August 7, 2019

By Danny Gallager

Canadian Baseball Network

Jordan Castaldo's quest for a very rare Triple Crown in Ontario's Intercounty Baseball League was delayed but he finally won it.

The Barrie Baycats player finished with a .453 average with 15 homers and 47 RBI. He actually finished in a tie for the RBI lead with teammate Kevin Atkinson but was declared the Triple Crown winner because he had at least tied in that category.

Castaldo had to wait until the conclusion of an Aug. 6 tiebreaker game for first place between the Baycats and Kitchener Panthers, a game won 4-2 by Barrie. Prior to the game, Castaldo had led Atkinson by one RBI.

"Tying a category does not prevent him from winning as it is sufficient to be considered the leader in that category,'' confirmed IBL statistician Herb Morell, who pointed out that Carl Yastrzemski won the American League's Triple Crown in 1967, although he tied in home runs with Harmon Killebrew.

"Just lucky, blessed and thankful,'' Castaldo said in an interview Wednesday. "Obviously I have to have great teammates to even be able to be in the conversation for the Triple Crown so I have to be thankful for them being on base but more importantly, I have to thank them for being supportive and being the main reasons why I make the trek up to Barrie (from Toronto) to play.

"I also have to thank the ownership group and the coaching staff for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to continue playing, long after my big-league aspirations ended. I also have to thank the volunteers and the fans who make playing in Barrie the best place to play in the IBL.''

Castaldo becomes the fifth player in league history to win the Triple Crown. Sean Reilly, currently with Guelph, is a two-time champion, first in 2015 and then again in 2017, with both wins coming while he was with Kitchener. Gary Borg won it in 1982 with Cambridge, Phil Turner of St. Thomas captured the title in 1981 and Wilmer Fields took home the prize with Oshawa way back in 1955.

Castaldo also thanked his family for its support, especially his father, who gave him his first glove and often said, "let's play catch.''

"I was able to stay healthy and stay on my feet this year and I was able to avoid missing any games so I never had to worry about losing any rhythm at the plate,'' Castaldo said. "Winning the championship is the most important goal. The Triple Crown is nice and etching my name in the record book is nice but one thing that this group has always had in common is winning that last game.''

Indeed, the Baycats have won "that last game'' in the IBL for five consecutive seasons and are gunning for their sixth consecutive championship to match the six won by the Brantford Red Sox from 2008-13.

Barrie plays Brantford in the first round of the playoffs, Kitchener is taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Welland Jackfish are facing off against the London Majors and Guelph is pitted against the Hamilton Cardinals.