The City of Orillia's recreation advisory committee is looking for suggestions on new names for the Kitchener Park ball diamonds.
“Ball diamonds may be named/renamed after participants, builders and volunteers or any combination of these categories on the basis of an ‘extraordinary’ contribution to and/or involvement in ball over an extended period of time,” says the city's policy.
One of the names being talked about in local baseball and slo-pitch circles is long-time player, coach, and baseball fan Morris Walsh, who passed away in 2019.
Jessie Crichton, 28, is one of many local slo-pitch players who had Walsh as a coach. She has been playing slo-pitch since she was five years old and notes she might not be playing today if it weren’t for her favourite coach.
“When I was a pre-teen, I had pretty much learned the game, I was pretty good at it and kind of plateaued,” Crichton explained. “I was kind of losing interest.”
Crichton’s father set out on a mission to have Walsh coach Crichton with the goal of restoring her love for the game.
“Morris really fine-tuned my skills,” she said. “He taught me how to off-field hit, how to turn double plays, and kept it interesting for me.”
Walsh wasn’t only a huge influence for Crichton on the diamond, but away from it as well.
“He always made sure we all got picked up, even as teenagers,” she said. “He even drove me home one time.”
Thanks in part to Walsh, Crichton plays slo-pitch on three different teams now and is at the diamond three to four times a week.
“If it wasn’t for my dad finding Morris, I probably would have just given it up,” she said.
Crichton says naming one of the Kitchener Park diamonds after Walsh would cement his legacy for years to come.
“He dedicated years of his life to developing ball players in Orillia,” he said. “He had a real love for the game and he passed that on to everybody that he coached.”
Another name being singled out is Nelson Dunlop, who was inducted into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year. Dunlop dedicated his life to baseball as a player, coach, and umpire before passing away in 2016.
Orillia Sport Council chairperson Roy Micks says naming one of the Kitchener Park diamonds after Dunlop is a "great" idea.
“Nels had 60 to 65 years of volunteering with Orillia Minor Baseball,” he said. “He has done it all to assist and make sure kids have the opportunity to play.”
Micks says naming a diamond in honour of Dunlop is an obvious choice.
“He was just a good, genuine, hardworking Orillia guy,” he said. “He never put himself ahead of the kids and was strictly a great volunteer.”
While Micks was never coached by Dunlop, he remembers him being behind the dish, serving as an umpire, calling his youth games.
“He always called the game very fair,” he said. “He always did it for all the right reasons.”
Another name being bandied about by members of the baseball and slo-pitch community is Mike Borrelli, the current president of the Orillia Slo-Pitch League and a long-time coach in both slo-pitch and with the Orillia Minor Hockey Association (OMHA).
Past OMHA president and local Special Olympics community coordinator Cathy O’Connor says Borrelli has her vote for the naming of a diamond.
“When I think baseball in Orillia, I think of Mike,” she said. “He’s put Orillia on the map and the guy gives everything he has to our community.”
Borrelli is "as selfless as they come," O’Connor says. Countless times he has stepped up to help underprivileged youth, she noted.
Borrelli has a heart “as big as gold,” O’Connor says.
“He’s always been there for the kids,” she said. “Many of the players who he coached will remember Mike taking them to tournaments, taking them out for dinner, and all at his own expense.”
The City of Orillia asks residents to make written submissions by July 22. Contact information can be found here.
