To understand the lore of baseball — and the grip it holds on a portion of the North American sporting public in the spring, summer and fall months — one has to understand baseball people.
Their bond to their game runs deep and strong.
Consider head coach Graig Merritt, whose Victoria HarbourCats open the 2016 West Coast League season Friday in Walla Walla, Washington, with a three-game series against the Sweets, before the Victoria home opener June 7 at Royal Athletic Park against the Wenatchee AppleSox.
Graig’s father is named Gehrig Merritt, in honour of the New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. In turn, Gehrig Merritt named his son Graig, in honour of former Yankees third-baseman Graig Nettles.
You get the point. These guys are serious about their love, not only of the Yankees, but of baseball in general.
It’s that profound affinity for the game that Graig Merritt, in his second season as HarbourCats dugout boss, hopes to impart to not only his players but also the fans who come out to Royal Athletic Park.
“We have some of the best baseball fans in Canada … they are committed, knowledgeable and on-point,” said Merritt, about a HarbourCats fan base that has led the WCL in attendance the past two seasons.
Graig Merritt started out as a bat boy while dad Gehrig played for London of the Ontario County League and followed in that role when the family moved to B.C. and his dad played for the Vancouver Pharaohs of the Pacific Metro League.
Graig Merritt is now the B.C. scout for the Tampa Bay Rays, where his role as HarbourCats head coach gives him an excellent perch from which to watch provincial players in the WCL, among a majority who hail from Washington state, Oregon and California.
“The ball yard took a hold of me when I was a little kid and never let go,” Graig Merritt said.
“For me, it’s about the smell of pine tar and Copenhagen Dip. I’ve been blessed that the Lord gave me a passion for the game. It’s in the blood. Now I want to pass along that passion.”
That’s what Merritt does every time he strides onto the Royal Athletic Park diamond. The 37-year-old graduate of Terry Fox Secondary in Coquitlam was a catcher selected in the 44th round of the 1997 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was eventually signed by Tampa and made it as far as Double-A in the Rays minor-pro system, playing in places such as Bakersfield, California, Hudson Valley, New York, Charleston, South Carolina, and Montgomery, Alabama.
That experience, combined with his role as a scout for Tampa, appears to make Merritt an ideal candidate to teach the game to young WCL aspirants, most of whom are U.S. collegiate NCAA players looking to extend their seasons in summer ball.
“You are teaching life lessons to these kids, about when and how to do the right things, both on and off the field,” Merritt said.
“That’s our job — to try to get these players to the next level — equipped with the knowledge of how to do things the right way. Summer ball is a learning environment.”
Jim Swanson, HarbourCats president and co-owner, said Merritt came immediately to mind when he was looking to fill the HarbourCats’ vacant head coaching position in 2015.
Swanson said he noticed Merritt’s baseball acumen in the dugout and on the diamond when Swanson was GM, and Merritt a player, with two Canadian Senior A championship teams, one from Prince George and the other from Langley.
“I took notice of the way Graig reacted on the bench in key situations,” Swanson said.
When the opportunity arose, their HarbourCats bond was forged.
Merritt said he was impressed by the players during his rookie campaign last season at the HarbourCats helm.
“The WCL is an amazing league … I was very surprised by the talent and calibre,” he said.
“These players have the calibre and desire to play at the next level, which is pro, and where you get paid to play.”
Merritt pointed to youthful 2015 HarbourCats standouts Kevin Collard and Jake Pries as examples of players he believes can go on to pro ball.
They don’t have far to look for inspiration. On Mother’s Day this year, Corvallis Knights alumnus and 2009 WCL pitcher of the year Matt Andriese made his MLB debut for the Tampa Rays with a win over the Angels in Anaheim. Other WCL alumni in the major leagues include slugger Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles, NL rookie of the year runner-up Matt Duffy of the San Francisco Giants and emerging Giants pitcher Josh Osich.
A total of 59 players who played in the WCL were selected in the 2015 MLB draft. According to the WCL, more than 200 of its alumni are playing in affiliated minor-pro baseball from Single-A to Triple-A.
Merritt said he learned a lot in his rookie year of coaching in the WCL.
“That first year was a learning curve,” he admitted.
Yet, he proved a quick learner.
Merritt pointed to the fact his HarbourCats started at 8-16 and finished 21-8.
“We got better as the season went on,” he said.
Last year’s slow start was compounded when Merritt missed some early-season stuff because his outgoing personality landed him a spot on the reality TV show Big Brother Canada, which required him to be away for taping.
There won’t be that sort of distraction this season.
“We are looking forward to winning the championship this year,” Merritt said.
Toward that end, and despite the fact that Jerry Pena and Alec Adame are unable to return as assistants, Merritt believes he has surrounded himself with the right people on his coaching staff. They include returning assistants Joe Meggs and Andrew Wilson along with newcomers Kelly Norris-Jones and Joe Fabre.
“Joe Meggs has just had a full Pac-12 season [as assistant coach] with the University of Washington Huskies and is one heck of a coach,” Merritt said.
Kelly Norris-Jones is from Victoria and is the son of HarbourCats general manager Brad Norris-Jones. Kelly was a catcher, drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, who played NCAA in the Big Ten for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
“Having Kelly on board as assistant coach is a huge asset for me,” Merritt said.
“We were both catchers who played on the national team [at different times] and were both drafted.”
Merritt said it’s important to have coaching staff he can rely on and who buy into his program.
So, too, with his players.
“We have a core number of players who are returning. Those players are now one year older and they know the level of preparation and dedication we expect when you play in Victoria,” Merritt said.
HarbourCats president Swanson is B.C. and WCL scout for the Detroit Tigers and concurs with the demands Merritt makes on his players.
“Our players know they are being watched by MLB scouts, right in their own dugout, with me being with the Tigers and Graig with the Rays,” Swanson said.
“We get a first-hand look at them, not only on the field, but also in terms of their character, which is a big thing that MLB teams are looking for. They want quality players and they want those players to be character people.”
Like his coach Merritt, president Swanson is also thinking championship this season.
“I remember the buzz that our winning ways created down the stretch drive last season,” Swanson said.
“We fell just short of making the playoffs. That taught us not to fall into an early hole this season, as we did last season.”
Those are the hard lessons absorbed from 2015, which both Merritt and Swanson believe will lead to success on the diamond in 2016.
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