams can come true. How cool is it for a young kid to be mentored by guys who’ve been there before? Nothing can replicate that. Rob seemed as excited for the boys after a magical win over a highly ranked California team in Cooperstown as he was when he won the World Series with the Jays in 1993. Both Rob and Rich just didn’t use their big-league names. They put in the time.
Fast forward in time to a major move to the Toronto Mets. First class organization managed masterfully by one of the smartest and nicest guys you’ll ever meet in Ryan McBride who was one of the first to recognize Ty’s potential for a college scholarship. Mix in his invaluable high school experience at St. Andrews College and soon the journey would take him south to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio – a special place that not only accelerated his baseball trajectory but importantly taught him the importance of education which should always come first. Wright was not just right – it was perfect place, perfect time.
Time however does not fly in a straight path.
This flight plan like all of them has had a mix of both glory and joy but also adversity, injury, disappointment, and failure. That’s baseball. We all have big dreams but often they don’t materialize the way we envisioned. That’s life. Destinations are nice. Journeys are better.
Trust me.
I’ve been lucky to have a view of this game that very few people have. From a former senior ball player to a broadcaster, I’ve seen and heard it all. But truly, the most unique perspective I’ve been lucky enough to experience is that of a parent with two boys playing high level baseball in the USA and proudly wearing the Maple Leaf. (Tyler’s brother Brody is an outfielder at Frontier College in Illinois)
It is a wild ride and then some.
Like baseball, full of hits. A lot of misses. Many many curve balls
Equal parts. Gratifying. Challenging. Humbling. Eye opening.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m uncomfortable talking about myself or my family or giving advice to people unless they ask for it. But one thing I would pass on to anyone who is embarking on this journey is to make sure you put in the time, as a player and more importantly as a parent.
Be Supportive.
Be Realistic.
Believe in dreams.
Be there.
Be Proud.
As proud as I am today to announce that Tyler Black has been named the 2021 Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian college Player of the Year.
Toronto Mets grad Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.)
Congrats my boy. You’ve put in the time. Enjoy this time.
Now get back to work.
Keep dreaming.
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Rod Black was never a ‘hoops only’ broadcaster. Born in Winnipeg, he did it all in his lengthy career. Starting out working Winnipeg Jets’ games as a teenager. From 1990 on he was with CTV and TSN. Black called Blue Jays games for CTV from 1999 to 2000 (with partner Joe Carter) and on TSN from 2002 to 2009 (with Pat Tabler). In 1992-93 he hosted pregame World Series coverage (with Rob Faulds). Black was at his best as the fast-talking, joke-a-minute MC of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in St. Marys.
Rod Black
I was not aware he had wed Nancy, the daughter of Billy Knibbs, who played a year for the Boston Bruins after skating for MY Kingston Frontenacs in 1962-63, along with Don Blackburn, Gerry Ouellette, Harry Sinden, Cliff Pennington and Dick Cherry. There were pauses when I’d ask about about Tyler and say “how’s his nibs doing?” Eventually, I figured out the difference between nibs and Knibbs.
He handled CTV’s Olympic coverage, both summer and winter, as well as play-by-play on CFL football and NBA on TSN. Black was the voice of figure skating in Canada. Black won the Sport Media Canada Award as Outstanding Sports Broadcaster in 2005 and five Gemini Award nominations for Best Sports Broadcaster.
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Up next ... The Canadian Baseball Network all-Canadian First Team, plus players named to our Honourable Mention list and voting.
On deck … Our stats package of all three teams and the Honourable Mentions.
Already posted ...
The 22nd annual Canadian Baseball network all-Canadian college Player of the Year.