November 4, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Thousands of players have discovered their love of the game on local fields in communities across the country.

Like, say, Mahoney Park in Hamilton.

They learn to pitch, hit, run, field and compete under the watchful eye of passionate coaches dedicated to seeing them succeed.

But the past couple months has been more about what’s been lost than won.

Twice Hamilton baseball legend Dean Dicenzo, who resides anywhere from Ancaster to Grimsby depending on who you ask, has been the bearer of bad news.

First, he confirmed to me that Larry Wood had passed.

Wood’s impact on the game in the city has spanned from Hamilton minor baseball to the Intercounty Baseball League team he helped build over the course of 17 years.

I’ll never forget my first time meeting him.

I was 19 years old coming off throwing all of two innings in my freshman season at the University of West Alabama. As the semester drew to a close, I started emailing all eight IBL teams looking for a place to play during the summer.

I loved the IBL. I grew up going to games in Brantford and remember watching the 2006 Red Sox win their first championship since 1981. Armed with an 80 mile per hour fastball, it was my big leagues.

The only person to respond to those annoying emails? Larry Wood, the then general manager of the Hamilton Thunderbirds.

A few weeks later I’d play my first game, May 21, 2011 to be exact, in Brantford against those Red Sox. They were in the midst of seven championships in an eight-year span. Welcome to the league, kid.

I walked into Arnold Anderson Stadium that day and the first person I saw was Larry who I’d never met in person. He greeted me with a hug and a pat on the back, a calming moment for a teenager full of nerves.

We lost the game 4-2, with yours truly taking the loss after coming on in relief to throw 1 2/3 innings.

Dicenzo put it best when he said, “He did everything nobody else wanted to do.” Whether it be league meetings or mundane administrative tasks, Larry was willing to do it for the love of the game and those who played it.

Roughly a month after he confirmed that news, he texted me again informing me of the passing of Steve Tait.

Tait was an assistant coach during my time with the Thunderbirds and Cardinals.

Known for his flashy turfs and stirrups, Tait could hit a fungo like no other.

Before each game he’d walk to home plate and roll baseballs down the first and third base lines to see how the field played. Preparation and attention to detail is crucial in this game.

Like Wood, Tait grew up on the sandlots in Hamilton as a player and then minor baseball coach.

After his time with the IBL team, he found his way to the Fieldhouse Pirates in nearby Burlington to serve as a coach and recruiting coordinator, bringing a hard-nosed Hamilton mindset with him.

He’s been involved in the development of the likes of Chicago Cubs top prospect Owen Caissie, Washington Nationals prospect Nate Ochoa and recent Toronto Blue Jays signee Owen Gregg.

“Steve was a wonderful, knowledgeable coach, and was well respected in the Canadian Premier League,” Bob Hooper, president and business director for the FieldHouse Pirates, said in a written letter.

“For the Pirates, he was a senior level coach who mentored a lot of the young guys coming up, learning how to manage high level teams. Steve loved helping kids get to college and although he was a tough coach, he had a big soft spot for players who worked hard and took pride in their preparation.”

Two Hamilton baseball lifers are gone but not forgotten.

Rest easy, gentlemen.