Ryan Dempster up close
Except for one party pooper, last week was the perfect “homecoming” for Ryan Dempster.
Dempster, the Gibsons-raised and former North Shore Twins pitcher who now toils for the Chicago Cubs, gladly forked over something near $37,000 in tickets for a three-day “homecoming” celebration at Seattle’s Safeco Field for 250 friends and family who invaded Mariners territory along with a surprisingly large contingent of other Chicago supporters.
The only problem was Franklin Guterriez who became the life of the party for Mariners’ fans. The Seattle centre fielder crashed both the party and a Dempster fastball 412 feet over the left field fence with one aboard in the second inning. Yet that was all the Mariners got during a superlative 116-pitch, five-hit, complete-game performance by the one-time ace of Dave Empey’s fledgling North Shore ballclub back in 1993-95. Unfortunately it was also all Seattle needed to stop the Cubs 2-0.
The first-ever inter-league match-up in Seattle between the Mariners and Cubs – along with a fortuitous off-day before the series began which pushed Dempster’s once-in-every-five-days start in the pitching rotation to a sixth day – enabled the 6’2”, 215-pound righthander to treat his family and friends not only to the games and a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Pike Street but also to a vintage Dempster pitching effort.
Surrounded by the media for the obligatory post-game interview following his outing and again while facing camera crews, microphones and notepads from still more prior to the next day’s game, Ryan took time to make sure everyone had their questions answered fully.
So what was it like playing for the Twins and Empey in the now-named B.C. Premier League in the mid-1990s when he was in Grades 10-12 at Elphinstone Secondary in Gibsons?
“Once baseball season was going, about February or so, I’d go over [to the North Shore] about three days a week,” he recalls as we sit in the dugout after Mariners’ broadcaster Rick Rizzs records an interview with Ryan that would air during the game.
“Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I’d come over on the 2:30 ferry and go back on the last ferry at night. Then if we had tournaments on the weekend I’d just stay over, a lot of times at Simon Pond’s place.”
Pond went on to play 13 seasons of pro ball himself, including 2004 with Toronto Blue Jays.
“Playing on the North Shore with the Twins was fun,” Dempster continues. “I have a lot of great memories, man, great teammates... I really enjoyed my time there. It was a really cool thing.
“I remember one time we played in two tournaments at once, one in Coquitlam and the other out in Abbotsford on the same weekend” driving back and forth between games.
“We played two on Thursday and Friday and three games a day on Saturday and Sunday. We won one and came second in the other and only one guy was the starting pitcher twice. But that was one thing about Dave [Empey], everybody got to pitch.
“Dave would tell you differently, but I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him. He always says I’d have found a different way to get it done. But, you know, I’d never met a guy who worked so hard and cared so much about his players.
“I don’t think he could ever tell you what his won-lost record was but he could tell you how many pitches I threw in every game. He was more concerned about developing us as players. I always felt like I had a good work ethic but he definitely instilled what it’s like and what it means to work hard.
“This is how unbelievable Dave is: I remember I had a basketball game on a Thursday night. I was throwing on Saturday so I needed to throw bullpen. So he said, ‘Come over on the ferry real quick and I’ll get you back on the next ferry and you’ll make your basketball game.’ He picked me up and we drove up to this park just up from Horseshoe Bay. He’d built a little clay mound on a soccer field so I could throw and he caught me with a right-handed catcher’s mitt – he’s left-handed – and got me back on the ferry just so my arm was ready to go.”
“Still to this day, he’ll call me and we’ll go over mechanics and talk pitching. He definitely has a passion for it. He’s a good man. I was glad he was here [in Seattle] for the game.
“Every time I pitch in front of one of my friends or family members its exciting for me. I still think of it as a little kid trying to impress dad or uncle. So to do it in front of 250 was probably one of the coolest moments in my career to be honest with you.”
That statement reveals a lot about Dempster, when you know he’s been a major leaguer 13 years; has been on division-winning teams twice; won 10 to 17 games in five of the previous eight seasons he’s been a starting pitcher; pitched a one-hitter; and pitched in the All-star Game. His 6-6 won-lost record this year belies the fact his 1.17 walks and hits allowed per inning is better than in any other season in his career.
His most memorable experience with the Twins?
“It’s kind of a selfish story,” he apologizes, “but I remember we went over to Parksville [for the inaugural B.C.’s Best tournament in 1995] and I was supposed to pitch on Saturday. We watched this team from Seattle. [In practice] they had the perfect infield. They didn’t miss a ball, all choreographed. They were a little cocky and a little arrogant. They felt they were going to come up and run through everybody. I said to Dave, I don’t want to pitch on Saturday, I want to pitch against that team. So I ended up pitching against them and struck out 16; a one-hitter. It was a week before the [major league] draft.”
Ryan was chosen in the third round by Texas, the highest among the 16 players that Empey (now head coach with the Premier League’s Vancouver Cannons) has had selected.
Dempster then signed with the Rangers exactly 15 years ago on July 6, 1995; was eventually dealt to Florida, then to Cincinnati and since 2004 has found a permanent home in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Except, of course, when he’s at home among friends and family at Safeco Field.
This is episode 382 from Len Corben’s treasure chest of stories – the great events and the quirky – that bring to life the North Shore’s rich sports history.
Dempster beats the heat, Cardinals
Cubs starter works into the 7th for 3rd straight win
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Despite difficult pitching conditions, manager Lou Piniella brought Dempster out for the seventh inning with a six-run lead before finally pulling the right-hander with a man on second and two outs after 119 pitches.
"He's been on a nice roll," Piniella said. "Here's your veteran starter, he's pitched better than anyone else we've had and as the team has struggled, he stepped up and sharpened and honed his game and he's winning with regularity. It's good to see."
Dempster, who has won his last three starts, had no problem pitching the seventh and said he could have gone longer. "That's four days in between starts and the offseason work you put in pays off at this time of year," he said. "I felt good down to the last batter."
The Cubs were 3-4 on the road trip, but Dempster said it was a positive one. "We went 1-3 in San Francisco and had a chance to win every game there, and came in here and won two of three against a really tough team."
Even as the team hit its worst stretch of the year, starting in the days leading up to the trading deadline, Dempster (11-8) has picked up his own game -- in particular since good pal and co-ace Ted Lilly was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31.
Since then, Dempster is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in three starts, while the team has gone 1-11 in the 12 other games in that stretch.