Blue Jays alumni bring lessons, funding to Paradise baseball diamond

Just five years removed from his days as a power-hitting catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, J.P. Arencibia was on the field in Paradise this week to teach kids the fundamentals.

He brought a small roster of Blue Jays alumni with him, along with a $150,000 cheque from the Jays Care Foundation.

The money will be used to put lights on the Peter Barry Duff Field so the growing Paradise Phantoms minor baseball organization can extend its schedule into the evenings.

"It's awesome what they do," Arencibia said of the foundation.

"It's an amazing thing to still be able to put on a uniform and come out here and affect the lives of kids and teach the game of baseball."

Joined by Jays from different eras

Arencibia was joined by Homer Bush, Jesse Barfield, Denis Boucher and Brian MacRae all former Jays of different eras since the 1980s.

"These guys really know everything when it comes to baseball," said Paradise Phantoms peewee player KodyThistle.

"It's been really fun to learn from all these great people and listen to all the inspiring things they had to say."

The addition of lights on the field will make things safer for the kids, who said they sometimes run into issues during evening games.

"When the ball is coming we can't really see it, so when the lights are on we'll be able to see it better," said Phantoms player Max Carter.

"It's gonna be good."

Growing the game

Part of the mandate for the alumni is to help grow the sport across the country. They are making 14 stops nationwide this summer, with camps sponsored by Honda in each town.

"I like to visualize things in five-year increments," said Bush, who went into coaching after his retirement in 2005.

"I'd like to see what baseball is going to look like [here] in five years, especially having some big-time superstar players from Canadain the big leagues."

As much fun as it is for the kids, it's also fun for the players travelling across Canada to towns they likely would have nevervisited otherwise.

"Yesterday I took a trip out to Cape Spear, so I was as far east as possible, and last week I was in Nanaimo [B.C.], so I was on the other side of the country," Arencibia said.

"The one thing that's very awesome about this opportunity is we do get to see a lot of the country."

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador