Vaughan, ON- The third annual Metball Gala and Awards Dinner was held on Friday night at the Fontana Primavera Event Center in Vaughan on March 29.  As has been tradition, it was an opportunity to celebrate the 2018 Toronto Mets award winners with their teammates, family, and friends. TSN/CTV personality Rod Black was the host of the event and was entertaining from the beginning of the night to the end.

“Once a Met, always a Met” was the theme for the night, which is something President, Ryan McBride is extremely proud of. Jason Chee Aloy and John Jepson (JJ)  brought Rich Leitch and I on to coach the 18u team nine years ago,” says McBride. “JJ created a family atmosphere, a place where everyone feels welcome and proud to be a part of.” Since McBride joined the Toronto Mets, the program has grown from two teams, a 16u and 18u team to now seven boys’ teams and two girls’ softball teams. McBride is happy to say that even though they have grown bigger in size, the family atmosphere that JJ created all those years ago remains a top priority to the current addition of the Toronto Mets Baseball Program. “A night like tonight  shows us all that JJ’s vision and presence is still with us as we celebrate the players achievements with their family and friends," says McBride.

 Unfortunately, JJ lost his battle with cancer last fall. “He will be missed by so many people within the baseball community. John Jepson won the Mets Person of the Year in 2017. We are all very honoured to be a part of his life and we will miss him dearly,” says McBride, “Once a Met, always a Mets.”

THE AWARDS 

Head of Baseball Operations, Rich Leitch, presented each player with their 2018 awards. 

Top Junior Pitcher (14-15) – Turner Spoljaric 

Top Senior Pitcher (16-18) – Curtis March

Top Junior Hitter (14-15) – Cameron Noble

Top Senior Hitter (16-18) – Noel McGarry-Doyle

Heart and Hustle Award – Rowan Radzinski

Student Athlete of the Year – Jacob Bonzon

Junior Most Valuable Player (14-15) – Justin Carinci

Senior Most Valuable Player (16-18) – Ryan Leitch

Coach of the Year – Rich Leitch 

Baseball Person of the Year – John Gibbons

Mets Person of the Year – Ryan McBride

Jake Eliopoulos Scholarship Award – Noah Hull 

SPECIAL GUEST 

Brendan Sullivan – Headfirst Honor Roll Camps

The Toronto Mets were very fortunate to have two special guests for the evening. First was President and Founder of Headfirst Group of Companies Brendan Sullivan. Brendan’s message to the gathering of 450 Toronto Mets Friends and families was very powerful. 

The Headfirst Companies started with a single pitching lesson during Brendan’s first pro off-season and has grown to a national footprint with 30 full-time team members and more than 700 annual summer staff. Headfirst’s DC-area programs have been named one of the Top 50 camps in the country by Sports Illustrated for Kids, and Headfirst has been recognized for youth experience excellence in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, MLB.com, Fox News, the New York Times and NPR. In 2017, Headfirst was recognized as a “Best Place to Work” by Washington Business Journal.

SPECIAL GUEST 

John Gibbons – Former Toronto Blue Jays Manager

John Gibbons was greeted by the Toronto Mets Families with a standing ovation as he took the stage in a question and answer with Host Rod Black. “Gibby” shared his thoughts on what is now known to Jays fans as the inning, of course highlighted by Jose Bautista’s iconic bat flip. He let us know how Canada is now a big part of the Texan’s life. “The people here have always treated me fair, that is all you can ask for, I hope they understand that I did my best every day, and never took for granted the great opportunity I had to be the Toronto Blue Jays Manager.” Gibby ended his time on stage with a message for the Toronto Mets players. “Never quit, if your dream is to play College Baseball or Professional baseball, never quit, give it your best effort and never stop chasing your dreams.” 

Gibbons’ stayed well after the festivities ended talking with the many families and players, taking pictures and signing autographs. He was as advertised, a genuine and humble person who took the time to meet new people and talk baseball. He also bought into the theme of the night by saying “Once a Met, always a Met.” after accepting his honorary Toronto Mets jersey.

JAKE ELIOPOULOS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Noah Hull – Iowa Western Commit

The Toronto Mets most prestigious award of the night is the Jake Eliopoulos Scholarship Award. The award is presented to a graduating player that does things the right way both on and off the field. Rich Leitch, the current 18u Head Coach presented the award to the winner, Noah Hull. Leitch has had the opportunity to coach the Iowa Western Commit since he was 14 years old. “This is a young man who just does things the right way. He is respectful to his coaches and teammates and always willing to help out with the younger players in the program. He comes from a great family and it is clear that they have raised to him to be a great person,” Leitch says. Leitch went on to talk about some of the accomplishments on the field for Hull. “He was MVP for the Gold Medal winning Team Ontario at the Baseball Canada Cup Championships, He was recently named to the Canadian Junior National Team and has been a powerful bat in the middle of the order since he became a Toronto Met.” It was clear the 450 people in attendance shared Leitch’s view of Noah as he received a standing ovation as he walked up to receive his award. 

Honsing Leung, who is the longest serving Toronto Mets coach, and the first recipient of the Coach of the Year Award added his thoughts on the night. “Our Metball Gala gives us a chance to recognize achievements that our players have accomplished over the year. Having Brendan Sullivan provide his experiences was invaluable and having someone like John Gibbons as our special guest, shows you how prominent our program has come over the years.”

It was a great night, a night to thank our wonderful families who continue to support our great program, a night to honour our players and their outstanding accomplishments, a night to recognize our past players who continue to be a part of our Mets family, and a night to welcome our new families to the Toronto Mets Program. 

We thank you all, and are extremely proud to say, “Once and Met, always a Met.”

PreGame Athletics