May 18, 2023

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Dean Dicenzo’s Intercounty Baseball League career got off to a tough start.

It was the summer of 1979 at Christie Pits and the Hamilton Cardinals were trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 in an IBL playoff game when a young Dicenzo, a junior call up at the time, was summoned to pinch run by manager Greg Higson.

“I was 18 and sitting in the bullpen,” Dicenzo remembers.

“Our manager came down and said ‘if Fisher gets on you're running for him and going to steal a base.’ Fish got on and I missed the sign, took off and Jim Eliopoulos the Toronto catcher threw me out by five feet. Higgy went crazy on me. He put the sign on but then wiped it off. I didn’t see the wipe off.”

What followed that mistake was a career that lasted until 1999 in Hamilton, with a brief stop in Brantford, and a spot on the IBL Top 100 Players of all-time list.

No one represents Hamilton baseball better than Dicenzo (Hamilton, Ont., although he has sometimes been identified as being from Hamilton’s hinterlands) and on Sunday afternoon he’ll see his No. 13 retired by the Hamilton Cardinals franchise before a game against the London Majors. The first 300 fans in attendance will also receive a commemorative Dean Dicenzo No. 13 t-shirt. He has more fans than that.

Dicenzo, who’s now the senior advisor for the Terriers of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, remembers one of his early highlights on the field when he was 11 years old.

It was a lot more positive of a memory than his base running gaffe, maybe because he didn’t get into any of the games.

“I got called up to the peewee team for the CNE tournament,” he said.

“I didn’t play an inning in five games but the atmosphere around that tournament was so cool and we won it. The best part was the winning team got jackets. Back then that was unbelievable to win a jacket.”

Dicenzo’s always been a sports fan and anyone who has crossed paths with him knows he faithfully follows the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Cubs through the good, the bad and the ugly.

Admittedly too small for football as a youngster and not very good at hockey, Dicenzo chose baseball after a friend suggested he was good enough to play travel ball.

It was a choice that set him on a path to being on the baseball field for 52 consecutive summers and counting.

Growing up idolizing the Cubs, one of his career highlights was getting the opportunity to play against former Cubs pitcher and National Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, who played two seasons for the London Majors.

He even donned the same jersey as the Canadian baseball icon during an All-Star Game appearance in 1984.

Speaking of All-Star teams, Dicenzo was selected to one at three different positions over the course of his career.

When his playing career was over, the transition from playing to coaching was an easy one, given his experience and gift of gab.

People who have played with, for or coached with Dicenzo knows how affable he is. Just ask one of his former assistant coaches, John Milton.

“I met Dean about 20 years ago,” Milton, who now serves as a program advisor for the Okotoks Dawgs, recalls.

“Dean’s son Marcus and my oldest son Tyler are the same age. We both coached our sons, so we met while playing at a tournament. I couldn’t believe how much he talked but after a while I was really impressed with his baseball IQ, how he coached and how good he was at communicating with the players.”

Those communication skills still serve him well as he guides high school players and their families into not only the next stage of their baseball career, but their life, in his senior advisor role.

“Players always know that Dean is there for them and has their back,” Milton said.

“As someone who coached with him for many years I always knew that he had my back, even though he would yell at his staff once a year. As a head and third base coach, Dean would focus on the in-game decisions and allow his assistants to teach.”

Milton describes Dicenzo as fiercely loyal. Given his successful and vast playing career, he understands the demands on players as well as anyone.

It’s a skill that would’ve cost him a trip to the coach’s injured list one spring, if there was such a thing.

“Every year during our Spring Training in Florida, Dean always gave the team a half day off,” Milton said of his trips south with the Terriers.

“This one year, the players had been outstanding with their effort, play and commitment to detail. So Dean thought that we’d play touch football instead of practicing. He thought he was 18 again and would be the quarterback for both teams. Well, part way into the game father time caught up to him. As he was rolling out to pass all I saw was Dean go down and he didn’t get up right away. After finally getting him up, we got him looked at and he had torn his hamstring and was hobbling around for the rest of the trip.”

While the athleticism dwindled with age, it was that kind of effort during his playing days that helped him lead the IBL in steals 10 years apart.

As an excellent evaluator of talent, how would he describe himself as a player?

“I was an old school leadoff hitter, took pitches and my main goal was to get on,” he said.

“When I got on I was running. I would say I was somewhat cocky. I was a left-handed hitter who for the most part hit the opposite way, a singles guy and bunted for a base hit probably every game. Defensively I started as a middle infielder then transferred to the outfield. Somebody said I was like ex-Blue Jay John McDonald.”

Over his two decades in the league he played with and against guys like Jenkins, Bill Byckowski, Dave Dix, Scott Gardiner and Terriers colleague Rick Johnston.

The best team he ever played on? That’s an easy question to answer.

“It was in 1992,” he said.

“The guys who played 10 years before me at Mahoney Park joined the Cardinals. Dean Castelli, the Cardinals current manager, and another group of six guys. They were all from my neighborhood and all played minor baseball at Mahoney. I believe I hit .377. It rejuvenated me. We were close to a .500 team, which back then was an accomplishment.”

Not one to be overly emotional about his own accomplishments, the importance of Sunday’s ceremony is not lost on him.

“Having my jersey retired is a huge honour,” he said.

“It’s very special as it’s the first jersey retired in club history. It’s nice to be recognized for my efforts on and off the field to promote Hamilton baseball. I hope my jersey isn’t the only one retired as there are many players deserving of this special event.”

Just don’t ask him to pinch run and steal a base.