August 20, 2022

Votto’s mentor Bob Smyth was a pretty decent pitcher

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Joey Votto’s march toward 2,000 games played in the majors has been stalled by season-ending rotator-cuff surgery, but this is an occasion to pay tribute to one of the people who helped get him to where he is now.

Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) surpassed Larry Walker’s mark for most major league games played by a Canadian last Sunday when he suited up in his 1,989th contest.

Bob Smyth pitched for the famous Primo’s juniors in Toronto sponsored by the Italian macaroni and pasta company, a squad that combined the Kingsway and Queensway teams.

“I played five years with them (1963-67), it was a very good junior team,’’ Smyth said. “In my time, Primo’s was good as any team around. We had very successful teams from 1963-65. That Primo’s team was a powerhouse. At the time, we didn’t play in the OBA playdowns. We couldn’t play outside Toronto because (commissioner) Carmen Bush thought it was best to play against each other.’’

Primo’s won the Toronto city championship in 1963 and again in 1965, powered by Smyth and fellow pitchers Gordie Howell and LHP Ric Fleury, 2B Alf Riverso, 2B Robbie Stevens and CF Ty Crawford.

“Bob was a pitcher backed by a power horse, Gordie Howell was the star of that team,’’ said Ted Schmidt, who coached against Smyth teams.

Those were the days of golden ball for teenagers with all games played at Christie Pits in midtown Toronto where Smyth would eventually play in the Intercounty League for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Bob threw strikes but was not overpowering and as some of us often laugh, he served up the longest homer in Toronto history in 1964 when Rick Foley launched one over the incandescent field fence at Talbot Park in Leaside and it hit the restaurant there,’’ Schmidt said.

Smyth, ever self-depreciating and not one to brag much about himself, wanted to play senior somewhere after his junior days were over. So where did he go?

Smyth ended up leaving Toronto and played for the Orillia Majors in 1968, a teammate of such stars as Maritimer Freddie MacDonald and Alta Vista Ritchies lefty Chris Harber or Ottawa. They played in what was called the Junction League with other teams from Peterborough, Belleville and Midland.

“I knew a team was being formed and they needed players in Orillia. I was looking for a place to play. I thought it was a place to go,’’ Smyth recalled. “Keith Spearin was the guy who contacted me. I lived up there the whole summer. We had a decent team.’’

Smyth was outstanding as a pitcher with Orillia, going 9-1, but he opted not to talk much about himself. He had great mechanics, often hittable, always around the plate, rarely walking anyone.

“I don’t push myself too much. It was more of a team thing. We had a decent team. It was very competitive ball,’’ Smyth said. “We played the Kingston Ponies in the OBA playdowns and they beat us.’’

McDonald, Harber and Smyth had a lot of fun that season as all three navigated new territory as so-called foreigners and shared a cottage on Lake Simcoe. They didn’t know much about the town of Orillia but they had a few laughs.

“Bob wasn’t a major-league pitcher, he threw okay, had a bit of a slider and he knew how to get the maximum use as a pitcher,’’ said MacDonald, a national team member for several years. “He knew baseball inside and out. He was a real sensible, caring guy. I really enjoyed him.

“One game, Smyth was sailing. He had a one-hitter. First guy hit a swinging bunt down the third base line. Next guy up hit a Texas leaguer behind third and the manager came to take him out but Smyth sees him coming and starts waving him back. He said, ‘Get the hell back into the dugout.’ We laughed all the way home.’’

After that one-year experiment with Orillia, Smyth was told Alex Stanley was recruiting players for his inaugural Maple Leafs entry in the Intercounty senior league.

“Alex contacted me,’’ Smyth said.

The Leafs and Smyth had their expansion pains. The team was 5-23 and Smyth was a microcosm of that awful season, going 2-8 with an ERA of 7.43.

Gerry Sinclair was the only Leafs’ regular to bat at least .300 in 1969. He hit .329 with 11 RBIs and also took a hand in pitching in 10 games, going 1-3. John Trigiani provided the most power with three homers and 15 ribbies while batting .246.

“My pitching was not very good,’’ Smyth admitted. “We didn’t have a lot of depth. A lot of the teams were loaded. Guelph had (lefty pitcher) Ron Stead. Not many teams could beat him. He’s the best amateur pitcher I ever saw.

“(Future Expos shortstop) Chris Speier was with Stratford. I think he might have been the key guy in the league. Every time he played, 50 scouts were watching.’’

In 1971-72, Smyth played for the Maple Leafs and then headed to Winnipeg to run the Howden oil company for two years before returning to Toronto but he never played senior again.

Smyth is best known for helping to finetune Votto on his way to the majors. The setting was Connorvale Park located in a quiet industrial neighborhood in Etobicoke next to a railway line.

“I was coaching the Etobicoke Rangers in 2002,’’ said Smyth, who lives in Ladysmith, BC. “Joey was a raw, very big, strong kid and had a very good work ethic. He wanted to play. He came into his own in his second year. He developed very quickly in that second year.

“I taught him what I taught other guys. He never got any special treatment from me and he didn’t need any. He’s just a real nice person with a good head on him. He deserved everything he got. I don’t take any credit for that.

“We’re very close. We have a very good relationship. We’ve stayed in touch.’’

Schmidt likened Votto to Walker, both of whom seemingly came out of nowhere to become stars.

“Those of us who have been around a long time know that incandescent talent can appear anywhere and for far too long, scouts ignored players other than pitchers thinking Canadian kids were too far behind and didn’t merit a look,’’ Schmidt said. “As Bob’s old coach Ed Terry used to say, ‘They wouldn’t recognize the Babe when he came over the hill or Phil Rizzuto because he could walk under the 5-foot-10’ bar’ but players like Larry Walker and Votto proved them wrong

“You never know when lightning can strike in a bottle. Who would’ve predicted that Bob Feller from Van Meter, Iowa would be one of the greats. I had a catcher in the ‘70s. Bruno Jurgaitis, who had tremendous potential at 16 and 17. He could run like the wind, had a cannon arm and was a very good left-handed hitter. Any half-assed scout who saw the attributes of this kid at 16 should’ve salivated over his potential and taken him south and turned him loose.

“When he went overage as a junior, Bruno asked me why he was never scouted. Here was this kid smart, a graduate in commerce from the University of Toronto, a football player, great athlete and humble. He really didn’t care that he didn’t play pro ball as he went on to a career in business and I simply told him ‘Bruno some of these guys are very stupid’, as Walker and Votto proved.’’

Danny Gallagher’s new Expos book Bases Loaded is available at Amazon and Indigo.